WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 060212

California Gov. Jerry Brown's attempt to limit a company's financial liability in starting wildfires has come under fire from the Senate President Pro Tem, now (1); but although US Forest Service has agreed to modify its firebreak logging plan around Lake Tahoe so as not to disturb an endangered species of woodpecker, environmentalists want more (2). A former Washington State inmate firefighter camp will be used for one last training exercise when it is burned down (3); while lightning strikes ignited several wildfires that are burning across Nevada, as chronicled by the next two items (4) (5). Unlike the Gladiator Fire, firefighters in Prescott, Arizona, managed to contain a structure fire before it could spark a major wildfire (6); but authorities have arrested a suspect believed to have set an illegal campfire which sparked a four-acre wildfire in the Kaibab National Forest (7). The 218,000-acre wildfire burning in New Mexico's Gila National Forest is now 15% contained (8); forest officials defending their actions amid criticism that they did not attack the fire aggressively enough in its early stages (9); but they're making up for lost time by dropping Hot Shot crews in by helicopter (10); even as fire managers watch to see if this area, which has been deliberately treated with fire in the past, responds as anticipated to the current blaze (11); however, the increasing fire danger has prompted officials in that state to impose fire restrictions on several areas (12). Two wildfires burning in Colorado have cost over $4.5 million to suppress so far (13); where Grand Junction is the eye of the storm (14); the next two articles taking a look back at a pair of wildfires from a decade ago (15) (16). Firefighters in Utah County, Utah, are struggling to complete containment lines around a 1,700-acre wildfire that has been burning since Thursday (17); but Michigan Department of Natural Resources got an assist from Mother Nature in the form of rainfall over a 21,000-acre wildfire that has been raging through Luce County, helping them to bring containment to 71% (18). The next article takes a look at the wildfire situation across the Hawaiian Islands (19). Lightning strikes sparked 16 wildfires in northern Manitoba, Canada (20); while Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources stated that a 39,500-hectare wildfire burning near Timmins has been held, allowing evacuees to return (21); the following article providing an update on wildfire activity in that province, where rainfall has helped to quench much of the wildfire threat (22). “Los Diablos”, an elite team of wildland firefighters from Mexico who help fight wildfires across the American Southwest, is profiled in the next item (23). Over 6,000 personnel are tackling a wildfire in Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province (24); and India's northern state of Uttarakhand is under siege, where more than 70 wildfires are currently burning (25). An update on Victoria, Australia's, Automated Fire Danger Rating is provided by the next article (26). And finally, firefighters in Ocean County, New Jersey, had an unusual rescue to perform: extricating a newborn fawn from a storm drain!

(1) Steinberg questions Brown's wildfire proposal

(2) USFS moves Lake Tahoe logging; still criticized

(3) Former prison camp to be burned for training

(4) Firefighters battle multiple lightning-sparked brush fires in Northern Nevada

(5) Firefighters working to contain Preacher blaze east of Gardnerville

(6) Crews' teamwork saved local forest community from wildfire following house blaze

(7) Suspect arrested in connection with Kaibab forest fire

(8) New Mexico wildfire 15 percent contained

(9) Forest Service lists Gila fire response

(10) Helicopters drop crews to fight NM wildfire

(11) Record NM blaze will test forest management

(12) Fire restrictions for Santa Fe National Forest, other lands, now in effect

(13) Western Colorado Wildfire Is 92 Percent Contained

(14) Grand Junction Is Hot Spot In Firefight

(15) Iron Mountain Fire burned hot and fast, covering 4,439 acres

(16) 10 YEARS LATER: Hayman still burns in our memory

(17) Crews aim to hem in 1,700-acre Utah County wildfire

(18) Rain aids Mich. wildfire fight as residents return

(19) Firefighters brace for busy brush fire season

(20) Forest fire burns near La Loche

(21) Massive forest fire near Timmins unlikely to spread; more residents return home

(22) Forest Fire Update – Northwestern Ontario Quiet for Now – Northeastern Ontario 25 new fires

(23) "Diablos" firefighters from Mexico cross the border to battle wildfires

(24) Forest fire breaks out in NE China

(25) 70 fires break out in north forests

(26) Automated fire danger rating signs for high-risk areas

(27) Firefighter saves baby deer from storm drain