WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 042711

First up in wildfire news today, I happened to be outside yesterday when the Martin Mars flew over on its way to Lake Elsinore, California. Owner and Wildfire NOTD subscriber Wayne Coulson, CEO of Coulson Flying Tankers, sent along the following missive:

This is going to be fun..we depart Elsinore at 8 and will land at Amistad water reservoir around noon...refuel and off we go [to fight fires in Mexico]. I will drop you notes to keep you updated as I depart for Texas in the morning. Cheers, Wayne.

Elsewhere in the news, Congressman Adam Schiff has put together a meeting in Altadena, California, to discuss changes implemented by US Forest Service in the wake of the 2009 Station Fire, which devastated the area (1); but there's a bit of a controversy brewing over violent inmates being allowed to serve in that state's firefighting work camps (2). Nevada Division of Forestry has sent firefighters to help battle wildfires raging across Texas (3); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Dan Ware, Fire Information Officer for New Mexico State Forestry, brings us up to date on the wildfire situation in that state in the next article (4); where firefighters pounced on a 36-acre wildfire burning outside of Carlsbad yesterday morning (5). A video segment from Idaho details the impending arrival of C-130s for MAFFS training at Twin Falls airport early next month (6). A summary of wildfire activity across Texas is provided by the next article (7); where two homes were destroyed and hundreds of residents evacuated as wildfires encroached on a community south of Odessa (8); followed by a story about the impact of the Texas wildfires on state resources (9). Arcing powerlines have been determined as the cause of Texas' 126,000-acre Possum Kingdom Fire (10); but with an eye towards using volunteer fire grants to their best effect, Texas Forest Service has opted to give out grants based on the relative risk of wildfires and property damage in the future (11); the next article illustrating the plight of those volunteers, who struggle to balance their day jobs against the rigors of battling the state's massive wildfires (12). Firefighters from Pennsylvania's Department of Conservation of Natural Resources' Bureau of Forestry battled a wildfire that burned outside of Wright Township Tuesday (13). A summary of wildfire activity in Florida is provided by the next item (14); where police in St. Lucie County are cracking down on motorists who toss cigarette butts into the tinder-dry vegetation (15); and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is putting serious restrictions on visitors to South Florida due to the wildfire danger (16). Heading to Canada, Edmonton, Alberta, firefighters are on the alert for wildfires after two were sparked on the outskirts of the city (17); even as Saskatchewan's Provincial Wildfire Management Centre is preparing for what could be a busy fire season (18). A new report by the WWF contains a striking warning about the danger wildfires pose towards the world's forests: we could lose 230 million hectares of forest by 2050! (19) A wildfire has been reported burning near a hotel in the Caribbean's Cayman Islands (20); and a prolific wildfire arsonist set 100 gorse fires in Northern Ireland (21). A wildfire burned 2,471 acres along the German-Belgian border near Aachen, the largest reported in the area for six decades (22); while over 300 firefighters, supplemented by soldiers from the Swiss Army, are battling a massive wildfire near the Matterhorn, as Switzerland experiences its worst drought in 150 years (23). Two articles from the African nation of Gambia show their focus on reducing bushfires (24)(25). In Australia, the Fire Services Commissioner's office expects to implement a Bushfire Safety Policy Framework before the next fire season commences in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges (26); this at a time when hundreds of respondents were surveyed over the effectiveness of new policies implemented since the Black Saturday bushfires two years ago (27). Despite its early reluctance to do so, it appears that the Victoria government is now considering buying back properties located in high-risk bushfire areas (28); but ratepayers may be forced to foot some of Nillumbik Shire's bushfire budget (29). Dozens of households in Jalbarragup, Western Australia, will participate in a bushfire alert system trial (30); while women in New South Wales' Bega Valley were provided with pointers on alerting authorities to bushfires (31). And finally, in the new Russia, the Prime Minister doesn't exile ineffective officials to Siberia or put them before the firing squad, he consigns them to the fireline!

(1) Station Fire update Thursday at Altadena Library

(2) Violent inmates work in California's firefighting camps

(3) Nevada Division of Forestry Sends Help to Fight Fires in Texas

(4) Firefighters quell multiple wildfires

(5) Firefighters' fast response prevents possible disaster Tuesday

(6) Expect to see large planes around Twin Falls airport

(7) Texas Forest Service: Wildfire Update Wednesday

(8) West Texas community evacuated in face of wildfire

(9) Fire effect on natural resources in the Big Country

(10) Cause Determined in Possum Kingdom Fire

(11) Wildfire risk to be considered in funding of grants

(12) Texas wildfires tough on volunteers

(13) Wildfire chases Wright Twp. residents

(14) Firefighters tackle six area blazes

(15) Butt-flicking motorists beware: Tickets issued to stop wildfires, litter

(16) Drought, wildfire concerns prompt new limits on recreational use of public land

(17) Dry weather sparks wildfire worries across city

(18) Gearing Up for Forest Fire Season

(19) World burning through forests

(20) Bush fire behind old Marriott

(21) NI gorse fires: 60 fire crew fought Glenshane blaze

(22) Firefighters quench huge forest blaze near Aachen

(23) Forest fire spreads across Switzerland

(24) Forestry director opens training on school tree nursing competition

(25) Community undergoes sensitization on anti-bush fire campaign

(26) Bushfire plan for the Dandenongs

(27) Residents quizzed about post-Black Saturday measures

(28) Government set to buy high fire-risk properties

(29) Nillumbik ratepayers may be asked to fuel council’s bushfire budget

(30) Fire warning trial

(31) Fire awareness for women

(32) Medvedev to send officials to wildfires frontline