WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 021513

Helicopter Association International sent along a link to their Winter 2013 issue (1); but following wildfires which have scorched 832,000 acres of forest land in California, costing the state over $1.2 billion in fire suppression costs, two legislators have joined forces to reduce the severity of future wildfires by improving forest thinning projects (2). Colorado's Sen. Udall appealed to Pres. Obama to allocate more resources in the Fiscal Year 2014 budget to assist the state in its wildfire recovery efforts (3); while an editorial from the Denver Post takes a closer look at the tangled political mess surrounding contracts for heavy air-tankers (4). Texas Forest Service kicked off its 12th annual Wildfire Academy yesterday (5). Twenty acres of Hyannis Park in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, will be thinned to reduce the wildfire danger (6); while about 600 families were evacuated as a wind-driven wildfire on the outskirts of Valparaiso, Chile, destroyed 75 homes (7); and thousands of personnel manned the firelines as a wildfire blazed across southwest China's Yunnan Province (8). The Philippines' Provincial Peace and Order Council is reaching out to residents of Mountain Province to help prevent forest fires (9). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Nathan Maddock, Communications Officer for Bushfire CRC, sent along their latest Fire Note, which discusses research from the Economics and future scenarios project at the Australian National University which is part of Bushfire CRC's Managing the threat program (10); even as lightning strikes sparked new bushfires in Victoria's alpine region (11); including one in Grampian's National Park (12); another strike resulting in a grass fire that forced the evacuation of Kryal Castle in Bungaree (13); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Kenny Chapman, a Pilot with Erickson Aircrane, doing his part to protect Ballarat from bushfires (14); but Victorians and South Australians marked a somber anniversary 30 years after Ash Wednesday bushfires killed 75 people and destroyed 3,000 homes (15). A four-hectare bushfire near Adelaide, South Australia, was apparently sparked by spilled cooking oil (16). A summary of bushfire activity in Western Australia, where a bushfire warning for residents near Australind has been downgraded, is provided by the next article (17); where human remains have been found in the burn area of a 1,280-hectare bushfire outside of Kin Kin (18); but unlike their brethren in Victoria, vintners in Western Australia fear that bushfires could taint their grape crop (19). And finally, the Arizona Nature Conservancy has come up with a new way to fight wildfires: art!

(1) The Winter 2013 ROTOR Is Now Online!

(2) California Assemblymembers Frank Bigelow and Bob Wieckowski Introduce Bipartisan Bill To Reduce Wildfire Threat

(3) Bennet, Udall Urge President to Restore Wildfire Recovery Resources

(4) Air tanker trouble as wildfire season

(5) The Prevention of Future Wildfires

(6) North Vancouver District working to undercut wildfires

(7) Wildfires destroy 75 houses in Chile, about 600 people evacuated

(8) 2,350 involved in SW China forest fire rescue

(9) Peace and order council seeks community cooperation in preventing forest fires

(10) Economic contributions to bushfire management and policy

(11) Lightning sparks fires in forest in Victoria's alpine region

(12) Lightning sparks Grampians bushfires

(13) Bushfire comes within metres of Kryal Castle

(14) US aircrane pilot Kenny helping Ballarat's firefighting effort

(15) 30th anniversary of Ash Wednesday bushfires

(16) Portable gas stove blamed for SA bushfire

(17) Bushfire warning downgraded near Australind

(18) Human remains found near WA bushfire

(19) Bushfire smoke could taint WA grapes

(20) How art is being used to fight forest fires