WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 050813

The impact of sequestration cuts on California Air National Guard aircraft which help fight wildfires is discussed in our first story today (1); but farmworkers in Oxnard lost their jobs when they left the fields to seek shelter from the smoke generated by the nearby Camarillo Springs Fire (2). An Oregon Public Broadcasting segment interviews Wildfire NOTD subscriber Wayne Coulson, CEO of Coulson Aviation USA, about the award of a contract for his C-130Q air-tanker as part of the US Forest Service's "Next Generation" air-tanker program (3); but following a dozen blazes in Lane County, homeowners were admonished to keep an eye on debris fires so that they don't become wildfires (4). Washington State Department of Natural Resources issued an update on 11 wildfires that have burned 246 acres in the southwestern part of the state (5); but a US Forest Service wildland firefighter collapsed and died while working in New Mexico's Sacramento Ranger District (6). As military C-130s practice wildland firefighting in Wyoming, Wildfire NOTD subscriber Meade Gruver, a Reporter for the Associated Press, reveals the new standards and procedures adopted since a C-130 crashed in South Dakota last year (7). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Bill Derr, a former Special Agent with US Forest Service, sent along an article which details Neptune Aviation's protest over the recent next generation airtanker bid which excluded two BAE-146 aircraft in its stable (8). British Columbia, Canada's, 240-hectare Spatsum Creek wildfire is making for smoky skies in Kamloops (9); while an update on Québec's wildfires is provided by the next article (10); but a trio of wildfires blazed across New Brunswick (11); the latest of 274 wildfires in that province, all of which have been started by people (12); a 75-hectare blaze outside of Kedgwick prompting Department of Natural Resources officials to establish an emergency center for evacuees just in case (13); even as firefighters mopped up the remains of a 40-hectare wildfire on Prince Edward Island (14); volunteers pitching in to prevent a major fire outside of Montague (15); and the sight of an air-tanker battling a wildfire on the outskirts of Tilton, Newfoundland, drew quite a crowd (16); while six fire departments, assisted by a pair of helicopters, squelched a wildfire in Digby County, Nova Scotia (17). In Ireland, County Louth has been hit with 42,000 ha worth of wildfires since the beginning of April, most started deliberately by landowners to clear vegetation (18); and a major wildfire raced across the Yorkshire Moors in the UK as well (19). Based on the Australian Army's "Bushmaster" armored personnel carriers, Forestry SA 's fleet of 15 Fire Kings are specifically designed to battle South Australia's plantation fires (20); meanwhile, Country Fire Service battled a 13-hectare bushfire on the Eyre Peninsula (21). An independent inquiry into the Tasmanian bushfires that damaged or destroyed approximately 400 properties last January is finally under way (22); where Tasmania Fire Service officials fear one in five firefighters are exhausted after the worst fire season since 1967 (23). And finally, actress/activist Daryl Hannah suffered an unexpected setback when her biodiesel Tomcar ATV was impounded by police as the Springs wildfire threatened her home!

(1) California Guard Firefighting Aircraft Threatened by Cuts

(2) Farmworkers Fired For Leaving During California Wildfire (VIDEO)

(3) Oregon Companies To Build 'Next Generation' Of Forest Service Air Tankers

(4) It's true: You can prevent forest fires

(5) Update on Westside Wildfires

(6) Daniel Davidson, a wildland firefighter and war veteran, dies Sunday

(7) Wyo., NC C130 crews practice fighting wildfires

(8) Neptune Aviation to Protest Contract Bid Denial

(9) Growing wildfire in B.C. Interior fueled by hot, dry weather

(10) Mont Saint-Hilaire fire brings total number of forest fires to nine in Quebec

(11) 3 forest fires out of control across New Brunswick

(12) All 274 NB forest fires this year caused by people

(13) Emergency centre set up in New Brunswick town due to forest fire

(14) North Shore forest fire almost out

(15) Montague volunteers prevent major forest fire

(16) Air tanker helps douse Tilton brush fire

(17) Fire crews battle Digby County forest fire

(18) Landowners warned over wildfires

(19) Firefighters battle mile-wide moorland inferno overnight as flames threaten cottages and farm

(20) Fighting forest fires in a fortress on wheels

(21) Crews tackle Eyre Peninsula bushfire

(22) SA bushfire veteran begins Tas inquiry

(23) Concerns for fire fighters well being

(24) Daryl Hannah's ATV Impounded During Malibu Wildfire