WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 031712

Bureau of Land Management firefighters brought containment on a 48-acre wildfire burning near Yuma, Arizona, to 95% (1); and a pair of suspicious wildfires in Douglas County, Colorado, kept firefighters busy as well (2). Wichita and two other counties will benefit from FEMA grants through the Texas Division of Emergency Management for damage done by wildfires in 2011 (3); but the South Dakota Division of Wildland Fire Suppression warned residents that a fire ban is still in place due to extreme wildfire conditions (4). Firefighters in Montana had to reach a 10-acre wildfire by boat and helicopter due to a lack of roads in the area (5); while Wisconsin's Supreme Court increased the pay out to property owners impacted by a 2003 wildfire that scorched 570 acres in Marquette and Waushara counties (6); even as Minnesota and Nebraska mobilized firefighters and prepped aircraft for early-season wildfires (7). Pennsylvanians were reminded again of the wildfire danger the early spring is causing across that state (8); followed by a story that disclosure that the increased frequency of wildfires in Canada's Yukon Territory is endangering the survival of Black Spruce forests (9). Wildfires were reported in Portugal, Spain, and Croatia (10); while ill-prepared firefighters in the African nation of Kenya are being overwhelmed by wildfires that have scorched over 80 sq km along the slopes of Mt. Kenya (11). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Chuck Bushey, Past President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along an article written by another Wildfire NOTD subscriber, Meg Krawchuk, Assistant Professor at the Landscape Conservation Science Lab at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia, Canada, about the impact of wildland fires on China (12); but villagers in Phayao, Thailand, have adopted their own unique way to deal with wildfires (13). Hi-tech WiFi sensors designed by Edith Cowan University's Centre for Communications Engineering Research are being deployed across Western Australia to help detect bushfires (14); which is timely, considering the ominous predictions about future bushfires made by high fire officials (15); but although a bushfire in Perth has been contained, officials warned motorists about reduced visibility due to smoke across nearby roads (16). And finally, firefighters in the UK probably reminisced about getting cats out of trees after tackling a fire at a reptile shop which housed a Burmese python, ten Nile crocodiles and the largest anaconda in Europe!

(1) Senator Wash wildfire almost completely contained

(2) Authorities: Brush fires in Douglas County human-caused

(3) Wichita County wildfire aid OK'd

(4) Continuing wildfire risk prompts additional fire bans

(5) Fire and ice at Holter Lake

(6) High court broadens award for 2003 forest fire losses

(7) With drought, land managers prepare for fire season

(8) Early spring raises risk for wildfires

(9) Increased Wildfire Frequency Threatening Black Spruce Forest Survival

(10) EFFIS - Current Situation

(11) Raging fires destroy forests on Mt Kenya and Aberdares

(12) Exploring Forest Management, Fire Suppression and Environmental Conservation in China

(13) The forest supermarket

(14) Bush wi-fi sensors to save lives

(15) Firefighter warns of bushfire disaster

(16) Bold Park bushfire contained

(17) Firefighters save giant tortoises, crocodiles, python, lizards and an anaconda from blazing pet shop... and give oxygen to an iguana