WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 040811

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Dan Ware, Fire Information Officer for New Mexico State Forestry, provides an update on wildfires in that state in our first article today (1); but although Colorado's Crystal Fire is only 50% contained after burning 3,200 acres, firefighters are confident they will have it fully contained tomorrow (2); after the home of a Rocky Mountain National Park firefighter had a close encounter with the blaze (3). The next item provides some video footage and information on Oklahoma's four Blackhawk helicopters currently battling wildfires (4); said helicopters seeing some action in Oklahoma County (5); and outside of Oklahoma City, where wildfires continue to burn (6); and where firefighters were able to save a brand-new home (7); but as the National Weather Service extended their wildfire weather warning for 20 western counties, it's likely that firefighters will see more activity over the next few days (8). Texas Forest Service wildfire air operations are given a closer look in the next article (9); where authorities at Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands are clamping fire restrictions on the area in response to the extreme wildfire danger (10); and a wildfire in Stonewall County is 0% contained after burning over 50,000 acres (11); while research done in South Carolina by the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety Research Center to reduce the damage done to homes by embers from wildfires is being scrutinized by homeowners and fire authorities in Texas (12). Wisconsin's Department of Natural Resources is reminding homeowners to be cautious when using fire outdoors as the spring fire season arrives (13); and the International Association of Fire Chiefs has been beta testing the 'Ready! Set! Go!' wildfire public information service at several sites around the country, including one administered by the New Jersey State Forest Fire Service in Barnegat (14). A wildfire that burned 1,200 acres in South Carolina last month destroyed $750,000 worth of timber, according to a new estimate (15); while British Columbia's Forest Minister announced that $25 million will be spent over the next two years to improve wildfire protection in that Canadian province (16). Portugal will be investing €30 million to fund the State Secretary for Forests' efforts to reduce the incidence of wildfires in that nation (17); but with some cantons receiving less than 20% of normal rainfall, Switzerland's Environment Office has banned outdoor fires in the southern part of the country (18); and a wildfire near the Bulgarian capital of Sofia burned 1,000 acres of forest land, another blaze ravaging a farm in the village of Ryahovtsite (19). As bushfires impact cockatoo habitats, volunteers are fanning out across Victoria and South Australia to try to assess the damage (20); while homeowners in Campbelltown, New South Wales, are receiving bushfire emergency kits so that they're prepared for the next blaze (21); and a NSW firefighter shared his experiences battling wildfires in Botswana, Africa (22). Officials in Western Australia are conducting an experiment in which power poles are painted with retardant to reduce the chance of catching fire during a bushfire (23); while the virtues and vices of controlled burns in Tasmania are touched upon in the next article (24). And finally, in our third cat story of the week, firefighters in Nanjing, China, spent 12 hours trying to get a kitty out of a cash machine at a bank!

(1) Crews getting wildfires in NM under control

(2) Firefighters hope to have Crystal Fire contained by Saturday

(3) Crystal fire put house of RMNP firefighter in jeopardy

(4) Who Activates National Guard Helicopters For Oklahoma Wildfires?

(5) Wildfires Flare Up In Oklahoma County

(6) Wildfire flare-ups keep Oklahoma City firefighters busy

(7) Firefighters save brand new home from flames

(8) NWS extends fire weather watch for western Okla.

(9) See How The Texas Forest Service Fights Fires From The Air

(10) U.S. Forest Service issues fire restrictions on LBJ Grasslands

(11) Texas Forest Service: Stonewall County Fire Has Surpassed 50,000 Acres

(12) Innovative wildfire research could prove invaluable during drought

(13) Fire danger expected to flare up in coming days in Stevens Point area

(14) Protecting the Public From Wildfire at Home and Around the Country

(15) Wildfire destroys $750,000 in timber

(16) Province allocates millions to enhance wildfire protection

(17) Forest fire prevention is still “top priority” - Government

(18) Drought leads to fire bans

(19) Fire destroys 100 decares of forest close to Sofia

(20) Volunteers sought for cockatoo count

(21) Emergency kits distributed to Campbelltown bush suburbs

(22) Hornsby firefighter battles African blaze 30 times larger than our 1994 bushfires

(23) Offenders to fireproof power poles

(24) Autumn forest smoke fires up discussion

(25) Firemen in China spend 12 hours rescuing cat from cash machine