WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 072811

The DC-10 assisted more than 2,000 firefighters battling the 13,900-acre Eagle Fire burning on the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation in Southern California's San Diego County (1); and nearby Ramona Air Attack Base contributed seven air-tankers and 20 helicopters to the effort (2); even as arson investigators determined that the wildfire was deliberately set (3); while the next article provides a handy interactive map which allows the user to review wildfires that have burned in California as far back as the 1950s (4); but a 36-acre wildfire outside of Milpitas may have been sparked by county grass cutters (5); and a new report published through the California Department of Energy's Climate Change Center projects worsening wildfires in communities around Yosemite National Park (6); while the wildfire burning in Sequoia National Forest has topped 14,000 acres (7); US Forest Service firefighters taking advantage of a smaller 25-acre wildfire burning amongst giant Sequoias to educate the public on the value of wildfires ecologically (8). An update on wildfires burning in Coconino National Forest is provided by US Forest Service from Arizona (9); where portions of the Coronado National Forest have reopened to visitors (10); and efforts by US Forest Service to protect an owl's habitat from wildfires in that state are showcased in the next item (11); but the Bureau of Indian Affairs reported that a member of the Fort Apache Hotshots passed away while battling a blaze on Reservation property (12). New Mexico's Carson National Forest decided to downgrade fire restrictions after more rain was forecast (13). Wildfire activity in Idaho is the topic of the next item (14); where a court ruling has allowed grazing to cut the wildfire threat in the Jarbidge Resource Area to resume despite protests of environmentalists from the Western Watersheds Project (15). Authorities have arrested three people in regards to a 40-acre wildfire that burned in Farmington Canyon, Utah (16). Nearly 400 children were evacuated from church camps in Kiowa County, Oklahoma, due to wildfires (17); while the United States Department of Agriculture issued a disaster declaration for 74 of that state's 77 counties due to conditions brought on by drought and wildfires, making them eligible for grants from the Farm Service Agency (18). A 340-acre wildfire was reported outside of Austin, Texas (19); but in another testament to keeping one's eyes open, an alert firefighter driving home after work spotted a 23-acre wildfire outside of Houston which had gone undetected until then (20). Additional closures were announced for Montana's Helena National Forest, where a 32-acre wildfire is burning (21). Although the 31,000-acre wildfire burning in Pender County, North Carolina, is now 85% contained, firefighters are hoping for rain instead of continued heat (22); but a new study published in the journal Nature discusses how a single Alaskan wildfire threw more than 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in 2007 (23). NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer satellite provides a striking image of the smoke pouring across the border into the US from Canada's wildfires in the next article (24); but although 15 heavy bombers, four light bombers, and 97 helicopters continued to pound 114 wildfires burning in Ontario, 400 evacuees will be allowed to return home (25). In Southern Europe, wildfires continued to burn in Portugal, Italy, Albania, Macedonia, Bosnia, and Montenegro (26); while in Russia, 4,000 firefighters are battling 220 wildfires that have already scorched 18,000 ha (27); the following article providing some insight on the danger to villages near the Ural Mountains (28). A special ceremony was held to thank the Arab staff at Israel's Yad Vashem Museum for their help in battling the recent Jerusalem Forest wildfire (29). A 130 ha bushfire was reported in New Zealand's Waimakariri Gorge (30). Heading to Australia, former Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon's critics are striking back at her performance during the Black Saturday bushfires (31); with Black Saturday bushfire survivors suggesting she might want to donate profits from her book sales to a bushfire victims fund (32). A man whose actions caused a bushfire in South Australia's Adelaide Hills has pleaded guilty (33); while firefighters from New South Wales' Rural Fire Service battled a 13 ha wildfire as the official start of the bushfire season drew closer (34). And finally, firefighters had an unusual rescue to perform during a mobile home fire in Idaho: a pet alligator!

(1) Eagle Fire worries Borrego Springs residents

(2) Eagle fire keeps Ramona Airport busy

(3) Eagle Fire Considered Arson

(4) Interactive map: A history of wildfires in California

(5) Fire in the Hills Burns 36 Acres

(6) Global warming will provide the recipe for more wildfires, study says

(7) Sequoia National Forest fire consumes 14,000 acres

(8) Small blaze burns among giants

(9) Forest Service gives updates on fires

(10) Coronado National Forest fire restrictions lifted

(11) Forest Service Plan hopes to protect owl, forest from fire

(12) Arizona wildland firefighter found dead

(13) Carson Forest to place all districts under Stage 1 restrictions

(14) Warm Weather Prompting Magic Valley Wildfires

(15) Court Orders Grazing to Continue in the Jarbidge Resource Area

(16) Three arrested in Farmington wildfire

(17) Wildfire Forces Church Camp Evacuations

(18) Move to help those hit by drought

(19) Wildfire Burns in Belvedere Subdivision in West Travis County

(20) Firefighter spots wildfire on drive home

(21) Avalanche wildfire burning slowly

(22) Mother Nature turns up heat on Pender Co. wildfire

(23) Arctic Wildfires May Pose Threat to Global Climate

(24) NASA Measures Wildfire Pollution Pour Over Niagara Falls

(25) 400 Ontario forest fire evacuees can return home

(26) EFFIS - Current Situation

(27) Russia battles forest fires amid heatwave

(28) Forest fires swept the Urals: in danger of settlements

(29) Yad Vashem praises Arab staff for fighting Jerusalem Forest fire

(30) Firefighters monitor Canterbury scrub fire

(31) Police association secretary slams Nixon biography as 'inaccuracies and lies'

(32) Black Saturday victims want Christine Nixon to share proceeds from Fair Cop

(33) Hills fire accused pleads guilty

(34) New England bushfire season to start

(35) Lewiston firefighters rescue alligator from burning home