WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 081211

In Southern California, Santa Barbara County Fire Department battled an 80-acre wildfire near New Cuyama (1); while air-tankers helped slow down a 100-acre wildfire burning in Yuba County (2); and CAL FIRE firefighters battled a 10-acre wildfire in Clearlake Park (3). A 65-acre wildfire was 90% contained in Sun Valley, Nevada (4); while the Baton Rouge Complex has burned 22,000 acres near Roswell, New Mexico, and probably will not be contained until some time next week (5). A wildfire burning in Western Colorado's Little Bookcliffs Wilderness Study Area has reached 900 acres in size (6); the Boise Interagency Dispatch Center sent crews to deal with a 120-acre wildfire burning along Idaho's Highway 21 (7); and U.S. Forest Service firefighters are battling a 300-acre wildfire burning near Scipio, Utah (8). Firefighters in Green County, Oklahoma, were thankful for rain after a busy few weeks fighting wildfires (9); that story followed by an update on wildfire activity in Texas, where 248 of the 254 counties are still under a burn ban, as provided by a dispatch from the Texas Forest Service (10). A 9,000-acre wildfire burning in Wyoming's Shoshone National Forest has gotten a new lease on life (11); while firefighters in Montana continued to battle several new wildfires that cropped up in the Bitterroot National Forest (12). One firefighter was killed and two were badly burned in South Dakota when their fire engine was caught in a burnover (13); and a convicted arsonist was charged with lighting a debris burn which became a forest fire in Clark County, Wisconsin, in 2008 (14). The 5,700-acre wildfire burning in Virginia's Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge has earned the dubious distinction of the largest in that refuge's history (15); but crews from West Virginia are helping battle the blaze (16); and other help is arriving from across the country, including a K-MAX Aerial Lift Truck helicopter from Las Vegas, Nevada (17). Although a thunderstorm that rolled through Okanagan, British Columbia, sparked about eight wildfires, rain following the lightning strikes in that Canadian province extinguished the bulk of them (18); where the community of Maple Ridge has launched a new Forest Fire Danger website (19). Business owners who suffered losses from the massive wildfire that destroyed parts of Slave Lake, Alberta, will be eligible for up to $130,000 to help them rebuild (20); but firefighters in Labrador and Newfoundland remarked on a quiet fire season, in which they fought only 42 wildfires, as opposed to the usual average of 110 (21). In the Mediterranean Basin, numerous wildfires were reported in Albania, as well as several others in Portugal, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, and Algeria in North Africa (22). Firefighters in Israel grappled with a large wildfire burning along the shores of the Sea of Galilee (23); while Turkey has amassed a large firefighting force on the Syrian border to deal with a blaze that could cross into their territory soon (24). As the bushfire danger in Queensland, Australia, escalates, Lockyer Valley Regional Council was clearing off fire access trails and urging homeowners to prepare for the inevitable bushfires to come (25). And finally, firefighters in Queensland, used to putting out fires in weeds, noticed a peculiar smell coming from some vegetation that had been set on fire, and discovered it was a pot farm!

(1) Brush fire near New Cuyama burns 80 acres

(2) 100-Acre Fire Erupts In Smartville

(3) Thursday fire burns several homes in Clearlake Park

(4) Chocolate Fire near Sun Valley is 90 percent contained this morning

(5) Wildfires burn rangeland near Roswell

(6) Western Colorado wildfire grows as winds shift

(7) Grass fire burning along Highway 21 contained

(8) Crews battling 300-acre fire near Scipio

(9) Storms and wildfires hard on agencies budgets

(10) Texas Forest Service Update: Wildfire In Mitchell County Burns 1,800 Acres

(11) Forest fire re-fuels

(12) Firefighters battle 6 new wildfires on Bitterroot National Forest

(13) 1 killed, 2 injured battling forest fire

(14) Man charged with starting forest fire

(15) Wildfire in Dismal Swamp now largest in refuge's history

(16) W.Va. crew helping to fight Va. forest fire

(17) Wildfire crews get help from the air

(18) No significant blazes from lightning storm

(19) Check out forest fire threat online

(20) Slave Lake small businesses to get help from Alberta government

(21) Firefighters enjoying lousy weather

(22) EFFIS - Current Situation

(23) Firefighters contain Upper Galilee blaze

(24) Syria fails to suppress forest fire at Turkish border

(25) Council urges bushfire caution

(26) Man charged over bushfire drug bust