WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 111913

We lead off today with some sad news from Wildfire NOTD subscriber Jerome Laval, Editor of the California Fire Pilots Newsletter in regards to the passing of Wildfire NOTD subscriber Walt Darran, former Chairman of the Associated Aerial Firefighters:

Walt Darran, a legendary tanker pilot and wonderful man passed away Friday the 15th of November. Bill Gabbert in Fireaviation.com and AAF website airtanker.org are talking about this sad news. Walt helped and inspired many of us in the fire fighting industry for so many years. Let's not forget... (1).

Elsewhere in the news, the SunSeeker Fire Blanket, which can withstand temperatures of over 2,500°, is using a Crowdfunding campaign to gain attention in wildfire-prone areas (2). The Oakland, California, City Auditor cited lack of supervision by the fire department in property wildfire inspections aimed to prevent another disaster like 1993's Oakland Hills Fire, which killed 25 people and destroyed over 3,000 homes (3); but following a 3,700-acre wildfire this summer on Contra Costa County's Mount Diablo, officials fear that fall and winter rains could bring landslides (4). At a Black Forest Fire Mentoring Connections Subcommittee meeting tonight, El Paso County, Colorado, officials will detail homeowner recovery efforts in that fire-ravaged community (5); while a wildfire in Pennsylvania's Berks County underscored the wildfire danger the region faces (6). The 1,600-acre wildfire burning in West Virginia's Monongahela National Forest is now 60% contained (7); but dozens of firefighters battling that blaze got to sit down to a home-cooked meal at the North Fork Mountain Inn (8). US Forest Service announced that it may be Friday before a 2,275-acre wildfire burning in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest is fully contained (9); where fire officials have identified a "vehicle of interest" in the vicinity of that fire (10). Following a year in which wildfire smoke from Indonesia's Sumatra island choked communities in the area, government officials promised to address the issue at the United Nations Framework Conference on Climate Change (11). A new Australian louvre window design has passed CSIRO bushfire tests with flying colors (12). The Chairman of the New South Wales Emergency Management Committee discusses rebuilding efforts in a radio segment (13); while a musician who nearly lost his home in one of those bushfires last month will donate proceeds from a song he wrote about the experience to bushfire survivors (14); and an auction raised $25,000 for the Salvation Army Bushfire Appeal Fund as well (15); but for the second year in a row, a bushfire interrupted firefighters viewing the Bathurst 1000 touring car race near Glendonbrook last month (16). Streamlining of aircraft authorization during bushfires in Victoria should increase the speed with which air-tankers reach fires in the future (17); and having survived a bushfire ember storm in 2009, the Radio Springs Hotel in Lyonville is prepared for the worst (18). Western Australia's Department of Fire and Emergency Services advised motorists to turn on their lights as they drive through bushfire smoke near Badgingarra (19). And finally, firefighters in Bondsville, Massachusetts, had a tricky extrication to perform: removing a gate from a draft horse's neck!

(1) We will miss you Walt

(2) Fire Blanket Crowdfunding Campaign Gains Attention in the Heart of Wildfire Country

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