WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 102512

Lassen Volcanic National Park officials got an earful from two California congressmen about allowing a wildfire to spread over 42 mi.², adding up to a total of $15 million in suppression costs, this past summer (1); while more details on the dramatic Bambi bucket rescue of a firefighter during Oregon's Pole Creek Fire are provided by the next article (2). Firefighters in New Mexico's Carson National Forest continued to grapple with a 429-acre wildfire (3); one of three wildfires currently burning across northern New Mexico and southern Colorado (4). A 400-acre wildfire near Dolores, Colorado, is 20% contained (5); and a 2,100-acre blaze near Wetmore was 15% contained last night (6); a Denver Post article recounting tales of heroism from that fire (7). Authorities in Amarillo, Texas, are on the lookout for a man who disappeared while awaiting trial for starting a wildfire in Potter County in 2011 (8). Although a wildfire that destroyed a portion of Bucyrus, North Dakota, has been ruled accidental, the exact origin of the blaze may never be known (9); while Kane County, Illinois, will be conducting controlled burns in the Forest Preserve District (10). Fire crews in Kentucky's Daniel Boone National Forest estimate a 15-acre wildfire will probably double in size before it is fully contained (11); motorists in Rowan County being cautioned about smoke obscuring their visibility (12). Residents of Newfield, Maine, took a look back 65 years to Black Thursday, when a wildfire nearly destroyed the town (13). A 171-hectare wildfire was reported in Bulgaria yesterday (14); but for a second time in about a month, Indonesia's Mount Agung has a bushfire burning on its slopes (15). The author of "Essential Bushfire Safety Tips" disputes some expert opinions about bushfires in Australia (16). As 40 bushfires continue to burn across Queensland, high temperatures accompanied by wind may spark a few more (17); which is not good news for weary volunteer firefighters who have already been battling numerous blazes for the past two weeks (18); but maybe they will get to see a rare fire tornado like the one depicted in the next item (19). Lightning strikes sparked over two dozen bushfires in far western New South Wales, prompting officials to issue a natural disaster declaration (20); and investigators in Western Australia have begun their inquest to find out how two firefighters were badly burned in a bushfire outside of Albany (21). Volunteer firefighters in Tasmania are pushing back against "celebrity greens" to try to prevent a bushfire catastrophe (22). And finally, firefighters in the Scottish borderlands had an unusual extrication to perform: removing a racehorse from a stream!

(1) CA Lawmakers Fired Up Over Wildfire

(2) Rescue drama: Pole Creek firefighter jumps in water bucket

(3) Red River-area wildfire grows to 429 acres

(4) Three Fires Burning

(5) Roatcap Fire 20 percent contained

(6) Wetmore Fire at least 2,100 acres

(7) Wetmore fire evacuees tell tales of heroism in Colorado blaze

(8) Amarillo authorities continue search for missing wildfire suspect

(9) Wildfire that swept through small North Dakota town ruled accidental; cause not determined

(10) Forest Preserve District plans prescribed burns

(11) Crews working to get control of wildfire

(12) Drivers urged to use caution due to forest fire

(13) The Fires of 1947 nearly destroyed Newfield

(14) EFFIS - Current Situation

(15) Wildfires continue to flare on Mount Agung

(16) Our bushfire 'experts' have got it wrong

(17) Qld braces for high bushfire danger

(18) Firies put to the test by bushfire outbreak

(19) Fire tornado towers over Queensland outback

(20) Natural disaster declared for NSW bushfires

(21) Albany bushfire investigation imminent

(22) Save a forest, fight a fire

(23) Hawick firefighters save racehorse Kit Carson from stream