WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 060210

First up in wildfire news, Gov. Schwarzenegger is bolstering CAL FIRE's numbers in San Diego County due to the abundance of fuel from the winter rains (1); and their help will probably be appreciated after a wildfire in Valley Center was smothered by an overwhelming response by CAL FIRE firefighters (2). San Bernardino firefighters are conducting some controlled burns to clear out vegetation, as well as provide experience battling wildfires (3); and after determining that a grinder sparked a wildfire in East Hemet last week, firefighters reiterated the danger of using power tools during wildfire season (4). An exposé on Chico-based air-tanker giant Aero Union is provided by an article from yours truly posted at Military.com (5); while Washington state's Department of Natural Resources has been able to deploy some personnel to help with the wildfires in Alaska (6). A wildfire which has burned nearly 1,000 acres near Silver City, New Mexico, has finally been contained (7); but residents near Fenton Lake needed to evacuate due to another (8). Arson investigators in Colorado believe that a wildfire sparked in Boulder County was human-caused (9); while the next article shows how an army of firefighters transformed a small Colorado town into an armed camp bent on snuffing a nearby wildfire (10). Wildfire preparations in Montana underscore the importance of multiple organizations working together for the greater good (11); and since firefighters in the southwestern part of that state are expecting a bad fire season, they will have to have tight coordination with neighboring fire departments to keep a lid on wildfires (12). Residents of Maine were warned that although a recent rainstorm reduced the fire danger, they still need a burn permit for outdoor fires (13); something that was emphasized by a wildfire near Lincoln (14); even as the wildfires in Québec have had an unhealthy effect on air quality in both Maine and New Hampshire (15). A summary of wildfires in Alaska, where 353,000 acres have burned so far, is provided by the next three articles (16)(17)(18). The National Interagency Fire Council has predicted that areas in the western US and Alaska will be fairly fire prone this year (to see what their Predictive Services group is forecasting, go here) (19). After an early start, British Columbia's wildfire season has cooled down with lower temperatures, allowing them to deploy nearly 400 firefighters to other areas less fortunate (20). Although firefighters in Québec are thankful for some rain, there was still much work to do on scores of wildfires across the province (21); but firefighters in the Yukon and Northwest Territories faced the triple-headed monster of heat, windy conditions, and minimal rain (22). An article from Mozambique, Africa, summarizes a report about the 2009 fire season in Cabo Delgado, in which thousands of acres were burned, including cash crops on some cashew plantations (23). The devil was in the details on a billion-dollar agreement between Norway and Indonesia over protecting tropical rain forests from forest fires (24). An Op-Ed piece delivers a scathing condemnation of the Royal Bushfire Commission proceedings which just concluded in Victoria, Australia (25); and the critical timeline of an accused bushfire arsonist is complicating prosecution in regards to one of the Black Saturday bushfires (26). The ongoing battle over vegetation clearance laws in Victoria is examined in the next article (27); but that state's government is using a unique technique to help communities recover from the bushfire trauma: the arts! (28) And finally, here's a wildfire in a peculiar place: a railway tunnel!

(1) REGION: More firefighters arriving as wildfire season approaches

(2) VALLEY CENTER: Firefighters battle small brush fire

(3) San Bernardino firefighters conducting controlled burns

(4) Equipment sparks fire in East Hemet

(5) Exciting Job for Vets With Specialized Skills, Part 2

(6) Wash. employees sent to help with AK wildfires

(7) Horse Fire contained

(8) Fenton Lake fire causes evacuations

(9) Boulder County investigators believe Gold Hill fire caused by humans

(10) Beaver Fire brought a small city to town

(11) Wildfire awareness, prevention discussed

(12) Update: Fire officials preparing for 2010 wildfire season

(13) Wildfire Prevention Tips

(14) Firefighters from four towns dowse Bagley Mountain fire

(15) Quebec wildfires cause Maine, NH air quality alert

(16) Fire season's hot and heating up

(17) Alaska wildfires unusually widespread and stubborn

(18) Light rains a brief respite for Alaska firefighters

(19) Wildfires likely to flare in U.S. hot spots

(20) Risk of forest fires likely to rise in province, official cautions

(21) Rain helps Quebec forest fire battle

(22) Forest fire risk very high in Yukon, N.W.T.

(23) Mozambique: Bush Fires Destroy 18,000 Hectares in Cabo Delgado

(24) Norway won't fund RI tree planting program: Govt

(25) Many must share the bushfire blame

(26) 'Problems' in arson case

(27) New vegetation clearing laws an 'overreaction'

(28) Victoria Launches Illuminated By Fire Statewide Arts Project

(29) Wildfire inside condemned Okanagan tunnel will have to burn itself out