WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 060112

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Bill Niccum, Assistant Chief with Southern California's Los Angeles County Fire Department, commented on a live-fire exercise in Castaic, north of LA (1); while Los Padres National Forest has shifted into a “high-response posture” in preparation for wildfires (2); but conservationists were attempting to delay logging in areas burned by the Angora Fire near Lake Tahoe to protect rare woodpeckers (3); and California-based FireWhat announced a new release of their Wildfire Pro App for Android phones, which helps homeowners and firefighters keep track of wildfires (4). US Sen. Wyden once again called on US Forest Service to add more heavy air-tankers to their fleet when he visited an Oregon-based firefighting aircraft manufacturer (5). As 1,200 firefighters manned the fireline in New Mexico's Gila National Forest, the 190,000+ acre wildfire is expected to burn for weeks in inaccessible terrain (6); which may portend a busy fire season ahead (7); but an editorial by the Chairman of the Congressional Western Caucus pointed to a prohibition on logging in New Mexico as part of the reason for the massive blaze (8). Wildfire activity in Colorado is the topic of the next article (9); while Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands officials believe that a 1,000-acre wildfire burning near Utah Lake was started by target shooting (10); one of several burning in that state at the moment (11). Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced that a 21,500-acre wildfire burning in the Upper Peninsula is now 63% contained (12); but as firefighters continue to grapple with that blaze, some recall the massive 2007 Sleeper Lake Fire (13). Arkansas Forestry Commission imposed burn bans on 20 counties while prerparing to fight any wildfires that break out (14). A $512 million cut in wildfire funding in Washington, DC, may hobble firefighters battling wildfires across the West (15); and DC-based Congressional Fire Services Institute sent along an invitation to a webinar today in which the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety will discuss their efforts in making communities more resistant to the catastrophic impacts of natural disasters (16). A trio of wildfires burning in Florida and Alabama underscores the wildfire danger along the Gulf Coast (17). After responding to 61 wildfires, Kamloops Fire Centre feels that human-caused wildfires are increasing in number in British Columbia, Canada (18); while Manitoba is canceling burn permits for some parts of the province that are at high risk for wildfires (19); and a 300-hectare wildfire has been reported near Behchoko in Canada's Northwest Territories as well (20); followed by a video from Labrador that provides a bird's eye view of a wildfire's burn area in Happy Valley-Goose Bay (21). The International Association of Wildland Fire issued a call for abstracts for an upcoming meeting in Lithuania on fire effects in soil properties (22); while firefighters in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand, battled a bushfire near a school (23). And finally, firefighters from Erie, Pennsylvania, saved the day when they came to the aid of a mother duck whose 10 ducklings had fallen into a storm drain!

(1) Firefighters Go To Prison For Wildfire Brushup

(2) Fire season begins for Los Padres National Forest

(3) Feds asked to delay logging near rare Tahoe birds

(4) FireWhat Releases Wildfire Pro App for Android Platform

(5) Wyden Urges USFS to Expand Air Tanker Fleet

(6) Record-setting NM fire expected to burn for weeks

(7) NM wildfire could portend busy season

(8) Responsible forest management is imperative

(9) Western Colorado wildfire is 85 percent contained

(10) Utah wildfires: Blaze near Utah Lake tops 1,000 acres

(11) Wildfires near Saratoga Springs burn hundreds of acres

(12) U.P. wildfire now 63% contained

(13) Fire rekindles Sleeper Lake memories

(14) Arkansas Forestry Commission prepped for wildfires

(15) Wildfire budget cuts in Congress put communites in danger, experts warn

(16) "Using Building Science to Reduce Property Losses"

(17) Little rain, perfect storm for wildfires in Okaloosa, Santa Rosa, Alabama

(18) Human caused forest fires on the rise

(19) Dry conditions create high risk for forest fire

(20) Forest fire burning near Behchoko, N.W.T.

(21) An aerial view of forest fire damage near 5 Wing

(22) International Meeting of Fire Effects in Soil Properties

(23) Bush fire behind Otumoetai school

(24) Firefighters come to the rescue of 10 ducklings