WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 012312

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Chuck Bushey, Past-President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along a call for papers for an upcoming symposium on model performance in fire prevention this coming May (1); while Mussey Grade Road Alliance is asking for a public hearing on San Diego Gas & Electric's plan to bill customers for 2007 wildfire losses in Southern California (2). Researchers at the US Forest Service's Agricultural Research Service in Burns, Oregon, are studying best practices in reseeding arid rangeland in the western US after wildfires (3); but environmentalists are clashing with folks in the town of Darrington, Washington, over restoration of a historic fire lookout tower (4). A 3,200-acre wildfire which blazed through Reno's outskirts, destroying 29 homes in the process, has finally been contained (5); FEMA agreeing to pay 75% of the fire suppression bill (6); but an editorial says that wildfire is a wake-up call for Eastern Arizona (7). Fire crews were keeping an eye on a one-acre wildfire burning southwest of Colorado Springs on Sunday (8); while the thinner-than-average snowfall already has fire officials in Glenwood Springs thinking about wildfires (9). A 40-acre wildfire was reported in Norman, Oklahoma, on Sunday (10); and FEMA's Assistance to Firefighter Grants program awarded $14,000 to Massachusetts forest wardens, allowing them to purchase a much-needed brush truck (11); while an article from New Jersey takes a look at the interaction between forest destruction through wildfires and eventual regrowth (12). Florida Forest Service announced that a wildfire which burned over 427 acres in Lafayette County is now 100% contained (13); meanwhile, a $1,000 reward is being offered for information about suspicious wildfires that have been cropping up in Washington County (14). A 30-acre wildfire that broke out on Maui, Hawaii, has been contained (15); but officials in Chile fear that it could take 80 years for picturesque Torres del Paine National Park to recover from the ravages of recent wildfires (16). The cost of suppressing a 350-hectare bushfire in New Zealand has been pegged at $650,000 (17); while a contingent of visiting US firefighters provided some tips on rural firefighting to Department of Conservation personnel (18). In the wake of Victoria, Australia's, admission that it had not reached its vegetation removal goal, dozens of towns may be in jeopardy from bushfires (19); and with half the bushfires in that state being deliberately set, fire officials warned homeowners in Maroondah and the Yarra Ranges to be on the alert (20); even as the Bushfire Response Minister planned to cut several bushfire building advisor positions deemed to be redundant (21). A bushfire was reported near Chidlow, east of Perth, Western Australia (22); and seven lightning-sparked bushfires have converged into one complex in the Gascoyne region (23); while a rugby team is helping raise funds for Margaret River after bushfires ravaged the town (24). In an Op-Ed piece, a Professor of Environmental Change Biology at the University of Tasmania ponders the possibility that Hobart could be the scene of a future bushfire disaster (25). And finally, a new study showed an unexpected consequence of Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires: an increase in domestic violence!

(1) National Symposium on Model Performance in Fire Prevention

(2) Group Wants Public Hearings On SDG&E Wildfire Costs

(3) Helping rangelands recover from fire damage

(4) The logging town of Darrington, Wash., fights to save a fire lookout

(5) Reno wildfire that destroyed 29 homes contained

(6) FEMA authorizes funds for Washoe Fire

(7) Be safe and avoid starting wildfires

(8) Crews Monitoring Small Wildfire

(9) Getting prepared for the upcoming wildfire season

(10) Wildfire contained in Norman; firefighters battled high winds, dry vegetation

(11) Forest wardens will use $14K grant on equipment for brush fire truck

(12) Opinion: Good stewards of our forests take cues from Mother Nature

(13) L.A. Bennett Wildfire now 100 percent contained

(14) Authorities Seek Information on ‘Suspicious' Sunny Hills Wildfires

(15) UPDATE: Kahikinui Brush Fire Burns 30 Acres, 100% Contained

(16) Recovery from Forest Fire Could Take 80 Years

(17) Horeke fire costs soar to $650,000

(18) US fire crew here to learn

(19) State fails to meet fire goal

(20) Bushfire season sparks arson alert

(21) State cuts funds for post bushfire building advisers

(22) Residents warned of fire east of Perth

(23) Gascoyne fire breaks containment lines

(24) Bushfire damage hits home for Force

(25) Will climate change increase bushfires? Not knowing is no excuse for not talking

(26) Black Saturday caused increase in domestic violence, research finds