WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 092410

Now that Southern California is moving into the fall, summer time has finally arrived, with hot temperatures and Santa Ana winds predicted for this weekend and into next week, as articles from Los Angeles County and San Diego demonstrate (1)(2). Newly-released transcripts of communications between fire dispatchers and commanders working the Station Fire in 2009 have been released, reigniting the debate about US Forest Service's response in the early days of the fire, as the next two articles show (3)(4). An increasing La Niña effect in the South Pacific foreshadows more wildfires in Southern California in the future (5); but with some 245 reserve firefighters being slashed from the rolls of Orange County Fire Authority due to financial constraints, there may be fewer firefighters to battle them (6). A wildfire that burned about 50 acres in a portion of the Cleveland National Forest in Riverside County has been contained (7); followed by the curious case of San Diego Gas & Electric versus a PR firm (8). Forest officials in Oregon's Wallowa-Whitman National Forest plan to conduct some controlled burns this fall (9); and the benefits of fuel treatment in reducing wildfire severity in Washington State is discussed in an article from Science Daily (10). A pair of controlled burns will be conducted south of Flagstaff, Arizona, next week (11); but a Larimer County, Colorado, man has been charged with starting the Reservoir Road Fire which burned 750 acres and destroyed two homes (12). Rains helped to suppress a 53-acre wildfire that was burning near Hayden, Colorado, yesterday morning (13); while a 1,000 acre-wildfire destroyed a home near Greeley yesterday (14). Firefighters from areas surrounding Salt Lake County, Utah, are returning home now that the Machine Gun Fire is 75% contained (15); but that fire may be getting a new nickname: the Unexploded Bomb Fire! (16) The Antelope Fire, which has been burning in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park since the middle of the month, has passed the 3,000-acre mark (17); while a 75-acre wildfire was reported in Illinois' DuPage Forest Preserve (18). A wildfire in Kenton County, Kentucky, has finally been brought under control (19); however, the phenomenon of dwindling numbers of volunteer firefighters in West Virginia is mirroring the same trend across the country, with 75,000 fewer members nationwide since the 1980s (20). A number of wildfires in four Virginia counties were apparently sparked by lightning (21); where, after suffering through a hot, dry summer, that state is now suffering through a drought-stricken, wildfire-prone fall! (22) Above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall are creating a high wildfire danger in North Carolina as well (23). Several wildfires have been reported in the North African nation of Algeria (24); and a wildfire was reported in Pribaikalsky State National Park near Irkutsk, Russia (25). Australian power utility SP AusNet has formulated its defense for legal proceedings against it in the Victorian Supreme Court (26); while an open house at Canobolas NSW Rural Fire Service allowed residents to meet and greet their local bushfire warriors (27). A wildfire has been reported in Western Australia's Boronia Ridge (28). And finally, the Cabarlah Rural Fire Brigade in Queensland is literally having its fire headquarters sold right out from under it!

(1) It's going to be hot like summer this weekend! Heat, potential brush fires could pose dangers

(2) Winds, heat to raise wildfire danger this weekend

(3) USFS: Tapes show effort to fight 2009 CA wildfire

(4) Forest Service releases Station fire transcripts

(5) La Nina May Increase Wildfire Risk

(6) OCFA cuts volunteer firefighting program in half

(7) Fire in national forest fully contained

(8) SDG&E in dustup with PR firm

(9) Prescribed burns planned for NE Oregon

(10) Fuel Treatments Reduce Wildfire Severity, Tree Mortality in Washington Forests

(11) 2 more controlled burns set for next week

(12) Charges Filed In Reservoir Road Fire

(13) Rain keeps lid on wildfire south of Hayden

(14) Wind-fed wildfire destroys one home on farmland southeast of Greeley

(15) Cache firefighters return from working on Herriman wildfire

(16) Firefighters find unexploded ordnance in wake of Herriman fire

(17) Wildfire in Yellowstone National Park tops 3,000 acres

(18) Bartlett brush fire burns 75 acres of forest preserve land

(19) Kenton county EMA director: Wildfire under control

(20) Firefighters say Volunteers are a Dying Breed

(21) Firefighters believe lightning sparked four forest fires across area

(22) Region's wildfire risk soars due to 'extreme' drought

(23) Officials: Conditions prime for wildfires

(24) EFFIS - Current Situation

(25) Wildfire in Pribaikalsky national park extinguished

(26) SP AusNet files its defence in Victorian bushfires litigation

(27) Open day puts bushfire safety on the map

(28) Bushfire tearing through Boronia Ridge

(29) Brigade wary of council's promise