WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 061111

After two 100+ acre wildfires so far this month, Southern California-based Apple Valley Fire Protection District is advising homeowners to create defensible space around their property (1); while CAL FIRE increases staffing beginning June 13th for the summer fire season in Northern California (2). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Tom Eversole, Executive Director of American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association, sent along a press release about the contribution the organization's members are making in battling Arizona's massive wildfires (3); where National Public Radio in Phoenix reports on the wildfires, which have destroyed at least 29 homes and 35 other buildings so far (4); firefighters battling the Horseshoe Two Fire in Southern Arizona announcing that they had reached 45% containment on that 134,615-acre blaze (5); while a second day of diminished wind activity allowed firefighters in Arizona to press their advantage against out-of-control wildfires (6); forest closures and other information are conveyed by the next article (7); followed by comments by the veteran Coronado National Forest Fire Manager about the unprecedented fire danger current conditions present to firefighters (8). As Arizonans remain transfixed by the wildfire drama playing out in their state, the next article touches on some things homeowners can do to protect their property (9); however, the health hazard posed by smoke from the wildfires is making life miserable for those with respiratory problems (10); the next article exploring the stress associated with battling wildland fires in Arizona (11); nevertheless, many find it to be invigorating (12). An Arizona Public Broadcasting Service segment discusses the economic impact of the wildfires burning in that state (13); followed by an article from Tucson that discusses the importance of thinning forests before destructive wildfires set in (14); where several companies donated food and drink to help with firefighting efforts (15); and Aetna Insurance is providing special assistance to medical and dental customers impacted by the wildfires (16); but the impact (or lack thereof) of wildfire smoke on climate change is examined by an MSNBC segment (17). With increased humidity, firefighters were able to begin to make progress on wildfires throughout Colorado (18); allowing some evacuees to return home (19). Rookie firefighters preparing for their first wildfires in Idaho get a chance to sound off in the next article (20); while firefighters in Utah battled several wildfires, one of which burned 1,100 acres on the Shivwits Indian Reservation (21). The wildfire danger in Michigan, where an 820-acre wildfire was reported outside of Grayling, is tackled by the next article (22); while over 140 firefighters attended the Maine State Wildfire Training Academy in preparation for fire season in the Northeast (23). A 40-acre wildfire was reported in Wharton State Forest by New Jersey's Forest Fire Service (24). An instructor at West Virginia University's Mid-Atlantic Wildfire Training Academy discusses wildfires East and West (25); but the wildfire in North Carolina's Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge is pumping copious quantities of smoke into the air as it has reached 44,969 acres burned (26); while firefighters in Georgia's Okefenokee Wildlife Refuge are battling more than just wildfires: they also have to worry about mosquitoes, snakes, and alligators! (27) The contribution of Florida's severe drought to worsening wildfires is discussed in the next article (28); the following one providing more details on wildfires in that state (29); but as the weather began to clear, firefighters in Alaska redoubled their efforts to rope in wildfires whose activity had been dampened down by recent rainfall (30). Former Victorian Bushfire Reconstruction and Recovery Authority was back in the news, discussing her incomplete testimony before Australia's Royal Bushfire Commission in regards to the Black Saturday bushfires (31). And finally, firefighters in Burbank, California, had a tricky extrication to perform: removing a three-year-old's head from a toilet seat!

(1) Wildfires remind residents to create defensible space

(2) Firefighting Staff Increases For Fire Season

(3) Air Tanker And Helicopter Operators Working To Stem Massive Arizona Wildfire

(4) Wildfires Blaze Through Arizona Forests

(5) Wildfire in SE Arizona is now 45 percent contained

(6) Forest fire teams press attack on Arizona blaze

(7) Arizona fire restrictions

(8) Coronado Fire Manager: "Conditions Are Unprecedented"

(9) Forest fires in White Mountains are really pretty scary

(10) Huge AZ wildfire spreads, health conditions worsen

(11) Fighting forest fires is a stressful job

(12) 'Adrenaline rush' propels fire crews in Arizona

(13) Arizona Fire Economic Impact

(14) We must thin our forests now or fire will keep doing it for us

(15) Companies Donate to Firefighting Effort

(16) Aetna Helps Members Affected By Wildfires In Arizona

(17) Cosmic Log - How Earth's infernos affect climate

(18) Humidity gives firefighters a break

(19) Firefighters throttle Teller blaze, residents can return home

(20) Rookie firefighters learn the skills they'll need to battle wildland blazes

(21) UPDATE : Firefighters Battling 1,100 Acre Fire on Shivwits Indian Reservation, No Evacuations in Ivins and Kayenta Yet

(22) Grayling Wildfire Sparks Concerns for Michigan

(23) Maine Forest Service teaches wildland firefighting

(24) Firefighters battle forest fire in Wharton State Forest

(25) Training To Fight The Wildfires

(26) Wildfire smoke wafts to busy beaches

(27) Local crews battle flames, snakes, heat in South Georgia swamp fire

(28) Florida drought affecting crops, spurring wildfires

(29) Crews burn 40 acres to save homes from Flagler fire

(30) Alaska firefighters take advantage of rain to secure lines

(31) Bushfire chief Christine Nixon says she 'didn't do enough to prepare'

(32) Burbank firefighters use hacksaw to free 3-year-old's head stuck in toilet seat