WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 021613

A new unit chief has been appointed to CAL FIRE's Tulare Unit in central California (1); while a video from Oregon looks at the history of Native Americans using deliberately-set fires to their advantage (2). In Washington state, the Kittitas Valley Fire and Rescue chief will be giving a talk on last summer's Taylor Bridge Fire next Tuesday (3); but US Forest Service released a 43-page serious accident investigation report that disputed OSHA's findings about the death of a wildland firefighter in Idaho last year (4). The number of lawsuits against an oil drilling company accused of sparking a wildfire that burned 2,000 acres, destroying 17 homes in Glencoe, Oklahoma, has increased to 60 (5). California-based Caylym Technologies showcased its Guardian Aerial Firefighting System at the Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center Symposium in St. Joseph, Missouri (6); while the Mississippi Forestry Commission reminded property owners that they can conduct controlled burns to reduce the average of 50,000 acres lost to 3,000 wildfires every year statewide (7). A welder has been arrested for starting a wildfire on the outskirts of Valparaiso, Chile, which destroyed 100 homes, forcing the evacuation of 1,200 people, injuring 27 in the process (8); Chile's president promising to move quickly with a plan to rebuild the area (9). Over 100 ha of forest plantations valued at more than $550,000 have been destroyed in Ghana, Africa's Juaso Forest District (10). Fire officials indicated that a forest fire in Southwest China's Yunnan Province was snuffed out by an army of 1,695 personnel (11); and a forest fire was reported in the Gundre Range of India's Bandipura National Park, the first of the season (12). Australians in rural areas are disputing official claims about cell phone coverage, particularly in bushfire-prone regions (13). Firefighters in Victoria saved a home near Grampians National Park from a bushfire (14); and although a number of bushfire alerts in Western Victoria have been downgraded, many still remain in effect as hot, dry conditions continue (15). New South Wales' Rural Fire Service volunteers complained about the expense of fighting bushfires, advocating more controlled burns to eliminate fuel (16). And finally, a story from Raleigh, North Carolina, reiterates the fact that firefighters perform rescues for more than just human accident victims!

(1) Inspire Milestones

(2) Oregon Trails: Fire as a Friend

(3) Fire chief plans Tuesday wildfire talk

(4) Forest Service: No human error in firefighter's death on Idaho wildfire

(5) Civil Lawsuits Filed Over Oklahoma Wildfire

(6) Caylym’s Guardian Aerial Firefighting System Outstanding Debut at AATTC Symposium in St. Joseph, MO

(7) State agency offers advice as wildfire season approaches in South Mississippi

(8) Welder arrested over forest fire

(9) Chile's Sebastian Pinera visits wildfire victims

(10) Juaso Forest District loses GHC 1.1 million to fire

(11) SW China forest fire extinguished

(12) Bandipura witnesses first forest fire of this season

(13) Rural bushfire risk heightened by phone drop-outs

(14) Firefighters save Grampians home from blaze

(15) Bushfires alerts downgraded in Western Victoria

(16) Firefighting costs out of control

(17) Raleigh firefighter rescues injured bald eagle