WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 091512

As triple-digit temperatures baked Southern California, a 90-acre wildfire broke out near the Getty Museum yesterday (1); a video segment showing air assets pounding the fire as Wildfire NOTD subscriber Steve Ruda, a Battalion Chief with Los Angeles City Fire Department, comments on their progress (2); while it's been determined that the 4,192-acre Williams fire in the Angeles National Forest was started by a parked car which ignited brush at a turnout (3); and a wildfire scorched between 5 and 6 acres on San Diego's Camp Pendleton Marine Base (4); but a five-acre wildfire in the Stanislaus National Forest has been fully contained (5); and closures of portions of the Mendocino National Forest due to wildfires are frustrating hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts (6); while US Forest Service will be conducting cleanup operations at the Needles Fire Lookout Tower in the Sequoia National Forest (7); and a spectacular photo of a CAL FIRE S-2T air-tanker dropping on a wildfire in Scotts Valley is up next (8). The economic ups and downs wildfires bring to communities were disclosed by a new study from University of Oregon's Ecosystem Workforce Program (9); while the Pole Creek fire breached firelines and grew to 7,000 acres in size (10); but windy, dry weather continues to fuel wildfires in Oregon and Washington (11). An update on wildfires in Washington state, where an emergency declaration by the governor freed up a pair of Washington National Guard helicopters from the 66th Theater Aviation Command for firefighting duty, is provided by the next item (12); where a 12-acre wildfire filled Spokane Valley with wildfire smoke yesterday (13); and a member of the state's Senate Energy, Natural Resources and Marine Waters Committee spoke out about how active forest management practices can make forest fires and wildfires more manageable (14); the Department of Natural Resources invoking burn bans through the end of September (15); wildfire danger prompting a forest products company which owns 390,000 acres in Western Washington state to close public access to much of that land (16); Weyerhaeuser following suit on lands it owns as well (17); meanwhile, fire departments in Western Washington are dispatching crews to help with wildfires in Eastern Washington (18); even as firefighters in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest wrapped up a historic ranger station in tinfoil to protect it from wildfires (19). Wildfire damage to Ruidoso, New Mexico's, watershed has prompted officials to declare a water emergency (20); but Colorado is pushing ahead with the Tunnel Hill Fuels Reduction Project, which aims to thin 350 acres of timber to increase wildfire protection around Winter Park (21). The impact of a 66% budget cut on Oklahoma's Cherokee Nation Fire Rangers is examined by the next article (22); while wildfires continued to burn across Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park (23). Wildfire activity in and around Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness is covered by the next item (24); but in Missouri, the Doe Run Fire District held an open house to help educate residents on how to protect themselves from wildfires (25). Hundreds of hectares have gone up in smoke in Indonesia's Wae Wuul National Park (26). And finally, a resident of Idaho who saw the wildfires of 1910 that created a seismic shift in Forest Service policy recalls the experience on her 110th birthday!

(1) Firefighters gain upper hand over Getty fire

(2) Sepulveda brush fire still smoldering; crews keep watch over hot spots

(3) Parked car started Williams fire, Forest Service says

(4) Camp Pendleton wildfire burns 5 to 6 acres

(5) Stanislaus Forest Fire Update

(6) Fires likely to frustrate hunters

(7) Giant Sequoia’s Needles Lookout Tower to close for fire clean-up

(8) The week's best photos

(9) Study shows wildfires' positive and negative economic impacts

(10) Pole Creek Fire jumps lines, grows to 7,000 acres

(11) Oregon, Washington wildfires take advantage of dry weather, ample fuel

(12) 2 National Guard helicopters fight Wash. fires

(13) Wildfire closes road, casts haze over area

(14) Guest opinion: Infestations endanger forest health

(15) Stopping wildfires before they start

(16) Rayonier Closes Lands to General Public Access Due to Fire Risk

(17) Wildfire danger: Weyco lands closed in Wash., Ore.

(18) Local firefighters battle Eastern Washington blazes

(19) Tinfoil protects Wash. ranger station during fire

(20) Water emergency follows forest fire

(21) Project to create fire break between forest and towns

(22) Tribal Firefighters Say They’ve Been Burned by Federal Budget Cuts

(23) Late season: Wildfire season isn’t over yet

(24) Wildfires continue to burn in Boundary Waters

(25) Doe Run Fire District promotes forest fire prevention

(26) Wildfires destroy half of national park in West Manggarai

(27) Idaho woman turns 110, recalls escaping flames during Great Fire of 1910