WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 101711

We lead off today with a reporter's reflections on what people save from wildfires when forced to evacuate (1). As fire season in Southern California reaches its peak, the Inland Empire's Hemet-Ryan Airport is readying its Air Attack Base (2); followed by some first-person accounts of the devastating Oakland Hills fire as its 20th anniversary approaches (3); while the brother of a firefighter who lost his life in California's Shasta-Trinity National Forest is fighting to reform medical care at wildland fires (4). Officials in Eastern Washington state marked a grim 10-year anniversary, when nearly 100 wildfires devastated the region (5); but following Arizona's massive Wallow Fire, a U.S. Forest Service expert on wildfire rehabilitation has been busy preparing for floods (6). Although a cold front which arrives in San Antonio, Texas, on Tuesday should lower temperatures, fire officials are worried about the winds which will accompany it (7); and the wildfires that raged through Bastrop County provided valuable lessons to attendees at the 14th annual Capital Area Interagency Wildfire Academy on Saturday (8); while organizers of a large garage sale in Austin hoped to raise $10,000 for wildfire victims (9); and George Strait, Willie Nelson and the Dixie Chicks will be among the celebrities raising money for wildfire survivors at the Central Texas Wildfire Benefit Concert (10). As the 145 mi.² wildfire burning in Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness reached 91% containment, suppression costs reached $21 million (11); but with October and November being the driest months in the state, officials from the Tennessee Division of Forestry are recommending burn permits for any outdoor fires (12); while firefighters from the North Carolina Forest Service assisted local departments in battling a blaze in Buncombe County over the weekend (13). Despite the fact that the Alberta, Canada, government has spent $300 million battling the pine mountain beetle invasion, trees across the province continue to die in record numbers (14). Russia's Emergency Situations Minister signed accords with Serbia to better facilitate wildfire-fighting efforts in the future (15). Heading to Australia, one man had to be treated for injuries as bushfires in southwest Queensland scorched 600,000 ha (16); even as more crews arrived to help with the battle (17). A 350-hectare bushfire north of Perth, Western Australia, threatened numerous structures (18); and some arson bushfires were not helping the situation around Yanchep and Gingin (19). Bushfires raged in the Northern Territory (20); where an arson-sparked bushfire caused a delay in the 2011 World Solar Challenge by blocking the road (21). And finally, firefighters at Georgia's Athens-Clarke Fire Station No. 2 have nearly finished restoring their pride and joy: a fire truck that hails from 1924!

(1) What we take and leave when wildfire comes

(2) HEMET: Air Attack base readies for fire season

(3) Voices from Oakland Hills Fire

(4) Lack of medical care on the firelines endangers firefighters

(5) '91 firestorm seared into area's memory

(6) Wallow Fire out, but flooding and erosion dangers remain

(7) Chilly, windy weather ahead

(8) Bastrop wildfires serve as backdrop for firefighter academy

(9) Shoppers helping wildfire victims

(10) Willie Nelson Headlines Central Texas Wildfire Benefit Concert

(11) Costs of fighting BWCA forest fire reach $21M

(12) Outdoor burn permits required in TN

(13) Buncombe forest fire prompts wide response

(14) Stakes in beetle invasion are enormous

(15) Russian emergency situations minister in Serbia

(16) Man injured as bushfires rage in south-west Queensland

(17) More crews battle western Qld bushfires

(18) Bushfire danger eases in WA

(19) Bushfire warnings for Yanchep, Gingin

(20) Bushfires raging in Red Centre

(21) Bushfires stop world solar car race

(22) Firefighters putting finishing touches on vintage truck