WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 092713

Firefighters were putting the finishing touches on the Madre Fire north of the Southern California community of Azusa yesterday (1); a photo spread showing some spectacular shots of CL-415s loading up to do battle with the fire at Santa Fe Dam and LA County fireships over the blaze (2); while a 40-acre wildfire was reported near the San Diego County community of Lakeside yesterday (3); a forecast of windy conditions this weekend promising a heightened wildfire danger for the region (4); but cooler temperatures are reducing the fire danger in Sequoia National Park, which has seen 3,500 wildfires this season (5); and areas scorched by the Rim Fire are already beginning to regenerate (6); but in the meantime, a few watersheds within those burn areas will see an increase in watershed runoff and soil erosion (7); and despite approval of a bill in the House of Representatives that aims to open up the national forests to logging in the aftermath of the Rim Fire, it is unlikely to pass in the Senate (8); while fire restrictions have been lifted in the Tahoe National Forest (9); giving U.S. Forest Service's Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit the opportunity to begin their autumn prescribed burns (10); however, a trio of wildfires was reported along Highway 101 near Eureka (11). An editorial from Oregon borrows information from one of yesterday's articles about the 2013 fire season in that state (12); a new report from the Oregon Department of Forestry and US Forest Service spotlighting a troubling trend in which more homes are being built in wildfire-prone wilderness areas (13). As the release date for a report on Arizona's Yarnell Hill Fire approaches, relatives of the Granite Mountain Hotshots killed in that blaze face its revelations with mixed feelings (14). Fire officials in Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada, plan to thin trees around communities to reduce the wildfire danger (15); while half a dozen wildfires continued to burn in the European nations of Portugal, Spain, and Greece (16). Bushfires are still popping up in Queensland, Australia (17); even as nearly 2 dozen Rural Fire Service stations planned an open house to educate people on how to prepare for bushfires (18). A teenager has been charged with starting a bushfire in Glenrock Conservation Area near Newcastle, New South Wales, yesterday (19); one of several bushfires burning in that state (20); this as Bushfire Awareness Week begins (21). Following the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council in Melbourne, Victoria, fire officials in that state recommended that residents "beware and prepare" for bushfires (22). And finally, firefighters in North Carolina who were training on Lake Norman with new side-imaging sonar made an unexpected discovery: an airplane!

(1) Firefighters finishing up work on Madre Fire north of Azusa

(2) Photos: Firefighters battle the Madre Fire in the Angeles National Forest

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