WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 072812

FEMA announced its first round of awards in their Fire Prevention and Safety Grants program (1). A teenage firefighter has been charged with a string of arson wildfire in Calaveras County, California (2); while a half-acre fire was reported in Washington state's Olympic National Forest (3). Fire restrictions in Arizona's Tonto National Forest have been lifted with the onset of monsoon season (4); while in the wake of Arizona Sen. McCain's announcement that 14 C-27J Spartan aircraft could be transferred from the military to US Forest Service, air-tanker contractors like Neptune Aviation are taking a closer look at the bill (5). The impact of the proposed Healthy Forest Management Act of 2012 on Colorado is examined by the next article (6). Idaho Panhandle National Forests will be working with a couple of private firms to rehabilitate three wildfire lookout towers that have been lying vacant for some time (7); while Eastern Idaho Interagency Fire Center reported numerous lightning-sparked wildfires (8); and the story was much the same across Utah, as well (9). A 15-square-mile wildfire in Oklahoma's Comanche County was nearly contained (10); but Oklahoma Department of Forestry officials are warning that the wildfire danger is high across the state (11). Having fought numerous wildfires so far this season, Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation said more are expected soon due to continued dry conditions (12); and fire officials in Nebraska indicated that wildfires which had destroyed 14 homes near Omaha have run up a $2.5 million suppression bill (13). Officials from Missouri Department of Conservation are warning residents of that state of the extreme wildfire danger due to the drought (14); while firefighters grappled with fires along railroad tracks running through Rochester, New Hampshire (15). Anchorage, Alaska, is providing a Firewise Home Assessment program to homeowners as a means of educating them about how to protect their homes from wildfires (16). In Canada, BC Wildfires reported a small wildfire near Kelowna, British Columbia (17); while a summary of wildfire activity in Ontario is provided by the Ministry of Natural Resources in the next item (18). Firefighters continued to battle a wildfire on the slopes of Sakar Mountain, Bulgaria (19); and although firefighters in Russia have extinguished 45 wildfires, 131 are still burning in the Far East (20); drawing the attention of IL-76 and BE-200 firefighting aircraft (21); as well as military helicopters (22); smoke from the fires reaching as far as the West Coast of the US (23). Heading to Australia, a Red Cross Emergency Services Training workshop will be held in Wyong, New South Wales, in August in preparation for bushfire season (24); while after-action reports of a bushfire which destroyed 40 homes in Margaret River, Western Australia, shows that numerous problems with communications and other areas hampered firefighters (25). And finally, we get a behind-the-scenes look at the secret life of National Weather Service meteorologists on the fireline!

(1) Round 1 of FY2011 Fire Prevention and Safety Grants

(2) Firefighter pleads not guilty

(3) Fire reported in Olympic National Forest

(4) Fire restrictions lifted on Tonto National Forest

(5) Neptune Aviation eyes proposal to add surplus Air Force planes to fire fleet

(6) Bill gives local leaders say in forest fire prevention

(7) Vacant fire lookout getting a new look

(8) Wildfires force home evacuations: Lightning sparks 3 blazes at Fort Hall

(9) BLM crews fighting four new lightning caused Utah wildfires

(10) Crews Work to Contain Wildfire in Southwest Oklahoma

(11) Wildfire danger could increase during bailing season

(12) Threat eases but more wildfires expected in central and southern Montana

(13) Officials: North-central Neb. wildfires destroy 14 homes, cost $2.5 million so far to fight

(14) Wildfire danger remains high in current drought

(15) Firefighters struggle getting to fire along railroad tracks

(16) Federal Funding Set to Provide Residents with Wildfire Mitigation

(17) THE LATEST: Firecrews on scene of Wilson's Landing Fire, Air Tanker support requested

(18) MNR reports two new forest fires in Timmins area

(19) Extinction of wildfire in Sakar Mountain continues

(20) Russia: 15000 hectares of forest on fire

(21) Siberia wildfires rage on

(22) Russia’s Defense Ministry sends choppers to combat wildfires

(23) Smoke blows into region from Russian forest fires

(24) Red Cross Emergency Services Training

(25) 'Blunders galore' in bushfire fight

(26) Meteorologists go on-site to help crews fight forest fires