WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 102912

In Southern California, Ventura Fire Department firefighters responded to a half-acre wildfire sparked by a homeless encampment's warming fire (1); even as the Los Padres National Forest brought in additional air-tankers and personnel due to the high wildfire danger (2); but the wildfire threat is dropping in the Sierra Nevadas in Central California (3); allowing fire crews to set prescribed burns around Lake Tahoe (4); while facilities at Chico Municipal Airport which once belonged to air-tanker giant Aero Union have been taken over by a Canadian firm which is converting BAe 146 aircraft to air-tankers with the help of former Aero Union personnel (5). After Central Washington's summer of fire, experts are working to repair the damage done to 116,000 acres by wildfires (6); but heavy rainfall predicted for the east side of the Cascade Mountains could bring flooding in burn areas (7); while there was a changing of the guard at the National Park Service's Pacific West Region headquarters (8). The Bureau of Land Management issued a press release about the wildfire situation in Nevada (9); but the high price and scarcity of seed may make replanting burn areas difficult (10). Fire crews will be lighting prescribed burns in Arizona's Kaibab National Forest along the Grand Canyon's North Rim (11). An update on wildfires in Colorado is provided by the next item (12); but tracer bullets got the blame again for a wildfire over the weekend in the Pawnee National Grassland (13); the next article taking a look back at evacuations from 2010's Four Mile Canyon Fire, as told by the Executive Editor of Natural History Magazine (14). Utah's Dixie National Forest will be implementing prescribed burns on the Cedar City Ranger District (15); and Wyoming's Grand Teton National Park and Bridger-Teton National Forest are planning a few controlled burns as well (16). This year's wildfires in South Dakota cost five times as much to suppress as those in 2011 (17). A map shows areas of Nebraska ravaged by wildfires this year (18); where cougars displaced by the fires were captured on camera (19). Brookhaven National Laboratory is conducting New York Wildfire and Incident Management Academy in Upton (20). North Carolina Forest Service fire crews brought a 3 1/2-acre blaze outside of Mulberry under control (21); but as the rest of the East Coast gets drenched by a hurricane, winds from that storm may spark wildfires along Florida's Treasure Coast (22). A summary of wildfire activity in Ontario, Canada, is provided by the next item (23); while Spain's Universitat de València released a new study which argues that repopulation of areas impacted by wildfires this summer is imperative to avoid further major fires (24). A new scandal may be brewing in Victoria, Australia, where the federal government's decision to cut radio bandwidth in half is hampering bushfire-fighting agencies (25); even as Country Fire Authority fire crews battled a bushfire outside of Raglan (26); while unveiling a new smart phone app that can help people keep abreast of the latest bushfire news (27). Cooler weather is allowing firefighters south of Brisbane, Queensland, to gain the upper hand on bushfires (28); but a car fire is being blamed for sparking a 20-hectare bushfire at Caboolture (29). South Australians are being urged by government officials to prepare a Bushfire Survival Plan as summer approaches (30). Bushfires outside of Laverton Shire, Western Australia, prompted Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA) to issue a bushfire warning to homeowners (31); while Department of Environment and Conservation air-tankers assisted firefighters on the ground battling a small bushfire outside of Gingin (32); this at a time in which FESA isn't sure it will be able to adequately fight bushfires in the face of the state government's proposed budget cuts (33); which is not encouraging considering the bushfire forecast by the Bushfire Front think tank (34). And finally, one family in Oklahoma who suffered the loss of their home in this summer's wildfires had insult added to injury as thieves made off with building materials intended for their new home!

(1) Ventura firefighters knock down blaze in Santa Clara River bottom

(2) Los Padres Beefs Up Firefighting Resources

(3) Wildfire danger easing in Mother Lode, Sierra

(4) Prescribed fire operations continue today on Tahoe's West Shore

(5) Canadian company settling in at Chico airport, converting plane to aerial firefighter

(6) Forests' recovery from wildfires depends mostly on Mother Nature

(7) Wet week ahead in Washington, including Halloween

(8) Sid Beckman named fire management officer for National Park Service’s Pacific West Region

(9) Fire Restrictions Lifted on Public Land; Need for Fire Safe Awareness Continues

(10) Land managers find shortage, high price for native plant seeds for wildfire recovery

(11) Fires Ignited Along North Rim

(12) 2 Colorado wildfires holding steady

(13) Fire crews respond to small bullet-ignited blaze on Pawnee National Grassland

(14) Fire Wall: Escaping Four Mile Canyon

(15) Dixie National Forest to Implement Prescribed Fire on Cedar City Ranger District

(16) Controlled fires planned for Grand Teton Park and Bridger-Teton Forest

(17) SD sees increase in wildfire numbers and intensity

(18) Wildfire Map

(19) Video shows mountain lions amid northwest Nebraska wildfires

(20) BNL holding annual wildfire training

(21) Forest fire under control after burning about 3 1/2 acres in Mulberry

(22) Wildfires possible on Treasure Coast due to dry, windy weather, meteorologists warn

(23) Four forest fires in Northeast

(24) Repopulation of Countryside Is Essential Tool to Avoid Major Fires, Spanish Experts Say

(25) Bushfire emergency cuts for Victorian services put lives at risk

(26) Bushfire starts at Raglan

(27) App on the front line for bushfire season

(28) Cool change eases fire danger

(29) Burnt-out car sparks 20 hectare fire at Caboolture

(30) Take action now on bushfires

(31) Bushfire warnings for Laverton shire

(32) Firefighters contain Gingin blaze

(33) Inquiry told cuts may affect fire readiness

(34) Catastrophic bushfire warning

(35) Cushing Family, Rebuilding After Wildfire, Hit By Thieves