WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 060810

First up in Wildfire News Of The Day, a 5-acre wildfire in Riverside, California, briefly threatened a home after apparently being sparked by a mower (1); but as San Diego Gas and Electric moves forward with its Sunrise PowerLink transmission line project, they have informed fire agencies in the county that the Erickson Air-Crane helicopter being used to assemble transmission towers is available for firefighting for $7500 an hour, of which SDG&E will pay half (2). As summer follows spring, concerns about wildfires have followed a heat wave in Central California (3); and concerns about controlled burn smoke sullying the air at Lake Tahoe has ignited a storm of controversy (4). The CAL FIRE battalion chief who runs Chico Air Attack Base doesn't feel that Aero Union's relocation to Sacramento next summer will negatively impact their aerial firefighting capability (5); while the San Francisco Chronicle has put together some interesting numbers on the costs of forest fires (6). Arizona's Tonto National Forest will limit open burning as the fire danger increases (7); however, a 5-acre wildfire was reported in the Coconino National Forest yesterday (8); even as firefighters are finally getting a handle on the Horseshoe Fire burning in the Coronado National Forest (9). Additional lightning strikes in New Mexico's Gila National Forest sparked some new wildfires (10); and homeowners in Washington County, Utah, are receiving some tips to help reduce their wildfire danger (11). Another surprising benefit of wildfires has been revealed in a study from Purdue University in Indiana in regards to flowering Dogwood trees (12). Firefighters in Florida's Apalachicola National Forest will be conducting controlled burns to improve the habitat while reducing the wildfire danger to Tallahassee residents (13); and another was also undertaken in Pinellas County to the south (14). A summary of the wildfires burning in Alaska is provided by the next item (15); but cooler weather is helping to reduce the danger (16). A wildfire in Manitoba, Canada, is blazing near Nelson House (17); while Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources is lifting a fire ban as conditions improve in the Northeast (18). Minefields along India's contentious border with Pakistan were set off by a forest fire once again (19). A new bushfire study from Victoria identifies wind as being a more important factor in bushfire activity than heat (20). And finally, a Florida firefighter found out firsthand that lightning can strike twice!

(1) Firefighters Knock Down 5-Acre Blaze In Riverside

(2) SDG&E to rent out Sunrise chopper to firefighting agencies

(3) Like Clockwork, Fire Worries Follow Heatwave

(4) Lake Tahoe governing, fire officials look at prescribed burn effects

(5) Aero Union move won't affect Chico Air Attack Base operations

(6) A Forest Fire's Price Tag

(7) Fire restrictions planned for Tonto forest

(8) Small wildfire burns 5 acres south of airport

(9) Progress of wildfire near Arizona border slowed

(10) Lightning sparks fires in Gila Forest

(11) Summer Heat With Spring Vegetation Produces Wildfire Conditions

(12) Controlled fires might help dogwood trees

(13) Apalachicola National Forest Prescribed Burning Today

(14) Controlled burn under way in Oldsmar

(15) Alaskan Wildfires Continue to Burn

(16) Cool weather continues to combat Alaska wildfires

(17) Forest fire rages near Nelson House

(18) MNR Lifts Fire Ban

(19) Forest fire triggers landmines blasts on LoC in Poonch

(20) Wind more critical to bushfires than temperature

(21) Firefighter Suffers 2nd Lightning Strike