WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111810

We lead off today with an article about the demonstration in Southern California of a new system called 'Flamesniffer', which detects wildfires, then envelopes a home in a protective water curtain (1); while elsewhere in the state, US Forest Service will resume controlled burns along Lake Tahoe's western shore, weather permitting (2). High winds helped propel a wildfire on Fort Hood, Texas, past the 700-acre mark (3); and Tennessee Department of Agriculture's Ag Crime Unit arrested a man for setting a 1-acre wildfire, apparently as part of a campaign to get hired as a firefighter (4). The wildfire situation in Georgia, where a swamp fire has now scorched 890 acres, is the topic of the next article (5); while recent wildfires in Florida may be a harbinger of what lies ahead for that state, according to the National Weather Service (6). The next article takes a look at Russia's Open Burning and the Arctic: Causes, Impacts, and Mitigation Approaches conference which took place in St. Petersburg last week (7). Australians living in Golden Plains Shire, Victoria, are having problems clearing dangerous vegetation due to environmental protections imposed on some of it (8); even as a senior citizen was arrested in Creswick in connection with a score of arson wildfires (9). Kangaroo Island, South Australia, is working with fire officials to ensure that bushfires don't impact tourism during the fire season that begins December 1st (10); and FESA firefighters are grappling with a bushfire that has closed Brand Highway north of Perth, Western Australia (11). Wildfire preparations in New South Wales have been delayed by late-season rainstorms (12); but the net result is a delay in the bushfire season in some parts of that state (13). And finally, preservation of longleaf pines in the South, which have been hard-hit by wildfires, is now the focus of a different green group: the US Army!

(1) ‘Flamesniffer’ Detects Wildfires, Protects Home

(2) U.S. Forest Service: Prescribed fires to resume on Lake Tahoe's West Shore

(3) Winds Fan Flames Of 700-Acre Wildfire At Fort Hood

(4) Trimble man allegedly starts fire to gain firefighting job

(5) South Georgia Wildfire Update

(6) Wildfire threat will persist for months in Florida

(7) Fires do not recognize state borders – Bellona hosts conference on reducing Arctic impact of forest fires

(8) Grassland protection sparks bushfire fears

(9) Man, 63, facing arson charges over bushfires near Creswick

(10) Fire safety in tourism

(11) 'Unpredictable' blaze closes Brand Highway

(12) Delays to bushfire season preparations

(13) Bushfire danger period rained on

(14) Forest Service and partners to conduct longleaf pine-carbon research on military bases in 3 states