WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 071812

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Randall Stephens, Owner and Webmaster of Fireplanes.org, sent along an article written by Wildfire NOTD subscriber Tony Morris, Communications Director for Southern California-based Wildfire Research Network, about the benefits of using gels in Direct Attack on wildfires (1); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Max Moritz, a Cooperative Extension Specialist in Wildland Fire at University of California, Berkeley's, Fire Center, discusses the media storm which resulted from a paper he published linking rising temperatures worldwide with increasingly ferocious wildfires (2); in the meantime, firefighters in California gained the upper hand on wildfires burning near Santa Margarita and on the grounds of Camp Pendleton (3); two firefighters sustaining injuries from the Camp Pendleton blaze (4); but firefighters expect to bring full containment on a 29,572-acre wildfire burning in Mendocino National Forest today (5); the following article taking a closer look at the crew of an Erickson S-64 Aircrane which had operated over that fire (6); while Sierra Pacific Industries has agreed to pay the US government a whopping $122.5 million for causing a 2007 wildfire which scorched 65,000 acres in Northern California (7). The next article takes a look at the damage done by wildfires in southeastern Oregon to cattle operations (8); the plight of the New Mexican town of Santa Clara Pueblo, which faces severe flooding in areas that suffered wildfire damage, follows (9). Colorado's governor revealed that $1 million in pledges had been made to the Colorado Fire Relief Fund 2012 intended to help wildfire survivors (10); and a restaurant in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, is doing its part on their behalf (11); as is the NHRA (12); but not everyone is looking out for their best interests (13). Firefighters have nearly contained all of Utah's major wildfires (14). A pair of Wyoming National Guard C-130s is headed back to Hill Air Force Base in Cheyenne after yeoman work on wildfires in the West (15); rainfall in Yellowstone National Park helping firefighters bring containment on a 29-acre wildfire to 95% (16); while an article from Montana points out the health problems smoke from local wildfires can cause (17). Firefighters in Lawrence County, Missouri, declared victory over a 700-acre wildfire which has been fully extinguished (18); and recent rainfall has lowered the wildfire danger in 18 of 75 counties in Arkansas (19). Wildland firefighters dispatched by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Forestry have been helping out with wildfires in California (20). A summary of wildfire activity in Ontario, Canada, is provided by the next article (21); but although rainfall has lowered the forest fire index on Prince Edward Island, the respite is only temporary (22). Firefighters continued to grapple with wildfires on Spain's Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Palma (23); and a major wildfire in southern Greece has forced evacuations near the port city of Patras (24); followed by a summary of wildfire activity in Russia's Far East, where 11 wildfires have been extinguished (25). In Australia, Victoria's Bushfire Management Overlay rules are making it difficult for people attempting to repair their homes in the Dandenongs (26); while shire officials in Augusta-Margaret River, Western Australia, will be offering workshops to help people stressed out by losses from bushfires (27). And finally, firefighters from Maryland Department of Natural Resources who were battling a wildfire in Virginia's George Washington and Jefferson National Forests had an unexpected detour from wildland firefighting: tending to an unresponsive motorist!

(1) Incorporating a Direct Attack approach

(2) Wildfires ignite debate on global warming

(3) Two wildfires near containment

(4) Two firefighters injured battling Camp Pendleton blaze; 450 acres consumed; now 85 percent contained

(5) Mill Fire in Mendocino National Forest wrapping up

(6) Modesto man makes pit stop in hometown with firefighting copter

(7) Logging company to pay record $122.5M in damages over 2007 California wildfire

(8) Southeastern Oregon wildfires cause long-lasting damage: cattle deaths, forage loss, endangered wildlife

(9) Native American town in New Mexico struggling to recover from wildfire

(10) Colorado wildfire relief fund tops $1M in pledges

(11) Wildfire Restaurant donates to Colorado fire victims

(12) NHRA, Bandimere Speedway partner with Noco Rebuilding Network to help Colorado Wildfire victims

(13) Insurance Specialists Want Wildfire Victims To Be On Alert

(14) Big wildfires near containment

(15) Firefighting C-130s heading home from Hill AFB

(16) Yellowstone National Park lifts fire restrictions as recent rains help firefighting crews

(17) Smoke from wildfires can aggravate existing medical conditions

(18) Lawrence County Wildfire Out - Firefighters Monitoring

(19) State wildfire danger lowered

(20) OH Wildland Firefighters Sent to Fight CA Wildfire

(21) New forest fires add to seasonal count

(22) Rain lowers P.E.I. forest fire index

(23) Forest fires rage on Spanish resort islands of Tenerife, La Palma

(24) Residents flee as wildfire rages in southern Greece

(25) A day in the lands of the forest fund 11 fires extinguished far East

(26) YOUR SAY: New rules may stop home repairs in the Yarra Ranges

(27) Stress workshops for bushfire-affected

(28) Maryland Wildfire Crew Members Save a Woman's Life While on Assignment