WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 042313

A new study funded in part by the International Association of Wildland Fire and published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters turns conventional wisdom on its head by stating that the hotter the fire (and the denser the vegetation feeding the flames) the less the underlying soil is cooked (1). In Southern California, Orange County Fire Authority's use of a SIM table to conduct wildfire training is explored by the next article (2); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Rich Brooks, a Reporter for the Riverside Press-Enterprise, provides an update on a 30-acre wildfire near the San Bernardino County mountain community of Fawnskin which is now 90% contained (3); but an editorial from the Santa Barbara County community of Lompoc discusses the City Council's decision to allow the sale of fireworks in a year in which the fire danger is elevated due to a lack of rainfall (4); and following three wildfires outside of the San Diego community of Lakeside, East County's fire agencies are on high alert (5). An article from Washington state rails against efforts by environmentalists to block the suppression of catastrophic wildfires (6); even as fire crews in eastern Washington prepare for an active wildfire season that appears to be starting a bit early this year (7). An Arizona inventor plans to market a biodegradable mix which can help control wildfires (8). Following passage of a bill by the Colorado Legislature which could radically change the way insurers deal with wildfire claims, the House and Senate versions now have to be reconciled (9); while Wildfire NOTD subscribers Tom Eversole, Executive Director of the American Helicopter Services And Aerial Firefighting Association, and Dan Snyder, President of Neptune Aviation, weigh in on that state's plans to develop an aerial firefighting force of its own (10); even as a 925-acre wildfire near Alamosa was brought to 50% containment (11); while the Summit County Forest Health Task Force will be discussing improvements in stands of lodgepole pines at a meeting tomorrow night (12). As Bastrop, Texas, prepares to celebrate Arbor Day, the next article looks back on the 2011 wildfires that destroyed 95% of the timber in Bastrop State Park (13); while a Fire Spatial Analyst from US Forest Service's Missoula Fire Sciences Laboratory in Montana is helping fire agencies in Kapilvastu, Nepal, better understand their wildfires (14). Residents of Minnesota are being reminded during Wildfire Prevention Week that 98% of the 1,400 wildfires that typically burn 31,000 acres each year are human-caused (15); and the Maine Forest Service reported eight wildfires throughout the state yesterday (16). Two wildfires erupted on the shores of Saranac Lake in Upstate New York yesterday (17); while an article from New Jersey looks back at a wildfire which scorched around 1,000 acres outside of Medford in 1963 (18). West Virginia Division of Forestry reported that a 100-acre wildfire in Boone County is now 50% contained (19); and Florida Forest Service reported that a 360-acre wildfire in St. Lucie County which threatened homes at one time has been doused by rain (20). As part of Wildland Fire Prevention and Preparedness Week next week, Alaska Division of Forestry and Alaska Fire Service are reminding homeowners to begin preparations for the wildfires of summer (21). And finally, firefighters from New York state's Kingston Fire Department had to work with a wildlife rehabilitator on a tricky extrication: freeing a turkey vulture hanging upside down in a tree!

(1) AGU: Wildfires can burn hot without ruining soil, new study finds

(2) OC Firefighters' Emergency Response Tool Looks Like a Sandbox

(3) UPDATE: Mountain forest fire 90 percent contained

(4) Consider fireworks, wildfires

(5) Lakeside fires a harbinger of a dry summer to come

(6) Protection law sacrifices human safety

(7) Wildfire season comes a little early

(8) Local inventor says biodegradable mix can help against dust storms, wildfires

(9) Wildfires Prompt Colorado Insurance Changes

(10) Colorado Proposes a State Owned and Operated Aerial Firefighting System

(11) Crews Work To Contain Wildfire Near Alamosa

(12) Forest health task force session features wildfire info

(13) Ceremony in Wildfire-Ravaged Bastrop for Arbor Day

(14) Firefighting is no child's play

(15) Gov. Dayton proclaims April 21-27 as Wildfire Prevention Week

(16) Maine Forest Service, fire crews fight eight fires across state on Monday

(17) Dry conditions fuel Saranac Lake wildfires

(18) The Central Record: In Years Gone By

(19) Forest fire burns more than 100 acres in Boone County; arson suspected

(20) St. Lucie County's long-smoldering Heather Wildfire finally doused, fire officials say

(21) Not too soon to prevent wildfires

(22) Kingston firefighters, wildlife rehabilitator rescue vulture that got tangled in fishing line up a tree