WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 120511

A pair of University of California Santa Barbara researchers explored the mental health impact of wildfires in Southern California through a telephone survey (1); and slackening winds helped CAL FIRE firefighters make progress on wildfires burning in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Tuolumne County (2); but a controlled burn in Sonoma County turned into a two-acre wildfire (3). A professor from the University of Oregon's School of Forestry weighs in on the issue of managing wildfire-prone forests (4); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Chuck Bushey, President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along an article about Arizona's Wallow Fire, the most destructive in that state's history (5). There were celebrations over the weekend as a volunteer fire department west of Boulder, Colorado, unveiled a new fire station and fire truck to replace losses from the Fourmile Canyon Fire (6); but the National Park Service is reaching out to the general public for advice on how to manage wildfires in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park (7). An Op-Ed piece laments the wildlife losses caused by massive wildfires like Minnesota's Pagami Creek Fire (8); even as Michigan Department of Natural Resources assessed their efforts in helping fight the Texas wildfires in the next article (9). US Forest Service plans to burn 210 acres in Alabama's Talladega National Forest (10); and North Carolina Forest Service firefighters plan to conduct controlled burns at the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve early next year (11). Ranchers are beginning to get concerned about clear cutting of beetle-infested timber in British Columbia, Canada (12); but weary from battling insurance companies and dealing with rebuilding delays, some residents of wildfire-ravaged Slave Lake, Alberta, have decided to leave the town to live elsewhere (13). The UK's environment Minister announced a £10 million program to assist Brazilian farmers in reducing deforestation caused by, among other things, forest fires (14); while yet another wildfire has broken out on Bulgaria's Pirin Mountain (15). Lebanon's Environment Minister kicked off a new campaign to help green up that Middle Eastern country, whose forests have been ravaged by wildfires (16); but bush burning is suspected as the cause of a 10-ha wildfire reported outside of Kuga in the African nation of Ghana (17). Vietnam's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Department of Forest Management credited fire prevention education programs for a reduced incidence of wildfires in that southeast Asian nation (18). Farmers in Victoria, Australia, have settled their Black Saturday bushfire class-action suit against Australian utility Powercor (19); followed by an Op-Ed piece from Victoria that lays down the ground rules for bushfire safety as spelled out by Country Fire Authority (20); but concerns over future bushfires have prompted a Member of Parliament to request an Erickson Air Crane helicopter be based in Ballarat (21); a Yarra Glen resident whose home was saved by helicopter air-tankers during Black Saturday echoing that sentiment (22). A teenager whose car allegedly sparked a 110-hectare bushfire outside of Adelaide, South Australia, has been charged with arson (23); even as a bushfire that was burning outside of Adelaide has been contained, according to Country Fire Service (24). A bushfire which burned 42,700 ha outside of Nannup, Western Australia, has been brought under control (25); where a shakeup in that state's emergency services organizations is underway following the disastrous Margaret River bushfire which began as a prescribed burn (26); but on the technology front, researchers at the University of Western Australia's School of Computer Science and Software Engineering have unveiled Aurora, a software suite which can predict bushfire movement in less than a minute (27). And finally, we conclude today with some bizarre stories of tricky extrications performed by Britain's London Fire Brigade!

(1) Studying Wildfires and Mental Health

(2) Reduced winds help crews make gains on foothill fires

(3) Controlled burn near Healdsburg sparks wildfire

(4) Another perspective on managing fire-prone forests

(5) The Wallow Fire: A Ruinous Burn

(6) Volunteer firefighters replace station, truck lost in wildfire west of Boulder

(7) National Park Service seeks public input on how to manage wildfires in Yellowstone Park

(8) A voice for wildlife

(9) Mich. Department of Natural Resources crews worked 22 weeks helping fight Texas wildfires

(10) Controlled burns expected to send smoke toward Oxford & White Plains today

(11) State plans safety burn at preserve

(12) Pine beetles part 3: A flood of problems for ranchers

(13) Slave Lake tries to rise from ashes, but some weary residents move on

(14) £10m bid to tackle deforestation

(15) New Wildfire Reported in Bulgaria's Pirin Mountain

(16) Lebanon Green Again launches new campaign

(17) Kuga Na’s farm destroyed by bush fire

(18) Fire prevention sees effects

(19) Vic bushfire compensation case settled

(20) Residents get bushfire reminder

(21) MP demands firefighting chopper presence

(22) Don't chop the fire choppers, pleads Yarra Glen man

(23) Teenager charged over Adelaide bushfire

(24) Bushfire in Adelaide's north contained

(25) Blaze brought under control

(26) Keelty begins inquiry into WA bushfire

(27) Software Predicts Bushfire Movement in 30 Seconds

(28) Firefighters make some bizarre rescues