WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 080213

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Rick Halsey, Director of the California Chaparral Institute, sent along a press release about a meeting in Ventura, California, on August 8th where they will disclose their findings that refute the idea that past fire suppression and “unnatural” fuel build-up are responsible for large, high-intensity fires in Southern California (1); a link to the study itself being provided by the second item (2); a survey of Californians finding that concern over wildfires ranges between 57% and 71% depending on where they live in the state (3); while a 17,791-acre wildfire in the Sierra National Forest is now 45% contained after costing $14.9 million to suppress (4); an update on two wildfires which have scorched 1,200 acres in the Klamath National Forest is provided by the next article (5). A photo spread shows images from the firelines in the Pacific Northwest (6). Oregon Department of Forestry is reassigning personnel to cope with three wildfires that have scorched 35,000 acres (7); but as the Oregon National Guard joined the fight, thick smoke was the order of the day (8); one firefighter reportedly killed and another injured when a tree fell on them as they were fighting a wildfire near Sisters yesterday (9); however, numerous lightning strikes around Sweet Home apparently started no wildfires (10). Firefighters in Washington state worked around the clock to bring an 80,000-acre wildfire near Ellensburg to 35% containment (11). The next article provides some insight on how Nevada's 43 mi.² Bison Fire receive its name (12); while fundraisers in Flagstaff, Arizona, will help the Wildland Firefighter Foundation, which is supporting the families of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in the Yarnell Hill Fire (13). A Professor at the University of Colorado's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology wades into the issue of how dangerous beetle-killed forests are during a wildfire (14). As the one-year anniversary of a 2,600-acre wildfire in Luther, Oklahoma, that destroyed 56 homes nears, survivors recall the event in the next article (15); but a 5.5-acre wildfire outside of Polson, Montana, was apparently sparked by fireworks (16). A video provides some fire footage from a blaze burning in Buenos Aires, Argentina's, Ecological Reserve (17). Over two dozen wildfires continue to burn in the European nations of France, Austria, Finland, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey (18); even as hundreds of Portuguese firefighters battled a wildfire in the Viseu region which was in such difficult terrain that they had to travel to the fire by foot or on horseback (19); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Johann Goldammer, Director of the United Nations' Global Fire Monitoring Center in Freiburg, Germany, sending along some information on an upcoming fire conference in Novosibirsk, Russia, in November (20). A 10-year plan to manage bushfires in South Australia will combine the efforts of Country Fire Service and several other land agencies (21); while Tasmania has secured several large helicopters to assist with bushfires in the coming season (22). And finally, firefighters in Norwalk, Connecticut, did their good deed for the day extricating a fledgling osprey whose wing was caught in a football stadium's light tower!

(1) Fire Service Unfairly Blamed for Wildfires

(2) Why Large Wildfires in Southern California: Refuting the Fire Suppression Paradigm

(3) REGION: Wildfires top Californians’ climate-change fears, survey shows

(4) Aspen Fire burns 17,791 acres near Mammoth Pool Reservoir

(5) UPDATED: 1,200 acres ablaze in Klamath National Forest

(6) Crews try to contain Oregon and Washington wildfires (photos)

(7) Department of Forestry hit hard by wildfires

(8) S. Oregon skies thick with wildfire smoke

(9) Falling tree kills firefighter in Oregon forest; 28th firefighter fatality in 2013

(10) Lightning strikes, but no fires reported in area forests

(11) Firefighters continue around the clock work

(12) Why was western Nevada's largest recorded wildfire named the Bison Fire?

(13) Family event Saturday will be fundraiser for firefighters

(14) Jeff Mitton on beetle-killed forests: Imminent conflagration or hype?

(15) A Year After Devastating Wildfires, Luther Residents Still Look For Answers

(16) Polson wildfire had 'astronomical' potential for disaster

(17) Video: Buenos Aires forest fires

(18) EFFIS - Current Situation

(19) Firemen fight against Portuguese forest fire

(20) 1st International Exhibition for Forest Fire Fighting and Protection

(21) New plan to stop bushfires in SA

(22) Bigger bombers for bushfires

(23) Firefighters save osprey in Norwalk