WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 020812

California fire information purveyor FireWhat will be rolling out a new application for smartphones intended for use by homeowners in wildfire-prone areas on April 1st (1); but salvage piles rekindled near Ashland, Oregon, sparking a 94-acre wildfire (2). Lincoln County, New Mexico, is being left out of funding intended to help recover from wildfires that hit the state in 2011 (3); while the impact of wildfires on agricultural operations from a tax standpoint is addressed by a press release from Texas AgriLife Extension Service (4). The Wyoming Air National Guard has begun practicing for wildfire duty with their C-130 aircraft equipped with MAFFS units (5); something which may be needed soon, as fire officials worry that climate change could lead to worsening wildfires in the Shoshone National Forest (6). A thinning project on 138 acres in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest will reduce the fire danger near Florence (7); and US Forest Service will be conducting controlled burns on 788 acres in Amherst County, Virginia (8). A wildfire scorched 35 acres, forcing road closures and an evacuation on Hawaii's Big Island (9). Royal Canadian Mounted Police are seeking half a dozen people to question about the origin of the wildfire which destroyed a portion of Slave Lake, Alberta, seven months ago (10); while 22 communities will receive $1.2 million in FireSmart funding to help reduce the danger of wildfires in their area (11). A new study shows that slash-and-burn agriculture actually improves regrowth in Mexico's tropical forests (12). A substantial decrease in precipitation in Northeast China's Heilongjiang province has fire officials worried about the threat of wildfires (13); and concern over the impact of wildfires on wildlife in Chandrapur, India, has prompted sit-ins by environmentalists to protest apathy by the Chief Conservator of Forest in dealing with the situation (14); while a fast-moving wildfire briefly closed the Himalayan nation of Nepal's only international airport (15). In Australia, Victoria's Department of Sustainability and Environment now has a Cessna 182 providing an eye in the sky for bushfires (16). Agricultural operations in Gascoyne, Western Australia, are slowly getting back on their feet after a 430,000-hectare bushfire scorched the area late last year (17); but the state's top planning official is under fire for allowing developers to build homes that were later destroyed by bushfires in Gnarabup and Prevelly (18). And finally, an Oregon dairy farmer related the story of a startling encounter when a wildfire burned near his property!

(1) FireWhat Extends Offering of Products, including Free App for Homeowners in Fire-Prone Areas

(2) Rekindled prescribed burn cause of smoke

(3) Legislature leaves Lincoln County high and dry

(4) Tax issues due to drought, wildfire destruction addressed in AgriLife Extension publication

(5) Guard practices aerial firefighting in Guernsey

(6) Climate change to be key in Shoshone Forest plan

(7) Forest Thinning Project Near Florence Could Reduce Crown Fire

(8) Forest Service plans 788-acre burn in Amherst County

(9) Kona wildfire burns 35 acres and causes road closures and evacuation

(10) Police seek individuals in Slave Lake wildfire investigation

(11) Crowsnest Pass receives FireSmart funding

(12) Slash-and-burn `improves tropical forest biodiversity`

(13) Severe drought poses fire risk in NE China

(14) Wildlife activists demand fire protection in jungles

(15) Wildfire briefly closes Nepal's only international airport

(16) An eye in the sky for firefighters

(17) Gascoyne stations getting back on track after bushfires

(18) Chief defends building in 'fire zone'

(19) Everybody Has a Story: Tillamook forest fire led to close encounter with bear