WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 082113

A total of 17,800 personnel continued to grapple with 48 wildfires in the Western US that may push spending past the $1 billion mark (1); even as a Government Accountability Office report requested by Colorado US Sen. Mark Udall and three other senators indicated that the federal government needed better data on the air-tanker fleet, which has been badly depleted and is struggling to keep up with current wildfires (2). In California, a 25 mi.² wildfire in the Stanislaus National Forest is threatening 2,000 structures in Yosemite National Park (3); but a shortage of firefighters has left some of the 14 lightning-sparked wildfires burning in the Sequoia National Forest and Giant Sequoia National Monument understaffed (4); even as more Air National Guard personnel from the 129th Rescue Wing departed Moffett Field in Mountain View to help with wildfires in the state (5); and although firefighters have been able to bring the 15,738-acre American Fire to 63% containment, it continues to expand (6). A 10 mi.² wildfire outside of The Dalles, Oregon, has destroyed another home (7); but a shift in the winds helped protect a water treatment plant (8); while some parts of the Umpqua National Forest closed by the Whiskey Complex Fire have reopened (9); and despite the difficult terrain, firefighters are gaining the upper hand on the Big Sheep 2 Fire through aggressive air attack (10). A 1,500-acre wildfire outside of Leavenworth, Washington, forced evacuation of dozens of homes (11). An 850-acre wildfire near Yarnell, Arizona, is now 15% contained (12); but the city of Prescott is wrestling with the issue of how to preserve the impromptu memorial to the Granite Mountain Hotshots (13); while a racecar driver does her part to help the Wildland Firefighter Foundation raise funds for the families of those Hotshots (14); but the US Forest Service warned visitors to the White Mountains about the hazards left behind in areas ravaged by wildfires (15). Fire crews expect to fully contain two wildfires burning in Colorado's San Isabel National Forest today (16); the explosive growth of housing in Colorado Springs' Black Forest fueling the deadly wildfire which swept through there this year (17); while a high school basketball fundraiser will help raise money for Black Forest Fire survivors (18); and schoolkids whose homes burned won't have to worry about getting to school, either (19). As multiple wildfires continue to burn in Idaho, firefighting resources in the Payette National Forest are stretched thin (20); firefighting efforts on the 600-acre Highland Alley Fire allowing Highway 21 to reopen (21); but it was déjà vu all over again for one town forced to evacuate for the second time in two days as the 7,000-acre Little Queens Fire drew closer (22); and the communities of Featherville and Pine were struggling to adjust to the devastation of a second year of wildfires blazing through their area (23); while three senators cited the "broken system" in which wildfire prevention funds are used instead for wildfire suppression costs (24). A summary of wildfire activity in Utah is provided by the next article (25); but as five wildfires burn in Wyoming's Yellowstone National Park, one blaze is close to structures (26). Smoke from wildfires in Idaho and elsewhere sullied the skies in western Montana (27); the air-quality situation in the Missoula Valley being explored by the next article (28). Strike teams from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources' Forestry Bureau headed out to California to help battle wildfires (29); while Canadian evacuees recall what happened when a 14.9-hectare wildfire broke out behind their homes in Osoyoos, British Columbia, in the next article (30). A score of new fires were reported in the European nations of Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Bulgaria, and Turkey, as well as on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus (31); Portugal sending out a call for help to Spain and France as 1,300 personnel battled 275 wildfires (32); but Spain has problems of its own with a 450-hectare blaze on the island of Mallorca which forced evacuations (33); the next article providing more details on wildfires in Bulgaria (34). Human agency is being blamed for two Malaysian forest fires by the Selangor Fire and Rescue Department (35). In New South Wales, Australia, the Rural Fire Service has been conducting controlled burns to reduce fuel in northern Illawarra (36); but a few unplanned fires are keeping them busy in the Port Macquarie region (37); suspicious blazes being investigated by Mid North Coast Rural Fire Service (38). A bushfire in Western Australia's Kimberley region forced evacuations of tourists from the Kooljaman Tourist Resort at Cape Leveque (39); but grants from Western Power could help volunteer bushfire brigades prepare for fire season (40). And finally, one family whose home was destroyed in Colorado's Black Forest Fire made an amazing discovery: a Bible buried into the foundation survived the fire!

(1) Wildfires across the West push spending past $1 billion

(2) GAO: The feds need better data on firefighting aircraft fleet

(3) Wildfire burns out of control near Yosemite

(4) Shirley Fire near Alta Sierra, Tenant Fire burn nearly 800 acres in Sequoia National Forest

(5) Mountain View-based airmen join fight against wildfires

(6) American Fire Near Tahoe Grows in Size; Air Quality Moderate

(7) Wildfire near The Dalles burns third home, 5 outbuildings

(8) The Dalles water plant escapes Blackburn wildfire

(9) Some Umpqua National Forest fire-closure areas reopen

(10) Air attack on fire plays role in success

(11) 30 homes evacuated as Leavenworth wildfire spreads

(12) Wildfire near Yarnell grows slightly

(13) City seeks to preserve memorial to Ariz. firefighters

(14) Race car honors fallen Yarnell firefighters

(15) Arizona fires: Forest Service warns tourists of hazards in Wallow Fire area

(16) Stultz Gulch Fire crews expect full containment Wednesday

(17) How Black Forest became ripe for historic wildfire damage

(18) D-20 high school basketball fundraiser to benefit Black Forest fire victims

(19) School districts providing transportation for students displaced by the Black Forest fire

(20) Payette National Forest fires stretch resources thin

(21) Highway 21 reopens after Highland Alley Fire

(22) Wildfire 2 miles from Atlanta, town evacuates again

(23) Idaho senators want wildfire funding to focus on prevention

(24) Pine, Featherville residents struggle after Elk Complex Fire

(25) As rain falls, crews taming spate of Utah wildfires

(26) Fire in heart of Yellowstone causes concern; national wildfire fighting spending hits $1B

(27) Fires from western Montana, Idaho causing smoky air in Helena

(28) Missoula mostly wildfire smoke-free; air quality deteriorates toward Lolo

(29) Iowa Wildfire Engines, Crews Head to California

(30) Evacuees recall night of worry

(31) EFFIS - Current Situation

(32) Portugal calls for help as firefighters battle forest fires in scorching summer heat

(33) Wildfires rage in Spain's Mallorca

(34) Forest fires break out in Bulgaria

(35) Human Factor Blamed For Two Selangor Forest Fires

(36) RFS to conduct hazard reduction burns

(37) Firies still dicing with bushfire blazes

(38) Some mid north coast bushfires under investigation by RFS fire specialists

(39) Tourists safe from WA bushfire

(40) Grants to help fight bushfires

(41) Bible Recovered From Ashes