Firebomber Publications Blog

Wildfire News Of The Day (the Firebomber Publications blog) provides comprehensive international wildfire news. Subscribers include over 10,000 personnel from fire agencies, contractors, and government entities on five continents. "BEST NEWSLETTER I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY 32 YEARS IN THE FIRE SERVICE" - San Diego Fire Department Chief Brian Fennessy.

Thursday, May 12, 2011

WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 051211

The impact of wildfires on native vegetation in Southern California's Santa Monica Mountains is examined in our first article today (1); and as Los Angeles attempts to save $190 million, up to 300 firefighters will be unavailable to fight the inevitable wildfires of the future (2); but California Department of Corrections and CAL FIRE once again teamed up to provide inmate firefighting crews to help battle wildfires throughout the state (3). Salvage logging within Oregon's Willamette National Forest will harvest trees burned in a 2009 wildfire (4); while parts of Nevada are going to be increasing fire restrictions beginning this weekend due to the wildfire danger (5). Ominous predictions of a bad wildfire season in the Southwest seem to be coming true, as an article from Arizona summarizes wildfires across that region (6); this after 460 wildfires have burned 55,000 acres in that state, prompting all six of its national forests to put fire restrictions in place (7); and a summary of wildfire activity in New Mexico is up next (8). Firefighters are hopeful that occasional rainstorms in West Texas will help rope in wildfires that have burned there for weeks (9); followed by an update on two wildfires burning in Brewster County in the next item (10); and a 50-acre wildfire briefly threatened homes in Colorado County yesterday (11); but the National Weather Service predicted high-impact fire weather over the Texas Panhandle today (12). The toll of the Texas wildfires on state parks, including park employees' homes that were destroyed, is provided in the next article (13); even as the Texas governor went on the radio to complain about the lack of federal support to help pay for wildfire costs in the Lone Star State (14). A SEAT pilot was killed when his Single-Engine Air Tanker crashed near Miles City, Montana (15); while firefighters battling the 96,500-acre wildfire burning in Georgia's Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge are regarding some new fire starts far from the main blaze as arson wildfires (16); and Florida's Agriculture Commissioner received an update on over 100 wildfires burning across Florida (17). Canadian air-tankers and firefighters on the ground grappled with a 475 ha wildfire burning outside of Edmonton, Alberta (18); but a small wildfire by Lake Muskoka, Ontario, was quickly squelched by Canadian firefighters (19). Israel's new wildfire-fighting air force, consisting of seven SEATs, has become operational at Sde Dov Airbase (20). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Chuck Bushey, President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along a link to news and information from their South African wildfire conference (21); where the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation spoke about the danger of increased forest fires across the globe contributing to climate change, their report based on information from wildfires in the US, Australia, Brazil, Indonesia, Russia, Botswana, Israel and Greece (22). The ever-innovative Chinese are deploying a high-tech wildfire detection system in Hong Kong’s Tai Lam Country Park (23); while Victoria, Australia's, controversial property buyback program has received only $5 million with which to buy property at risk from bushfires (24). And finally, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has a bit of egg on its face after starting a wildfire in the Texas Panhandle during an exercise!

(1) Too many wildfires can change the mountains' ecosystem

(2) L.A. Firefighters Union Threatens: People Will Die if Mayor Cuts Firefighting Budget

(3) SCC inmates train for firefighting

(4) Salvage logging proposed for forest’s roadside strips

(5) Fire Restrictions Start Saturday

(6) Wildfire predictions proving all too accurate

(7) Nearly all Arizona forests under fire restrictions

(8) Battle against forest fires continues

(9) WINDMILL COUNTRY: Moisture shows it could still rain

(10) Hwy. 90 closed east of Marathon as 2 wildfires continue to burn

(11) Grass fire threatens homes near Columbus

(12) Critical Wildfire Conditions Expected Today in Texas Panhandle

(13) State parks wildfire damage tallied

(14) Gov. Rick Perry Goes on the Radio

(15) Stanford man killed in plane crash near Miles City

(16) Okefenokee firefighters now confront arson near Folkston

(17) Agriculture Commissioner Putnam Tours South Florida Wildfires and Western Everglades

(18) Wildfire near Whitecourt grows overnight

(19) Bush fire near Parker’s Point

(20) Aerial firefighting squadron becomes operational

(21) Wildfire 2011 Conference in Sun City, S. Africa

(22) Forest fires contributing to climate change

(23) Only YOU, Or A Wireless Network And Sensors, Can Prevent Forest Fires

(24) Have Your Say: Do You Support the Fire Resettlement Policy?

(25) UPDATE: ATF official rethinking exercise after sparking wildfire

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