WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 112211

Wildfire News of the Day reached a milestone with this, its 1000th issue! The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting with the investigation of a 2000-acre wildfire that damaged or destroyed numerous homes in Reno, Nevada (1); the next article asking whether it's really effective for homeowners to use garden hoses to assist firefighters battling such blazes (2). Sen. John McCain cited a GAO report which indicated that 30 Arizona wildfires were sparked by illegal immigrants coming across the border from Mexico (3). The roller coaster ride over the condition of the home of an Austin City Council member during the Bastrop County wildfires is chronicled by the next article (4); while Anheuser-Busch will donate $45,000 to help out Texas Parks and Wildlife Department workers whose homes were impacted by the recent wildfires (5); and Spring will be hopping December 10th and 11th as the Hands Across Texas Wildlife Relief Benefit Concert II gets underway (6). The next article takes a look at the Forest Preserve District of Kane County's efforts to preserve the natural balance by setting 15 controlled burns in Illinois (7). A 700-acre wildfire east of Gainesville, Florida, continues to burn (8); Florida Forest Service announcing 75% containment of a three-acre wildfire burning near Tiger Point (9). The impact of smoke from North American wildfires on people with respiratory problems in Europe is discussed in a radio segment from the UK (10); even as Germany suffers through the driest November on record, with a major wildfire being reported in Upper Bavaria (11); and the impact of numerous wildfires in Spanish Galicia was examined in a study from the University of Santiago de Compostela (12). The biggest bushfire of the season so far has finally been contained outside of Utakura, New Zealand (13). Heading to Australia, Victoria's Macedon Ranges Council has received $80,000 in funding to help better prepare for bushfires (14); while Queensland Fire and Rescue Service crews battled a bushfire that was encroaching on Mt Maurice State Forest (15); but firefighters expected rain to help with a bushfire burning outside of Rockhampton, Queensland (16). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Chuck Bushey, President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along an article about a video wall composed of 100 flat screen monitors unveiled at New South Wales Rural Fire Service Homebush command-and-control center (17); and although a Sydney suburb is considered to be in a high bushfire risk area, a housing developer assured residents that they were complying with Rural Fire Service guidelines to lessen the danger (18). With lush growth from late rains, fire officials in Western Australia's Perth Hills are preparing for an active bushfire season (19); even as firefighters were bringing a 280-hectare wildfire near Naraling under control (20). While temperatures continue to soar in Western Australia, bushfire smoke forced closures of roads around Armadale (21). And finally, a siren manufacturer got an earful from Chicago firefighters who claim to have hearing loss due to their product!

(1) ATF joins investigation of destructive Caughlin wildfire

(2) Garden Hose Firefighting: A Good Idea Or Dangerous?

(3) John McCain Touts Report Linking 30 Arizona Wildfires To Undocumented Border Crossers

(4) Betty Dunkerley's near-miss wildfire

(5) Anheuser-Busch, wholesalers give $45K to wildfire efforts

(6) Hands Across Texas Wildfire Relief Benefit Concert II Dec. 10-11

(7) Fire creates as it destroys the Kane forest preserve prairies

(8) Brush fire east of Gainesville grows to 700 acres

(9) Wildfire scorches 3 acres near Tiger Point

(10) The ozone hole, starlings in Fair Isle, forest fires

(11) Drought chokes shipping, sparks forest fire

(12) Hydrocarbon pollution along the coast of Galicia shot up five years after the Prestige oil spill

(13) Massive fire forces evacuations

(14) Macedon Ranges bushfire projects given leg-up

(15) Bushfire burning near Mt Maurice

(16) Crews back to work on bushfires north of Rocky

(17) NSW Rural Fire Service unveils 'largest digital video wall in the Southern Hemisphere'

(18) Bushfire caution next to Batten Reserve

(19) Lush growth spells trouble ahead for the bushfire season

(20) Bushfires under control

(21) Bushfire smoke closes Armadale roads, Tonkin Highway re-opened

(22) Jury To Mull Lawsuit Claiming Sirens Damaged Firefighters’ Hearing