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.

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 083111

Like a harbinger of Southern California's fast-approaching fall fire season, a pair of CL-415 Super Scoopers has arrived at Van Nuys Airport (1); after a stopover in Liberal, Kansas (2); and they could hardly have arrived at a better time, since US Forest Service will be raising the fire danger level in the Angeles National Forest to "very high" tomorrow (3); and the fire danger is being raised in the San Bernardino National Forest as well (4). A 223-acre wildfire burning in northeastern San Diego County is expected to be contained today (5); while several spot fires were reported near the town of Alpine along Interstate 8 yesterday (6); but a wildfire in Kern County which burned 80 acres over the weekend has now been contained (7); and the 5,200-acre Motor Fire burning in Stanislaus National Forest is now 80% contained (8); nevertheless, U.S. Forest Service officials cautioned residents of the Lake Tahoe Basin not to grow complacent about the danger from wildfires even though the season is almost over (9). A striking photo of the DC-10 in action over a wildfire burning on Oregon's Warm Springs Reservation underscores the danger from ongoing wildfires (10); where smoke from the abundance of wildfires in Central Oregon caused the Department of Environmental Quality to issue warnings for people with respiratory problems (11); all of which has prompted officials to warn residents to check on the wildfire situation before planning trips for the Labor Day weekend (12). A 1,600-acre wildfire burning in Washington's Okanogan County is 0% contained (13); and three lightning-sparked wildfires were reported in Arizona's Tonto National Forest (14). Firefighters are getting the upper hand on a score of small wildfires burning in Idaho's Boise National Forest (15); while aircraft pummeled a wildfire burning in Washington County, Utah (16). A 600-acre wildfire on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, forced the evacuation of 2 mi.² of residential area (17); and destroyed a church (18). A 7,500-acre wildfire burning near Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, destroyed 25 homes and has forced the evacuation of 125 more (19); but help is pouring in from across the US to help battle East Texas wildfires (20). Rough terrain and lots of dead trees continue to make firefighting in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest a tough undertaking for firefighters (21); but officials expected cool, wet weather to assist them in putting out some of those wildfires (22); however, a wildfire that was sparked by lightning west of Billings yesterday has churned through 2,456 acres so far (23). A 130-acre wildfire was sparked in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness by lightning strikes (24); while firefighters battling swamp fires outside of New Orleans, Louisiana, have the smaller 20-acre blaze under control, but the larger 2,300-acre wildfire continues to burn, filling the city's air with smoke (25). Congressional Fire Services Institute sent along an update on FEMA's Assistance To Firefighters Grants program, which has been extended to 9/16 due to Hurricane Irene impacting communications on the East Coast (26). Fire officials in South Carolina stated that they needed at least $13 million to be prepared to fight wildfires (27); and Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources reported that the number of wildfires burning in that Canadian province has dropped to only 42 (28). Although it was originally determined that a wildfire which burned through the UK's Swinley Forest would require 2,500 acres to be replanted, revised estimates put the total at only 220 acres (29); while in the Balkans, wildfires were reported in Greece, Macedonia, Albania, and Serbia (30). A 20 ha wildfire burning in southwest China's Yongchuan District was being fought by 2,400 firefighters, plus a helicopter (31). Heading to Australia, residents of the Victorian communities of Ferntree Gully and Upper Ferntree Gully will get a chance to discuss the bushfire danger in their area (32); but the case of a $100,000 fraud against Victoria's Black Saturday Bushfire Appeal Fund is the topic of the next article (33). Queensland Fire and Rescue Service has unveiled a new GIS mapping system which they hope will help them during bushfire season (34). And finally, we close today with a five-year-old mystery: where is a Canadian fire spotter?

(1) Super Scoopers Arrive at Van Nuys Airport

(2) Water bombers land in drought-stricken Liberal

(3) Angeles National Forest fire-danger level rising to very high

(4) Fire Dangers in San Bernardino Nat'l Forest: 1,000+ Sq. Miles in 2 Counties

(5) San Diego County wildfire 80 percent contained

(6) Spot fires burn 10 acres along I-8 in Alpine

(7) Fully contained Canebrake fire chars 80 acres

(8) Fire near Yosemite now 80 percent contained

(9) Slow start to fire season doesn't guarantee slow end, officials say

(10) Fires on Warm Springs reservation threaten homes

(11) DEQ Encourages Precautions Against Wildfire Smoke

(12) Check wild fire conditions before hitting the road over Labor Day

(13) Wildfire near Omak grows to 1,600 acres, 0% contained

(14) Lightning Sparks 3 Fires in Tonto National Forest

(15) Wildland fire crews make good progress on 20 small blazes in Boise National Forest

(16) Crews attempting to get on the ground to fight Leap Fire on Black Ridge

(17) Wildfire forces evacuations in Oklahoma City

(18) Northeast OKC Wildfire Destroys Church

(19) Fast-growing Texas wildfire scorches homes, prompts evacuations

(20) Rash of East Texas wildfires bring national crews

(21) Bitterroot National Forest fires remain active

(22) West Riverside fire: Crews hope cool, wet weather aids efforts

(23) Type 2 team arrives to manage fire west of Billings

(24) Crews monitoring 130-acre forest fire near Ely, Minn.

(25) Smaller of two wildfires likely under control, say NOFD

(26) The Assistance To Firefighters Grant Program Has Been Extended

(27) S.C. Not Prepared For Serious Wildfires

(28) Number of fires dwindles

(29) Swinley Forest needs less re-planting than feared after fire

(30) EFFIS - Current Situation

(31) 2,400 firefighters battling forest fire in SW China

(32) Ferntree Gully bushfire protection

(33) Bushfire fraud claim

(34) Flood Technology New Weapon Against Bushfire Season

(35) Where is Alberta forest fire spotter Stephanie Stewart?

Labels: , , , , , ,

 
www.hypersmash.com