WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 080712

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Rick Hatton, CEO of 10 Tanker LLC, comments on the protest he and Canadian-based Coulson Aviation have lodged against US Forest Service about their next generation air-tanker program in our first item today (1). The California Fire Science Consortium sent along their August newsletter, which includes a nifty map that shows studies geographically in the state (2); but opposition is growing within California's firefighting community to a rural fire fee bill being pushed by the state (3); while CAL FIRE found an occupant in a car which had gone off the road, sparking a wildfire in the Bay Area's Saratoga Hills (4); but firefighters contained a 34-acre wildfire burning in El Dorado County (5); firefighters battling a 15,334-acre wildfire in Plumas National Forest estimating that it will take two weeks to finish the fire off (6). Central Oregon Interagency Dispatch Center reported that a 1600-acre wildfire near Sisters is threatening vacation homes (7); while nearly a dozen new wildfires were sparked by lightning in Oregon's Willamette National Forest (8). As firefighters continued to battle a 4,000-acre wildfire outside of Chelan, Washington, some homeowners were being warned that they may have to evacuate (9); and a new wildfire was reported in Kitsap County (10); while a study from Washington State University shows how forests benefit from wildfires (11). The District Ranger for the Smokey Bear Ranger District in New Mexico's Lincoln National Forest still feels that the Little Bear Fire would have been unaffected by retardant drops in its early days (12). Idaho, which had a relatively quiet spring, is bearing the full brunt of the wildfires of summer (13); where the US Forest Service requested two additional MAFFS-equipped C-130s for the Rocky Mountain region (14). The Utah National Guard reported a 2,000-acre wildfire on the grounds of Camp Williams (15). The wildfire situation in Oklahoma, where thousands of acres and dozens of structures have been lost, is covered by the next item (16); politicians blaming fire funding cuts and invasive plants for much of the damage (17); but cooler temperatures are helping wildfire crews who are battling 18 blazes across the state (18); however, Oklahoma's Insurance Commissioner fears that many of the losses in the recent wildfires were uninsured (19); which is cold comfort to people in Noble who are still picking up the pieces (20); the next article touching on how to help wildfire survivors (21). The emergency declaration by Montana's governor has mobilized the National Guard to assist firefighters battling numerous wildfires across the state (22); where lightning continued to spark new blazes (23). A radio segment from Michigan takes a look at the wildfire situation there, where 412 wildfires (triple the usual number) have already burned this year (24). Firefighters in Missouri's Mark Twain National Forest finally contained an 1,100-acre wildfire that has been burning there for more than a week (25); while a wildfire in Cleveland County, Arkansas, breached containment lines on Monday (26). Firefighters battling a wildfire on Maine's Big Spencer Mountain face a daunting task: pumping water from a natural source 3 miles away to the fireline (27); and West Virginia Division of Forestry is dispatching a 20-person hand crew to South Dakota to help battle wildfires in the Custer National Forest (28). In the Middle Eastern nation of Jordan, Rangers have redoubled their efforts to stop deliberately-set wildfires after eight burned through Jerash, Balqa and Ajloun governorates (29); while Israel's Prime Minister testified before a hearing of the Knesset State Control Committee on the Carmel Fire (30). Inadequate supplies of equipment are hampering Russian firefighters battling wildfires in Siberia (31); a dramatic photo from space showing the extent of blazes there (32). A wildfire that burned outside of Malaysia's Tudan, Miri, on the island of Borneo over the weekend may have been due to landowner negligence (33); while the benefits of certain plants in reducing the bushfire risk to homes in Western Australia is explored by the next article (34). And finally, everything turned out just ducky in a tricky rescue operation in Bradenton, Florida!

(1) Protest could keep Neptune's newest air tanker on ground through fire season

(2) CFSC August 2012 Newsletter

(3) Many Calif. Fire Officials Opposed to Rural Fire Fee

(4) Firefighters locate body, burned vehicle at brush fire in Saratoga hills

(5) Crews contain small fire off Mormon Emigrant Trail

(6) UPDATED: Chips Fire grows to more than 15,000 acres

(7) Wildfire Threatens Vacation Homes Near Sisters

(8) Lightning sparks forest fires

(9) Wildfire burns 4,000 acres near Chelan, Wash.

(10) Firefighters battle Kitsap County brush fire

(11) How Forests Thrive After Fires and Volcanoes

(12) Forest ranger says he would do 'exactly the same thing' regarding Little Bear Fire

(13) Relentless Heat Catalyst for Idaho Forest Fires

(14) Reserve Answers Call For Additional MAFFS Aircraft In Boise

(15) Wildfire forces evacuation of Eagle Mountain homes

(16) Firefighters battle hot spots in wildfires as highways reopen

(17) Lawmakers say lack of funds, too many cedars hamper Oklahoma firefighters

(18) Cooler temps aid Oklahoma wildfire crews

(19) Insurance official: Wildfire losses costly, tragic

(20) Oklahoma wildfires: Noble neighbors work to deal with what remains of their burned homes

(21) After the wildfire: Unsolicited donations may become the 'second disaster'

(22) Governor declares wildfire emergency in eastern Montana

(23) Lightning sparks new fire northwest of Seeley Lake

(24) Dry conditions make Michigan prone to devastating wildfires

(25) Crews contain fire in Mark Twain National Forest

(26) Forest Fire in Cleveland County

(27) Crews Battling Maine Fire Making 'Excellent Progress'

(28) W.Va. firefighters head to South Dakota wildfires

(29) Jordan- Rangers, agriculture ministry team up to prevent forest fires

(30) Netanyahu: California doesn't probe forest fires

(31) Tomsk Firefighters Lack Equipment - Deputy Governor

(32) Nighttime view of Russian wildfires from space

(33) Tudan bush fire due to human negligence?

(34) Choose plants to reduce bushfire risk

(35) Manatee firefighters rescue of 9 ducklings