WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 073013

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Rich Brooks, a Reporter for the Riverside Press-Enterprise, reports on a one-acre wildfire in Southern California's Cleveland National Forest in our first article today (1); and a 10-acre blaze threatened homes in Palmdale (2); fire crews quickly wrapping up a 15-acre fire near San Diego County's Sweetwater Reservoir yesterday (3); while Tanker 910 is flying out of Santa Maria Public Airport to battle a wildfire in the Sierra National Forest (4); but the San Francisco Bay Area Air Quality Management District advise people with breathing difficulties to stay inside as wildfire smoke drifted into the area from Oregon (5); smoke also polluting the skies over the Sacramento Valley (6); and a 350-acre wildfire in the Six Rivers National Forest forced evacuations from the nearby town of Orleans (7). The next article chronicles six wildfires currently burning in Oregon (8); where Medford Air-tanker Base is a busy place right now (9); but smoke from dozens of lightning-sparked wildfires is inundating Grants Pass and Cave Junction (10). As numerous wildfires continue to burn across Washington state, a 39 mi.² blaze near Wenatchee was heading towards a wind farm (11); and a 25-acre blaze in Spokane County threatened several structures (12); while Department of Natural Resources investigators determined that an 18-acre wildfire on Mount Si was human-caused (13). First Responders who helped battle the Carpenter 1 Fire on Nevada's Mount Charleston will be hosted at a dinner in their honor at the Resort on Mount Charleston tomorrow night (14). Colorado's US Sen. Mark Udall is urging the Department of Defense to expedite transfer of C-27 transport aircraft to US Forest Service for use as air-tankers (15); while Pikes Peak Wildfire Prevention Partners hopes to have a report on the effectiveness of mitigation efforts during the Black Forest Fire ready by the end of next month (16); and the San Juan National Forest rescinded stage I fire restrictions on Monday (17). As wildfires continue to burn in Idaho, federal forest managers are tightening fire restrictions across the state (18). Firefighters in Bastrop County, Texas, used a helicopter air-tanker to slow down a 220-acre wildfire yesterday (19); but better weather is helping fire crews grappling with a 5,000-acre wildfire in Wyoming's Washakie Wilderness (20). Fire managers in Montana are letting an 8,613-acre wildfire in the Bob Marshall Wilderness burn for ecological purposes (21); while high winds complicated firefighters' efforts to contain a 15-acre wildfire near Missoula (22); and Floridians touring a smokejumper training area in Montana got a ringside seat to a small wildfire (23). Minnesota is clamping down on wildfire arsonists, with penalties ranging from 10 years in prison to $15,000 fines for setting a 500-acre blaze (24); while a family in Walnut Grove, Missouri, recalls wildfires of a year ago (25). Scott Hawkins, Director of Public Information for South Carolina Forestry Commission, sent along a press release about a Certified Prescribed Fire Manager course that teaches people how to plan prescribed burns to comply with state air quality regulations (26); but the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers’ Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility in Fox, Alaska, provides the backdrop for an article about how more wildfires could start a vicious cycle which melts the permafrost in northern latitudes, accelerating climate change (27). As wildfires continue to burn in British Columbia, Canada, a heat wave is elevating the fire danger (28); even as folks in that province recall a 260 km² blaze that destroyed the town of Louis Creek 10 years ago (29). In Europe, nearly 40 wildfires were reported in France, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Croatia, and Turkey (30); a BBC segment providing some eyewitness accounts of a fire on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Mallorca (31). The next article offers a rare look at forest fires in Iran, where the United Nations says that soil erosion in burn areas is a major concern (32). The North African nation of Algeria's Director General of Forests indicated that 1,900 ha had gone up in smoke since June (33); while the problem of veld fires in Namibia will be addressed in a two-day conference titled "Mitigating the Effect of Wildfires in Namibia" taking place in the capitol city of Windhoek (34). A debate over the fire hazard posed by large stands of bamboo in India's Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary is examined by the next article (35); but firefighters were able to keep a bushfire away from a timber store outside of Miri, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo (36). With the arrival of bushfire season in New South Wales, Australia, property owners are reminded to get a permit to conduct outdoor burns (37). Queensland Fire and Rescue Service fire crews struggled to keep a bushfire on Mount Isa away from homes in Healy (38); QFRS crews planning to perform burn-offs on Russell Island to reduce the bushfire danger on Thursday (39); but adding insult to injury, Tasmanian bushfire survivors received faulty power generators from China (40). And finally, firefighters in Newark, New Jersey, have found a better way to beat the stress of firefighting: yoga!

(1) CORONA: Fire reported in Cleveland National Forest

(2) Firefighters knock down brush fire in Palmdale

(3) Wildfire blackens 15 acres near Sweetwater Reservoir

(4) DC-10 air tanker fights Fresno fire from Santa Maria

(5) Unhealthy air advisory in Bay Area due to Oregon wildfires

(6) Smoke locally coming from wildfires hundreds of miles away

(7) Northern Calif. wildfire forces some evacuations

(8) Oregon wildfires force evacuation of 100 homes

(9) Air Tankers Slowing Down Fires

(10) Fire Season Chokes Oregon

(11) Central Wash. wildfire spreading toward wind farm

(12) Wildfire near Dover Rd. grows to 25 acres, six buildings threatened

(13) Mount Si wildfire was human-caused, DNR says

(14) Resort on Mount Charleston hosting Carpenter 1 wildfire thank-you dinner

(15) Excess Air Force planes eyed for firefighting duty

(16) Group studies fire mitigation efforts in Black Forest

(17) Forest Service, BLM drop fire restrictions in forest, county

(18) Feds order heightened fire restrictions for Idaho forests

(19) Firefighters monitoring brush fire in Bastrop County

(20) Clouds, cool weather slow Washakie wildfire

(21) Forest Service: 8,000-plus acre fire in Bob Marshall Wilderness eating up old fuels

(22) Rock Creek wildfire hits 15 acres; firefighters hike into area

(23) Visiting Florida sisters get firsthand look at Montana firefighting

(24) Minnesota penalties for wildfire arsonists to get tougher

(25) Family farm recovering one year after drought-fueled wildfires

(26) Certified Prescribed Fire Manager

(27) More wildfires = more warming = more wildfires

(28) Fire threat high as hot weather continues

(29) B.C. marks grim anniversary as crews contain one wildfire, battle another

(30) EFFIS - Current Situation

(31) Europe wildfires: Witnesses describe 'incredible' flames

(32) Forest Fires on the Rise in Iran

(33) Forest fire: Nearly 1,900 hectares destroyed since June

(34) Two-Day Conference On Wildfires Opens In Windhoek Tuesday

(35) Is bamboo extraction to prevent forest fires really needed?

(36) Quick action saves store from bush fire

(37) With bushfire season you need a permit

(38) Bushfires continue to burn, threatening Mount Isa homes

(39) Burn-offs to cut fire hazard on Russell Island

(40) Warning over potentially deadly generators sold after bushfires

(41) Newark firefighter academy recruits learn yoga as part of training