WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 102710

A firefighter was injured battling a 10-acre wildfire near Lake Castaic in Southern California yesterday (1); while the next article remembers five US Forest Service firefighters killed battling the Esperanza Fire four years ago (2). San Diego County Supervisors provided $36,000 to outfit a network of 50 webcams to monitor San Diego County's backcountry for wildfires (something similar to the concept for The Water Cache Project, although those cameras will be monitored 24/7 by computer software) (3); but a hearing by the California Public Utilities Commission to review San Diego Gas & Electric's controversial Wildfire Expense Balancing Account is discussed in the next article (4). A wildfire that burned 185 acres along the San Luis Obispo/Kern County line was contained early this morning (5); and firefighters battled a 13-acre wildfire near Morgan Hill yesterday (6). California's Plumas National Forest's new wildland urban interface maps may help spur millions of dollars in local projects over the next two years (7); while an Op-Ed piece from Oregon discusses the blockage of a timber sale by two environmental groups (8). A 20-acre wildfire was reported near Pueblo, Colorado, yesterday (9); and a number of wildfires were reported in Worth County, Georgia, yesterday as well (10). A large gorse fire burning near Dunedin, New Zealand, was threatening a nearby timber plantation (11); while in Australia, an additional $6.7 million will be allocated to towns hit hard by the Black Saturday bushfires (12). Former Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon was once again grilled about her whereabouts as Black Saturday unfolded, this time by Australian Women's Weekly magazine (13). Although New South Wales' drought conditions are much better than last year, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons is still advising homeowners to be prepared for bushfires (14); where ranchers discussed how to rehabilitate pastures burned in bushfires (15); and the Aboriginal Land Councils studied the impact of bushfires on their territory (16). Fire agencies gathered in the Western Australian town of Prevelly/Gnarabup to formulate a bushfire preparedness plan (17). And finally, firefighters in Arizona had to perform another animal rescue - this time getting an owl free from a lamppost!

(1) Firefighter injured in blaze near Castaic area

(2) ESPERANZA FIRE: Slain firefighters honored

(3) Cameras installed to spot wildfires early

(4) Intervenor to be Squelched in SDG&E/IOU WEBA Case?

(5) Firefighters contain Calif grass fire at 185 acres

(6) Wildfire burns portion of Tilton Ranch

(7) Revised fire protection maps could help generate more projects

(8) EDITORIAL: Not a typical timber sale

(9) UPDATE: Wildfire Burning in Blende Fully Contained

(10) Firefighters battle 6 wildfires along Highway 82

(11) Fire threatens pine forest

(12) Extra $6.7 mill for bushfire towns

(13) Christine Nixon said her Black Saturday dinner was taken 'out of context'

(14) Be prepared for bad bushfires, says emergency service

(15) Burnt pastures bounce back

(16) Learning bushfire pros and cons

(17) Prevelly/Gnarabup Bushfire register

(18) Peoria firefighters release owl they helped rescue