WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 081412

Our first article today provides an overview of wildfires burning in the West (1). It's a busy time for firefighters in San Diego County, with four lightning-sparked wildfires being reported around the Southern California community of Julian (2); an Op-Ed piece from San Diego County looking at the looming wildfire danger in the backcountry and some possible solutions to the problem (3); meanwhile, five dozen firefighters from the Bay Area have been sent to fight wildfires in Lake and Plumas counties (4); but heavy smoke prevented air-tankers from assisting firefighters battling the 36,743-acre wildfire burning in the Plumas National Forest (5); however, firefighters expect to have a 23,958-acre wildfire burning in Lassen Volcanic National Park fully contained next week (6); while a 650-acre wildfire in the Stanislaus National Forest is now 10% contained (7); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Tom Lasser, a retired California National Guard Colonel, sending along a Cal EMA press release about the governor securing FEMA funding to pay 75% of the suppression costs in Lake County's Wye Fire Complex (8); the following article providing an update on that 7,000-acre blaze, which is being fought by hundreds of firefighters and the DC-10 (9). A wildland firefighter was burned while attempting to use her fire shelter during a burnover in southeastern Oregon (10); while Oregon Cattlemen’s Association has formed a new taskforce to deal with wildfire-related issues that have already cost their members dearly (11); and a wildfire on Warm Springs Indian Reservation has scorched between 700 and 1,000 acres (12); an Oregon Public Broadcasting segment taking a closer look at wildland firefighter fatalities in the wake of a fireline death in Idaho (13); Wallowa-Whitman National Forest imposing new fire restrictions (14). A 26,000-acre wildfire has forced evacuations and destroyed 60 homes outside of Cle Elum, Washington (15); bewildering apes at the nearby Chimpanzee Sanctuary (16). Wildfire activity in Arizona, where numerous lightning strikes ignited new blazes, is provided by the next article (17); while USFS Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Los Alamos National Laboratory unveiled a high-tech computer model called HIGRAD/FIRETEC which simulates the constantly changing, interactive relationship between fire and its environment (18). A National Public Radio segment addresses the state of Colorado's Waldo Canyon Fire survivors (19); while an official inquiry into the Lower North Fork Fire, which began as a controlled burn, is underway (20). The DC-10 helped contain a 419-acre wildfire that was threatening homes in Boise, Idaho, Monday (21); and a summary of wildfire activity in Utah is up next (22). The only person to be killed by Oklahoma's recent spate of wildfires will be buried today (23); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Chuck Bushey, Past President of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along an invitation to a Wildland Urban Interface Safety Symposium entitled "Tools for Reducing Risk in Your Community", to be held September 20th in San Marcos, Texas (24). Firefighters battled a 3.5-acre wildfire south of Lolo, Montana (25); while Bitterroot National Forest will be imposing Stage 1 Fire Restrictions this weekend (26); suppression costs from that state's wildfires nearing $50 million (27). An editorial from Minnesota takes another look at the new USFS policy to extinguish all wildfires immediately (28); while the Arkansas Forestry Commission reported 15 wildfires across the state (29). A score of firefighters is being dispatched by Kentucky's Division of Forestry to fight wildfires in the West (30); and Florida Forest Service is sending nearly five dozen of their own (31). Wildfire activity in British Columbia, Canada, is provided by the Southeast Fire Centre in the next article (32); an air-tanker making its presence felt over one blaze (33). Southern Europe continued to bake, wildfires being reported in Spain, Italy, Crete, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and the North African nations of Morocco and Algeria (34); the following article providing some commentary on the blazes there (35); a BBC video providing an update on the wildfires burning on Spain's Canary Islands (36); where numerous aircraft, including two Moroccan air-tankers, grappled with blazes (37); while 22 wildfires were still burning in Russia's Ural Federal District (38); nevertheless, wildfire activity in Siberia is continuing to decline (39). Two new bushfires were reported in Ratnapura and Balangoda, Sri Lanka, in a month that has already seen 12 fires destroy 2,000 acres of forest on that Indian Ocean island nation (40). And finally, one wonders what possessions evacuees from a Northern California clothing-optional resort took with them?

(1) Wildfires blaze through Western states

(2) Lightning-sparked fires threaten backcountry transmission line, reports CalFire

(3) Reader’s Editorial: County Fire Policy: Let It Burn

(4) Crews from Alameda, Contra Costa counties dispatched to help fight wildfires

(5) Smoke keeps firefighting planes grounded in Plumas Co.

(6) Lassen Volcanic Reading Fire containment expected within one week

(7) Stanislaus forest fire grows to 650 acres

(8) California Secures Federal Financial Aid to Assist Firefighting Efforts in Lake County

(9) Firefighters ramp up battle against 7,000-acre Lake County fires

(10) Firefighter deploys shelter to escape flaming dust devils

(11) RESTOR makes wildfire donations, starts congressional tour

(12) Warm Springs forest fire tops 700 acres

(13) Firefighting Still Dangerous, But For Different Reasons

(14) Wallowa-Whitman National Forest puts fire restrictions in place

(15) Wildfire is growing east of Cle Elum, more evacuations ordered

(16) Wildfire spooks chimps at Washington sanctuary

(17) Arizona wildfires: More fires ignited by lightning

(18) High-tech tool predicts fire behavior in bark beetle-ravaged forests

(19) In Colorado Wildfires' Wake, Survivors Live In Limbo

(20) Panel probes planned burns, forest health

(21) Wildfire in Boise foothills contained after burning 419 acres

(22) Crews in fiery offensives on southwestern Utah wildfires

(23) Wildfire victim to be buried Tuesday

(24) Texas Meeting to Discuss Reducing Wildland Fire Risk in the Wildland Urban Interface

(25) Wildfire on Maclay Ranch south of Lolo nearly contained

(26) Fire restrictions coming to Bitterroot Ntl. Forest

(27) Montana firefighting costs near $50 million

(28) Penny-pinching erases progress on restoring fire's role in forest health

(29) Forest Fires Still Burning in Clark County, Perry County

(30) Kentucky firefighters to help battle Idaho wildfires

(31) Fla. sending firefighters to western states to battle wildfires

(32) Five Mile Creek fire continues to burn

(33) Air tanker makes four drops on spot fire yesterday

(34) EFFIS - Current Situation

(35) European Forest Fire Information System: Current Situation in Europe

(36) Wildfires continue to rage in Spain

(37) Planes aid Spanish wildfires fight

(38) Forest fires in the Ural area decreased 3.3 times

(39) The number of forest fires in Siberia continued to decline

(40) Two more forest, bush fires reported

(41) California fires threaten nudist resort, hundreds of homes evacuated