WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111211

As the peak wildfire season in California comes to an end, CALFIRE officials reflected on the fifth quietest fire season in 40 years (1); while the Fire Safe Council of Nevada County, which helps clear vegetation and educate homeowners on the wildfire danger in Central California, has elected some new board members (2). Arizona's Veterans Fire Corps is putting military veterans to work conducting prescribed burns and brush thinning in the Prescott and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests (3). An Alaskan storm that blew into the lower 48 raised the wildfire danger in Eastern New Mexico, along with parts of Texas and Oklahoma (4); and with three wildfires already reported on the outskirts of Boulder, Colorado, those high winds, which are predicted until Sunday afternoon, have prompted authorities to issue a burn ban for the area (5). A 2,000-acre wildfire was reported in Hidalgo County, Texas (6); but as winds and low humidity descend on Abilene, a Fire Weather Watch has been issued (7); the importance of AmeriCorps organizing volunteers to help with the Bastrop County cleanup being examined by the next article (8); even as Austin's Community Renaissance Market collects donations for Bastrop County wildfire survivors at their fifth annual Harvest Mandala Thanks Giving event (9). Improving conditions may allow Illinois' Kane County Forest Preserve District to conduct controlled burns (10). A helicopter crash on the Spanish island of Majorca sparked a small wildfire this morning (11); while six municipalities on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus will receive some additional fire equipment to help with wildfires in the Paphos forest (12). With predictions of an increase in the number of Australia's heat waves in the future, a new report states that little has been done to deal with bushfires and other natural disasters spawned by those conditions (13); Australia Capital Territory's Emergency Services Agency predicting what promises to be the worst bushfire season in 25 years (14). Some communities in Victoria will be allowed to tap into National Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements funding for a little while longer (15); but bushfire smoke fouled the air of Townsville, Queensland (16); even as the heat wave continues in New South Wales, prompting Rural Fire Service officials to warn homeowners to prepare for bushfires (17). And finally, our last story tells the tale of a criminal in the UK who failed to take into account the long arm of the... fire service!

(1) Wildfires cause less damage thanks to weather

(2) Fire Safe Council of Nevada County elects board members

(3) Veterans get wildland fire training to help transition back to civilian life

(4) Massive storm that tore through Alaska moves into Rockies

(5) Boulder Foothills Wildfire Contained; Evacuations Lifted

(6) Videos Shows Firefighters Battling Massive Wildfire

(7) Wildfire Danger Saturday

(8) AmeriCorps racks up volunteer hours in Bastrop fire cleanup

(9) Harvest Festival to benefit wildfire victims begins Nov. 11

(10) Kane preserves to hold prescribed burns

(11) Two British men die in Spanish helicopter crash

(12) Six communities receive new fire trucks

(13) Australia to set up public cooling rooms as worsening heatwaves predicted

(14) Fiery summer ahead

(15) Bushfire recovery funding extended for Nillumbik

(16) Smoke from two bushfires chokes Townsville

(17) Don't let bushfires trap you

(18) Quick-thinking firefighter catches thief who stole £315 from supermarket