WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 101610

Another warning about the impending effects of a La Nina condition in the South Pacific on Southern California's wildfire situation is conveyed by Jet Propulsion Laboratory's meteorologist, Bill Patzert (1); and US Forest Service firefighters will conduct several controlled burns in the Lake Tahoe Basin over the next few days to prepare for the next fire season up north (2). A wildfire has burned 483 acres in Arizona's Kaibab National Forest (3); while a 305-acre wildfire is burning in rugged terrain within New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest (4). Another wildfire was ignited by tracer ammunition, this time a 150-acre blaze in Grand County, Colorado (5); but Bureau of Land Management firefighters announced containment of a 206-acre wildfire outside of Boise, Idaho, yesterday afternoon (6). Central and Northern Minnesota are facing an increased wildfire danger throughout the region (7); even as a wildfire consumed fifteen acres of timber near Howard, Wisconsin (8). Mississippi Forestry Commission firefighters are battling wildfires in that drought-stricken state with an assist from bulldozers (9); while the next article looks at the consequences of Kentucky's continuing drought in regards to wildfires (10). A Washington Post article reexamines the controversial study that states that beetle-killed trees are not the fire hazard many have assumed them to be (11); and as Florida suffers through a severe drought, homeowners remember a devastating wildfire that burned along the Palm Coast in 1998 (12); this at a time when four acres burned in Brevard County (13). Fire crews are reducing fuel in British Columbia, Canada's, Glen Canyon Regional Park now that wildfire season has concluded (14); while fire officials in Thailand fear that the reduced incidence of wildfires in Kaeng Krachan National Park have led to the overgrowth of vines which pose a severe wildfire hazard (15). Residents of Yallingup, Western Australia, are breathing easier after the Department of Environment and Conservation contained a nearby bushfire (16). And finally, a story from Bakersfield, California, introduces another cat who lost a few of her nine lives in a wildfire!

(1) REGION: La Nina sparks wildfire fears

(2) Where there's smoke there's prescribed fire

(3) Arizona Scott Fire Continues to Burn

(4) Wildfire burning near Jemez Springs

(5) Tracer ammunition starts wildfire

(6) Rocky Canyon fire burns 206 acres in Boise Foothills, but now under control

(7) Wildfire Potential Increasing

(8) Several fire departments battle wildfire

(9) Wildfires to remain a threat as moderate to severe drought continues

(10) Edmonson, Hart, Warren get drought status

(11) Study: Beetle invasions dampen, not intensify, wildfire risk

(12) Memories of 1998 wildfires still fresh for Palm Coast residents

(13) Firefighters work to contain brush fire in Micco

(14) Crews working to reduce the risk of wildfires in parks

(15) Unchecked vines may choke forest

(16) Yallingup residents get bushfire relief

(17) Missing cat comes home a month after wildfire