WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 082211

Firefighters battled a three-acre wildfire in Marin County, California, on Saturday (1); and CAL FIRE firefighters responded to three small wildfires reported near Chico, as well (2). Firefighters battled a pair of wildfires on Oregon's Warm Springs Indian Reservation over the weekend (3); while firefighters credited favorable weather with helping them knock down a 10-acre wildfire burning near Cave Junction (4). A passing train apparently sparked a one-acre wildfire that burned outside of Bellingham, Washington (5); a 400-acre wildfire being reported in Grant County near Grand Coulee Dam, yesterday (6); and more could be in the offing, as dry, windy conditions have increased the wildfire danger in Eastern Washington state (7). A wildfire near Gardnerville, Nevada, that has cost $2.2 million to suppress is nearly contained (8). Firefighters planned to conduct controlled burns on 824 acres near Arizona's Mormon Lake today (9); the next article taking a look at the rapid regrowth of vegetation in the Pena Blanca Lake region of Southern Arizona following wildfires (10). New Mexico's Santa Clara Pueblo, which lost 17,000 acres to the Las Conchas Fire, is struggling to recover (11). Lightning storms were blamed for two dozen wildfires sparked in northwest Colorado (12); while a new study from University of Colorado, Boulder, postulates that wildfires in southern South America will worsen in the coming decades (13). The Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center reported wildfires near Pocatello and American Falls (14); where lightning apparently sparked five wildfires in the Snake River Plain (15); another 300-acre wildfire being reported near Emmett (16). Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands reported 22 lightning-sparked wildfires in Box Elder County (17). A suspicious wildfire that burned 25 acres, destroying six homes in Harris County, Texas, on Saturday is under investigation (18); and another fire outside of Wichita Falls threatened 100 homes (19). Red Flag warnings had been issued for Central Montana through Tuesday evening (20). Firefighters from several agencies battled a pair of wildfires burning in South Dakota's Black Hills (21); while the battle against mountain pine beetles has intensified as they have moved farther north, infesting 400,000 acres of the Black Hills National Forest (22). On the technology front, an inventor from Ohio has unveiled the HydroGel Sprayer, which can be used to apply gels such as Barricade to homes threatened by wildfires (23). Firefighters battled a wildfire outside of Shreveport, Louisiana (24); and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided an update on the wildfire burning in Virginia's Great Dismal Swamp Wildlife Refuge in the next item (25). As temperatures rise in British Columbia, Canada, this week, Wildfire Management Branch officials are warning campers of the wildfire risk (26). In the Mediterranean Basin, wildfires were reported in Spain, Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Macedonia, Albania, and Romania, as well as the North African nations of Algeria and Morocco (27); more details on the fires in Macedonia are provided by the next article (28); followed by one about a Greek fire chief who was killed battling a blaze in the southern Peloponnese (29); and favorable winds prevented a 6 ha wildfire burning in Turkey's Muğla Province from reaching a nearby ammo dump (30). Firefighters in Russia extinguished the last two wildfires burning in the Far East (31); but China's Vice Premier has called for increased efforts to reduce the chance of wildfires in southern China as a heat wave bakes the provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou (32). In Australia, thirty-three people were recognized for their heroic acts during Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires (33); including a Department of Sustainability and Environment ranger who saved nearly a score of campers (34); but Victoria's government plans to conduct a media blitz during November to counter perceived apathy towards bushfires in that state (35). Several bushfires that have burned 97,000 ha in Western Australia are still burning two weeks later (36). And finally, firefighters in Waterbury, Connecticut, discovered a new hazard when responding to an incident: a plague of fleas!

(1) Fairfax fire sends smoke over Marin County

(2) Largest of three fires along Highway 32 burns two acres

(3) New Wildfire Breaks Out North of Burns

(4) Wildfire sparks near Cave Junction

(5) Wildfire disrupts train traffic, forces Chuckanut detour

(6) 400-acre fire threatens homes near Grand Coulee

(7) Dry winds raise wildfire danger in E. Washington

(8) Cost of fighting Gardnerville-area wildfire put at almost $2.2 million; containment near

(9) Prescribed burn near Mormon Lake today

(10) S. Ariz. land bounces back after scorching

(11) Santa Clara Pueblo works to recover from fire

(12) Northwest Colorado fire officials busy over weekend

(13) Southern South American wildfires expected to increase, says CU-Boulder study

(14) Wildfires burn near Pocatello, American Falls

(15) Fire Crews Working Five Fires

(16) BLM contains 300-acre fire near Emmett

(17) Lightning sparks 22 fires in Box Elder County

(18) Suspicious wildfire under investigation

(19) Wildfire strikes Tanglewood

(20) Red Flag Warning now in effect until Tuesday evening

(21) Firefighters respond to new blazes in Southern Hills

(22) Beetle battle moves north

(23) Pataskala man hoping creation will help save areas from wildfire

(24) Shreveport Firefighters battle another grass fire

(25) Update: Great Dismal Swamp wildfire

(26) Campfires cause wildfire risk

(27) EFFIS - Current Situation

(28) Forest Fire Localized near Border with Macedonia

(29) Greek forest fire kills local firefighting chief

(30) Forest fire destroys six hectares of land in Datça

(31) Firefighters put out all forest fires in Russia's Far East

(32) Vice premier calls for intensified efforts in fighting forest fires

(33) Victorians recognised for bushfire bravery

(34) Ranger's cool work saved 19 in bushfire

(35) Ad campaign aimed at bushfire apathy

(36) Broome bushfires raging into third week

(37) Firefighters Attacked by Fleas in Waterbury