WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 050711

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Chuck Bushey, President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along their latest Journal of Wildland Fire edition which has numerous scholarly works on the topic of wildland fire issues (1). Southern California's Angeles National Forest will raise the fire danger level from low to high on Sunday (2); while fire agencies met to the east in Cherry Valley earlier this week to discuss the wildfire danger, CAL FIRE chief Ken Pimlott unveiling a new website to help (3); and the Napa Communities Firewise Foundation reminded residents of the Northern California community that this is Wildfire Awareness Week throughout the state (4). Southern Nevada will be under a Red Flag warning for wildfires on Mother's Day (5); while a wind-driven wildfire that burned 50 acres near the eastern Arizona town of Whiteriver is now 70% contained (6); a 15-acre wildfire burning northeast of Nogales was reported yesterday (7); and firefighters battled a five-acre wildfire outside of Peoria yesterday (8). US Forest Service discussed a 15,000-acre wildfire burning near New Mexico's Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument with local residents (9); while Western Oklahoma is bracing for more wildfires as conditions continue to be hot, dry, and windy (10); and a wildfire burned across 2 miles outside of Calumet before being extinguished (11). Firefighters have reached 90% containment around a wildfire burning in Val Verde County, Texas (12); but after 81 sorties in which 243,000 gallons of retardant was dropped on Texas wildfires, military C-130 aircraft equipped with MAFFS have completed their deployment at Dyess Air Force Base (13); so now it's off to Twin Falls, Idaho, for some training! (14) A wildfire in North Carolina's Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge had covered 2,000 acres by yesterday afternoon (15); and a blaze in Georgia's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has spread to 30,000 acres (16). Providential rains provided some relief to firefighters battling a massive 26,000 acre wildfire in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier County, Florida (17); while Florida Division of Forestry recognized Fiddler’s Creek as a Firewise Community (18). Ontario, Canada, reported four new wildfires yesterday (19); even as fire officials on Grand Cayman Island responded to the second wildfire in the same place this week (20). Ireland's Junior Agricultural Minister toured burn areas in County Donegal, announcing a public awareness campaign to reduce the number of wildfires cropping up in that nation (21); the next article exploring Wales Forestry Commission's participation in the FUTUREforest Project, which addresses how European nations can adapt to climate change (22). After suffering 740 acres burned, Swinley Forest in Berkshire, UK, will be closed this weekend (23); but children are suspected of having set several wildfires along train tracks in Birmingham (24); this at a time when residents of North Yorkshire were provided with some tips on reducing the fire danger (25). Firefighters in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province extinguished a 30-hectare wildfire burning in the Dahinggan Mountains (26); while homeowners in Victoria, Australia, will be paying a bushfire levy as part of their property taxes in the future (27). And finally, schoolkids get a chance to learn about firefighting in Clinton County, Georgia, at a special day camp just for them!

(1) International Journal of Wildland Fire

(2) Angeles Forest to raise fire danger level

(3) Agencies preparing for wildfire season

(4) Wildfire Awareness Week

(5) Wildfire warning issued for Las Vegas area

(6) Small brush fire breaks out in eastern Arizona town of Whiteriver; Crews work to protect homes

(7) New wildfire burning northeast of Nogales

(8) Firefighters battle brush fire in Peoria

(9) Miller Fire up to 15K acres

(10) NWS: Unseasonably hot, dry and windy conditions could fuel wildfires in western Oklahoma

(11) Wildfires force roads to close near Calumet

(12) Deaton Cole Fire 90 Percent Contained

(13) Air Guard, Reserve Complete Texas Firefighting Mission

(14) C-130 aircraft in Twin Falls

(15) Pains Bay fire breaks on Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge

(16) Swamp Fire Grows; Smoke Spreads South

(17) Rain temporarily dampens part of huge Big Cypress wildfire in Collier County

(18) Fiddler’s Creek earns wildfire preparedness recognition

(19) Update on regional forest fire situation

(20) Bush fire in West Bay

(21) Junior Minister surveys Donegal wild-fire damage

(22) Wales forest fires - lessons to be learned from Europe

(23) Fire keeps Swinley Forest closed over the weekend

(24) Canalside arsonists disrupt Birmingham trains

(25) Wild fire warning for North Yorkshire

(26) Forest fire put out in northeast China's Dahinggan Mountains

(27) Victorians set to pay property tax to cover firefighting services

(28) Firefighters Host Special Event for Students