WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 062813

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Brian Fennessy, a member of the International Association of Fire Chiefs Wildland Fire Policy Committee and Assistant Chief at San Diego Fire-Rescue Department, sent along an article from Fire Rescue Magazine in which a fellow IAFC committee member discusses the National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy (1). As the Fourth of July holiday approaches, Oregon Department of Forestry warned of the fire danger outdoor activities could pose (2); researchers at Oregon State University publishing a new study in the journal Forest Ecology and Management which showed that reduced moisture levels in drier, low-elevation sites is converting conifer forests to grass or shrub lands (3). Although 80% of Nevada's wildfires are started by lightning, the Nevada State Forester stated that people could help prevent the other 20% typically started by humans (4); the smoke from Western wildfires prompting Clark County Department of Air Quality to issue air advisories which may last into next week (5); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Rob Rosovich, Director of Technical Operations at GelTech Solutions, discussing the virtues of their FireIce firefighting gel at a demonstration in Carson City (6). Prescott, Arizona's, Doce Fire, which has scorched 10.5 mi.², is now at 90% containment (7). As New Mexico's Silver Fire topped 100,000 acres burned, containment on the Gila National Forest wildfire was estimated to be only 20% (8); a video showing some footage from the firelines (9); the following article providing an update on the 9,400-acre Jaroso Fire burning in the Santa Fe National Forest (10). Light rain helped firefighters battling Colorado's 13,521-acre East Peak Fire (11); but crews grappling with the 90,056-acre West Fork complex only got dry lightning (12); while firefighters in Jefferson County are trying to determine whether fireworks started a small wildfire that destroyed a home (13); and fire crews tackled two wildfires started by passing trains outside of Castle Rock (14); an Air Force article discussing how MAFFS-equipped C-130s have deployed over 90,000 gallons of retardant on the West Fork Complex Fire (15); members of Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station’s Fire and Emergency Services recalling the nightmarish battle against the Black Forest Fire (16); NASA's Earth Observatory providing a dramatic photo of the blaze from space (17); the next showing the scar left behind by the blaze as seen by NASA's Terra satellite (18); but a woman who lost her mobile home in the wildfires was arrested for an old traffic violation as she sifted through the remains of her home (19). A wildfire between Fairbanks and Nenana, one of 115 currently active in Alaska, continues to snarl traffic (20). Lightning is being blamed for nearly 2 dozen new wildfires in Canada's Yukon (21); while volunteers and construction equipment were thrown into the fight to stop a massive wildfire threatening Wabush, Labrador (22). In Europe, wildfires continued to burn in France, Spain, Greece, Finland, and Turkey (23). Bushfires continued to break out on the East Asian island of Borneo, 177 incidents being recorded this month by Sarawak Fire and Rescue Department alone (24); one outside of Miri causing problems for people with respiratory issues (25). As the number of hotspots on Indonesia's Sumatra island dropped from 265 to only 60, 14 people have been arrested for starting some of the blazes (26); and the government has paid out $10 million to help fight the fires (27). The Australian Capitol Territory Supreme Court is determining who will pay the bills for a class-action suit lodged against the New South Wales government over the 2003 ACT bushfires (28); and in an effort to help educate people in Victoria on dealing with bushfires, Black Saturday survivors have released a DVD entitled "When the Fires Come" (29); but as Tasmania's government begins to distribute bushfire relief funds to farmers in the bushfire-ravaged Derwent Valley, the region struggles to recover (30). And finally, Oklahoma City firefighters received a call for help from an unusual location: inside a collection bin!

(1) The Cohesive Strategy for Better Wildland Fire Planning and Response

(2) Wildfire threat rises in Oregon with the heat

(3) Climate Change Threatens Forest Survival On Drier, Low-Elevation Sites

(4) Editorial: Only you can prevent 20 percent of wildfires

(5) Air Quality Advisory Issued Due to Wildfires

(6) FireIce: Firefighting Breakthrough?

(7) Full containment of wildfire NW of Prescott nears

(8) Wildfires keep growing amid record temps

(9) RAW VIDEO: Silver Fire burns 100,000 acres

(10) Jaroso Fire threatens structures

(11) Light rain helps firefighters battling East Peak fire in southern Colorado

(12) Weather forecast not helping firefighters battling West Fork Complex fire near South Fork

(13) Colorado wildfire contained after burning down a home; no injuries

(14) Passing trains blamed for starting two wildfires in Castle Rock

(15) AF aerial firefighters continue to battle West Fork Complex fire

(16) CMAFS firefighters recount Black Forest Fire

(17) A 125 Square Mile Wildfire in Colorado Seen From Space

(18) Colorado Black Forest fire burn scar

(19) Colo. Woman Arrested After Home Burns in Wildfire

(20) Skinny's Road Wildfire Shows 'Extreme' Behavior; Parks Travelers Can Expect Delays

(21) Lightning sparks 23 new fires in Yukon

(22) UPDATE: Wabush residents told to close windows, turn off A/C

(23) EFFIS - Current Situation

(24) 177 cases of bush fires recorded in June

(25) Bush fires raging on in Kuala Baram

(26) 14 arrested in connection with Indonesia's forest fire

(27) More arrests as govt provides Rp100 billion to fight forest fires

(28) Judge considers bushfire court costs

(29) Black Saturday bushfire survivors tell their stories on DVD

(30) Fire-affected farmers still struggling

(31) Firefighters rescue woman stuck inside donation bin