WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 070712

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Ed Story, CEO of Aerial Fire Response & Research Network, sent along an article written by Wildfire NOTD subscriber Mead Gruver, a Reporter for the Associated Press, in which Wildfire NOTD subscriber Tony Morris, Communications Director at Wildfire Research Network, discusses the fact that the Modular Airborne Firefighting System (MAFFS) critical to military C-130 firefighting aircraft is no longer supported by its manufacturer (1); while there was concern that smoke from wildfires in the West would cause breathing difficulties for people in the Midwest and East (2); the next item taking another look at how good a fit military vets are as wildland firefighters (3). CAL FIRE brought a 1,200-acre wildfire burning near Redding to 75% containment (4). Northwest Interagency Coordination Center provides an outlook on the fire season ahead for Washington state (5); which will be getting a boost from Aero-Flite, that is establishing an air-tanker base to support US Forest Service at Spokane International Airport (6). Firefighters quickly snuffed a 1 1/2-acre wildfire burning north of Reno, Nevada (7); but the Education Director for Arizona-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology takes a dim view of wildland firefighting in the following Op-Ed piece (8). As firefighters near 100% containment of Colorado's Waldo Canyon Fire, the new concern is about flooding in burn areas with the approach of rainstorms (9); firefighters thanking the community for their support during wildfire operations there (10); but it was a bitter homecoming for one soldier deployed to the Horn of Africa when he saw that his house had burned down (11); even as a New York Times article continues the raging debate over whether Global Warming is to blame for Colorado's wildfires (12). As firefighters neared full containment on Utah's 7,100-acre Church Camp Fire, some firefighters were being demobilized (13); while firefighters in Alpine have brought containment on a 2,200-acre wildfire to 65% (14). Firefighters brought containment on a 10,921-acre wildfire burning in Wyoming's Bridger-Teton National Forest to 75% (15); an astronaut aboard the International Space Station snapping a striking photo of the blaze from space (16). A pair of firefighters passed out battling a 100-acre wildfire in Portage County, Wisconsin (17); while firefighters grappled with a 27-acre wildfire in Indiana's McCormick's Creek State Park (18). Firefighters brought containment on a 1,200-acre wildfire in Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest to 100%, allowing evacuees to return home (19); but unlike their brethren in the West, firefighters in the Ozarks are finding that they are ill-equipped to battle wildfires like the ones that have burned 4,000 acres in that forest (20). An 80-acre wildfire in Johnson County, Arkansas, which destroyed several structures has been contained (21); and a pair of wildfires in Garland County have also been contained (22). New Jersey Forest Fire Service firefighters have fully contained a 220-acre wildfire burning in Wharton State Forest (23); while an article from West Virginia reveals that FEMA has extended the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program till July 16 (24). In Canada, a plethora of lightning strikes in Northwest Ontario has firefighters from the Ministry of Natural Resources on edge (25); but a 350-hectare wildfire in Newfoundland which briefly knocked out power to the Bay St. George area has been contained (26). Firefighters have contained a 50,000-meter wildfire outside of Akkar, Lebanon (27). Heading Down Under, the community of Princetown, Victoria, has had its choices for Neighbourhood Safer Places turned down by Country Fire Authority, leaving it without any (28). And finally, firefighters in the Ukraine may have a special wildfire hazard to deal with: radioactive trees at Chernobyl!

(1) Company’s closure halts parts manufacturing, support for critical C-130 wildfire system

(2) Scorching heat moves east -- and so does smoke from wildfires

(3) Veterans excel on another front -- fighting forest fires

(4) Wildfire near Redding 75 percent contained

(5) Wildfires coming late to Wash., but danger remains

(6) Air tanker company establishing base at SIA

(7) Firefighters Quickly Put Out Fire in Lemmon Valley

(8) Guest Column: Fighting all wildland fires is folly - they're good for the ecosystem

(9) Colorado wildfire: Waldo firefighting efforts shift to flood prevention

(10) Waldo Canyon Firefighters Thank Community

(11) Grim homecoming for Colorado soldier

(12) ‘Blame-ologists’ and the Colorado Fires

(13) Firefighters demobilize from the Church Camp Fire

(14) 'We are proud to have saved your home,' firefighters tell grateful Alpine family

(15) Squirrel Creek Fire diminishes

(16) Astronaut's Photo Captures Blazing Wyoming Wildfire

(17) UPDATE: 2 firefighters pass out at brush fire in Portage County

(18) Wildfire Scorches 27 Acres At State Park

(19) Southwest Missouri wildfire contained, evacuation order lifted

(20) Ozarks firefighters not equipped to fight massive forest fires

(21) 3 homes, 2 barns burn down in Johnson County

(22) Garland County wildfires now 100 percent contained

(23) Wharton State Forest fire declared contained

(24) FEMA extends firefighter grant program deadline

(25) Lightning raises fire alert

(26) Fire contained near Burgeo Highway

(27) Forest fires devastate large areas of woodland

(28) Princetown still without designated fire refuge

(29) Chernobyl's radioactive trees and the forest fire risk