WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 112612

A 10-acre wildfire broke out near the Southern California mountain community of Big Bear over the weekend (1). The Insurance Research Council released statistics on the toll wildfires have taken on Colorado home insurers (2); and as warm, dry weather persists, more wildfires may crop up before the snow flies (3); an article from the Denver Post looking at how a massive wildfire in New Mexico's Gila National Forest provided an ideal laboratory to observe whether more frequent use of fire can soften a blaze's impact and restore a forest to its evolutionary norm (4). Seven new wildfires broke out in East Tennessee over the weekend, bringing the total to 62 wildfires that have scorched 6,300 acres statewide since November 10th (5); including a two-acre blaze near the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency's Ijams Nature Center (6); meanwhile, officials are pursuing arsonists who have set many of the blazes (7). Mississippi firefighters are grappling with a 120-acre blaze in Jackson County (8); smoke from that fire proving a driving hazard for motorists on Interstate 10 (9). Fire crews from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Maryland converged on a 10-acre blaze in Washington County, Maryland (10). A large wildfire is burning near Tuckertown Reservoir in Davidson County, North Carolina (11); but a 250-acre blaze in Caldwell County is now under control (12). A wildfire that burned between 15 and 20 acres in Greenville County, South Carolina, damaged at least one home (13). A 215-acre wildfire has been reported in Georgia's Chattahoochee National Forest (14); while a 150-acre blaze in Dooly County has been contained (15). A new study in Nature Geoscience indicates that the mountain pine beetle infestation has actually altered the climate in Canada (16). A 10-hectare bushfire in San José de Maipo, Chile, threatened homes, prompting a yellow alert from fire officials (17); while a trio of bushfires was reported near Whakamarama, New Zealand (18). A lecturer at Australia's University of Melbourne in Victoria discusses how new scientific advances may make bushfires predictable in the future (19); while Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre sent along a link to their latest Fire Note which looks back on the broad range of fire research projects that have been summarized in Fire Notes since 2005, as well as new areas of fire research that need to be undertaken (20); even as Country Fire Authority opened 57 stations in Gippsland in an effort to educate property owners on bushfire preparations (21); and the benefit Bushfire Attack Level assessments provides is examined by the next article (22). Some gardening tips for residents of Queensland helped them reduce the bushfire risk to their property (23). New South Wales' Rural Fire Service issued a bushfire alert for South Windsor, where a bushfire is burning (24); while fire crews contained another blaze in Lane Cove National Park which threatened homes in Wahroonga (25). Country Fire Service gained the upper hand on a 2,300-hectare bushfire burning near Port Lincoln (26). A Western Australian parliamentary committee has determined that the state is woefully prepared for bushfires like those which have been experienced over the previous few years (27); Tasmanian volunteer firefighters facing some of the same problems due to shortages of heavy equipment (28). And finally, firefighters in Colorado had a heavy extrication to perform: getting an 800 pound boar out of a trench!

(1) November vegetation fire reported

(2) Wildfires, Hail Take Toll On Colo. Home Insurance

(3) Wildfires Once Again A Concern As Warm, Dry Weather Continues

(4) Fire science: Research in Gila National Forest unprecedented

(5) Fire danger increases as several wildfires continue to burn across E. TN

(6) Firefighters battle forest fire near Ijams Nature Center

(7) Fire officials search for arsonists behind wildfires

(8) Firefighters Battling Wildfires in Jackson County

(9) Smoke from wildfire creates dangerous driving conditions

(10) Fire officials still fighting forest fire in Washington County, Md.

(11) Forest fire in Davidson County

(12) Caldwell wildfire under control

(13) Brushfire Burns At Least 15 Acres In Greenville Co.

(14) Firefighters working wildfire in Chattahoochee forest

(15) Firefighters battling Dooly County wildfire

(16) Climate in Canada altered by 1C after destructive beetle wipes out huge areas of forest

(17) Wildfire in San José de Maipo Triggers Yellow Alert

(18) Large bush fire suspicious

(19) Bushfires can be predicted: data expert

(20) Fire Note - a shared resource of fire knowledge

(21) CFA pleads for Gippslander's to prepare for bushfires

(22) Building code changes to protect bushfire-prone areas

(23) Tips to help plan your garden against bushfire risk

(24) Watch and Act bushfire alert for Windsor

(25) Bushfire in Lane Cove National Park under control after burning near Wahroonga homes

(26) SA bushfire now under control

(27) Report slams WA firefighting preparedness

(28) Fire-fighting gear fears

(29) Firefighters rescue 800-pound stuck pig