WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 040211

At a Sierra Club meeting in Pasadena, California, Angeles National Forest officials outlined when trails in Station Fire burn areas should reopen (1). The next article takes a look at how high school students will be trained to assist Oregon Department of Forestry’s summer crews (2); something that could help fill the gap highlighted by a recent report that showed that fewer people are volunteering to fight fires in rural Oregon (3). After two wet years, the dry spring in Northern Arizona has fire chiefs on edge (4). A 32-acre wildfire reported in New Mexico's Cibola National Forest was extinguished after a few hours of firefighting (5); but authorities evacuated a number of homes near Albuquerque's Bernardo State Wildlife Area as a 100-acre wildfire spread (6). A summary of wildfires across Colorado, where record-breaking temperatures were reported, is provided by the next article (7); while homeowners in Colorado Springs were advised to have a wildfire evacuation plan ready just in case (8). A burn ban has been issued for 34 of Oklahoma's 77 counties as the wildfire danger increases (9); meanwhile, a wildfire in Osage County burned 300 acres (10); and another which forced the evacuation of over two dozen homes in western Oklahoma has been extinguished (11). Weather forecasters in Abilene, Texas, are expecting dry, windy conditions until Monday (12); wildfires already having been reported in Jones and Nolan counties (13); but the Cowboy Church of Amarillo is providing handouts for residents of the Panhandle who lost homes and possessions in the recent wildfires (14). Homeowners in Michigan's Lake County are getting some pointers on how to set up a Firewise community (15); while Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Bureau of Forestry held briefings on protecting the 17 million acres of forests across the state (16). Like Oregon, New York State is also coping with a shortage of firefighters (17). A 40-acre wildfire was reported in Citronelle, Alabama, this afternoon (18); but heavy rain that swept through Florida this past week has eased the wildfire danger, however burn bans in Flagler County remain in force (19). A photo shows an heli-tanker in action as firefighters continued to battle a 31,750 hectare wildfire in the Sierra de Arteaga region of Mexico (20); and a number of wildfires have been set in India's Gondia district, apparently by harvesters of multipurpose flowers from certain trees (Madhuca longifolia, in particular) (21). Overgrown and inaccessible fire trails in the Australia Capital Territory have residents alarmed about how they could impede firefighters in a bushfire emergency (22). And finally, comedian Jeff Foxworthy, who oftentimes parodies rednecks, is using his comic talents to reduce wildfires in Florida!

(1) Angeles National Forest trails update, post-Station fire

(2) High-schoolers learn to battle wildfires

(3) Shrinking ranks of volunteers strain rural Oregon fire agencies

(4) Wildfire concerns heat up in northern Arizona

(5) Wildland fire burns about 32 acres in Magdalena

(6) Wildfire south of Belen spreads to 100 acres

(7) Wildfires erupt across state as heat records shattered

(8) Wildfire Season: Preparing to Evacuate

(9) Officials issue high fire danger warning

(10) Wildfires: Conditions to persist

(11) Firefighters extinguish blaze that prompted evacuation of homes in western Oklahoma

(12) Wildfire Risk Increasing

(13) Small grass fires reported in Nolan, Jones counties

(14) Garage giveaway for wildfire victims

(15) Lake County Looks to Become FireWise

(16) Spring forest fire season starting

(17) With limited crews, firefighters learn new ways to fight flames

(18) Crews Battling 40-Acre Wildfire in Citronelle

(19) Wet weather easing danger of wildfires

(20) A helicopter drops water on wildfires engulfing a mountain in the Sierra de Arteaga on the outskirts of Saltillo

(21) Series of forest fires in Gondia perturb officials

(22) Fire trails 'covered in logs'

(23) Jeff Foxworthy offers serious help to wildfire-prevention team