WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 120211

After some of the worst Santa Ana winds ever recorded lashed Southern California yesterday (knocking out power, which is why there was no Wildfire NOTD issue yesterday), the next article takes a look at the phenomenon and its impact on wildfire danger (1); weather conditions prompting Los Angeles County to extend the lease of two CL-415 Super Scoopers for an additional week (2); and CAL FIRE to put its units in San Diego County on high alert (3); CAL FIRE reporting numerous wildfires in four Northern California counties (4); including a 75-acre wildfire burning near King City which is now 80% contained (5). Embers from a prescribed burn near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, reignited, burning nearly 12 acres (6); that article followed by an Op-Ed piece that takes a look at the thorny issue of wildfire causes in Arizona and New Mexico (7). Despite the fact that 96% of Bastrop State Park was scorched by Texas' Labor Day wildfires, it has reopened three months later (8); and residents whose homes survived the blazes are helping their less fortunate neighbors (9); even as merchants sought to bring more business into town with their Light Up Bastrop campaign (10); while FEMA has extended its short-term housing allowance for wildfire survivors until January 8th (11); and Republican presidential candidates pounced on the US Forest Service decision to cancel its contracts with air-tanker giant Aero Union at the height of the Texas wildfires this summer (12); but as Texans continue to recover from this summer's wildfires, the 2012 fire season has just begun! (13) Ravalli County, Montana, plans to utilize a new federal policy to guide forest management in their area after an active summer fire season (14); while fire managers plan to burn 14 acres in St. Louis, Missouri's, Forest Park today (15). Florida Forest Service is overseeing three controlled burns in Volusia and Flagler counties (16). New forest utilization maps have been approved by Greece's Environment Minister for areas ravaged by wildfires (17); while the Bulgarian army and air force battled a wildfire which crossed the border from Greece into Bulgaria's Rhodope Mountains (18). An update on the recovery process of 5000 ha burned on Israel's Mount Carmel last year is provided by the next item (19); and in India, the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly asked the State Forest Corporation to take a closer look into wildfires in the Doda region (20). A firefighting helicopter crashed at sea off of New Zealand's North Island while battling a bushfire (21). The cry against bushfire shock ads in Victoria, Australia, is mounting (22); even as the Victorian Government revealed that an emergency bushfire texting system will not be ready for use during this summer's fire season (23). Seeking to overcome bushfire complacency in Queensland, Rural Fire Brigade firefighters recounted a 30-acre blaze which scorched Armstrong Creek last month (24). Firefighters in Western Australia were red-faced after another controlled burn turned into a bushfire in the vicinity of Nannup-Augusta (25); where the Department of Corrective Services was lending a hand cleaning up the mess left behind by the bushfires (26); FESA unveiled a new super chopper that boasts state of the art surveillance equipment, such as an infra-red high definition camera, laser mapping and a microwave transmitter which can beam real time pictures of the fire back to fire commanders (27); concurrently, the state police commissioner announced that they would set up a registry listing known bushfire arsonists similar to the one they use with known sex offenders (28). And finally, art students in Central Australia, hard hit by bushfires earlier this year, felt inspired to name their art exhibit "All Fired up"!

(1) The science behind the Santa Ana winds

(2) County Extends Super Scooper Lease By A Week Due To Fire Danger

(3) Cal Fire ups staff in advance of high winds

(4) UPDATE: Several Tuolumne, Calaveras Co. wildfires grow

(5) South County wildfire 80 percent contained

(6) Old prescribed burn reignites in high winds

(7) Wildfires, No Laughing Matter

(8) Bastrop State Park re-opens after Labor Day wildfires

(9) Neighbors spread holiday cheer to wildfire victims

(10) Light Up Bastrop ceremony hopes to attract holiday business

(11) FEMA Extends Short Term Housing Help To Wildfire Victims

(12) 2012 Presidential Candidates Challenge Mandates

(13) Did We Get Any Break? 2012 Wildfire Season Begins Today

(14) Ravalli Co. urged to follow local option to forest management

(15) Fire to be set to parts of Forest Park

(16) Prescribed fires under way in Volusia-Flagler

(17) First forest maps approved

(18) Bulgarian Army Puts Out Greek-Imported Wildfire

(19) Environment: On the road to recovery?

(20) J-K panel for fresh probe into Doda forest fires

(21) Helicopter crashes fighting New Zealand wildfire

(22) Campaign starts to remove 'nightmare' bushfire shock ads

(23) Emergency bushfire text system still not ready

(24) Bushfire risk a hot topic

(25) WA battles fire after another burn-off goes wrong

(26) Inmates to aid bushfire clean-up

(27) New smart chopper unveiled for bushfire season

(28) WA police to register arsonists

(29) Bushfires bring out best in art students