WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 032613

As US Forest Service continues to reel from budget cuts, it is bracing for another bad wildfire season nationwide (1). Northern California's Mendocino National Forest will be conducting controlled burns on 250 acres tomorrow (2); while the director of Oregon's Blue Mountains Biodiversity Project faults US Forest Service for a fuel/fire risk-reduction rationale that encourages logging in the Pacific Northwest (3). An Arizona Congressman submitted the Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2013 to Congress for review (4); the following article providing the cattlemen's take on the benefits of the bill to protect their pastureland (5). New Mexico's Albuquerque Fire Department is on high alert for more wildfires following one in the foothills (6); but upset that Colorado politicians are making it more difficult to get compensation for last year's Lower North Fork Fire, people who suffered losses are protesting at the state Capitol (7). Some useful tips on how to prepare for wildfires in Oklahoma are provided by the next article (8). The Nature Conservancy's Niobrara Valley Preserve served as a training ground for wildland firefighters preparing for Nebraska's summer fire season (9); while a woman has been accused of setting a 295-acre wildfire in Cocke County, Tennessee (10). The findings of a Penn State professor of geography who conducted research in California's Cub Creek Research Natural Area on the benefits of controlled burns is provided by the next article (11); and Blackhawk helicopters from the Massachusetts National Guard received some wildfire training ahead of the fire season at Camp Edwards on the Massachusetts Military Reservation (12). South Carolina's Horry County Public Safety Division is trying to determine why it took so long for firefighters to arrive at a wildfire which destroyed over 100 condominiums in a Carolina Forest neighborhood (13); even as donations continue to flood in for those who suffered losses in the fire (14). Georgia Forestry Commission fire crews battled a wind-driven wildfire 8 miles south of Jesup (15). As firefighters brought a 200-acre wildfire outside of Fort Pierce, Florida, to 90% containment, fire investigators have determined that the blaze was started by lightning strikes (16); the fire prompting closure of the Indrio Savannahs and Indrio Scrub Preserves to tourists during the post-wildfire cleanup (17); one woman losing everything she owned in that fire (18); but freezing conditions and humidity in the teens has Florida Forest Service worried about the fire danger in Escambia, Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties (19). Employees of the National Petroleum facility on the Caribbean island nation of Trinidad & Tobago had to be evacuated when a bushfire threatened their facility (20); while strong winds and dry conditions across parts of Holland prompted Dutch authorities to raise alerts about possible wildfires in the provinces of Utrecht and Gelderland (21). In Australia, Victoria's Fire Services Commissioner noted that the state had missed a deadline for the construction of bushfire refuges (22); this at a time when residents of Aberfeldy are still struggling to recover from a devastating bushfire (23). A 1,480-acre bushfire is burning near Rockleigh, South Australia (24). And finally, firefighters in Monument, Colorado, are probably going to ask for combat pay after battling a house fire in which exploding ammunition posed an additional hazard to the job!

(1) Forest Service braces for bad wildfire season amid cuts

(2) Prescribed fire planned on Mendocino National Forest March 27

(3) Logging and fire suppression follow the same path for forest management: Guest opinion

(4) Rep. Paul Gosar Introduces Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act of 2013

(5) Catastrophic Wildfire Prevention Act Reintroduced

(6) Firefighters prep for active wildfire season

(7) Survivors mark wildfire anniversary

(8) Wildfire: What you need to do before, during and after fires to protect you, your family and home

(9) Controlled burns: Crews train to prevent wildfires by setting 'good' fires

(10) Arrest made in forest fire: Irish Cutt woman facing multiple charges

(11) Fighting fire with fire

(12) Wildfire training held at Camp Edwards

(13) S.C. Authorities Investigate Delay in Fire Response

(14) Carolina Forest fire relief drop off site deals with influx of donations

(15) Forestry Commission fighting fire south of Jesup

(16) Fort Pierce wildfire update: Lightning strike caused 200-acre wildfire that damaged homes

(17) Indrio Savannahs, Indrio Scrub Preserves closed due to wildfire cleanup

(18) Debra Arguedas, Fort Pierce resident, loses everything to wildfire

(19) Forest Service Urges Caution Due To Fire Weather Conditions

(20) Bush fire causes NP evacuation

(21) Code amber for forest fire risk

(22) Deadline missed on fire refuges

(23) Waiting to start again, after the Aberfeldy bushfire

(24) Rockleigh bushfire burning freely

(25) Ammunition hampers firefighters at Monument blaze