WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 052813

In Southern California, the Riverside County Fire Department Hazard Reduction Team reported that 80% of the owners of some 9,500 parcels cited for wildfire danger have now brought their parcels up to code (1); even as air-tankers assisted firefighters on the ground battling an 11-acre wildfire outside of Yucaipa (2); while firefighters braced for windy conditions as a 2.8 mi.² wildfire that forced the evacuation of 6,000 continues to churn through the Los Padres National Forest (3); a video from CBS News providing more details from the fireline (4); Kern County dispatching the Rio Bravo Hotshots to assist (5); and approximately 1,200 firefighters continued to grapple with a 980-acre wildfire near Julian in San Diego County that is now 70% contained (6). A Winterhaven, Arizona, firefighter earned a Community Heroes award from the American Red Cross for standing his ground when homes were threatened by a wildfire in 2012 (7); while fire crews contained a wildfire that burned upwards of 40 acres in the Tonto National Forest (8). Visitors to New Mexico's Gila Wilderness comment on the changes wrought by 2012's Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire in the next article (9). Residents of Graham, Texas, were provided with a few pointers on how to prepare for wildfires (10); a Travis County Commissioner discussing the role the public will play in formulating a Community Wildfire Protection Plan in the next article (11). A volunteer fire department will receive $3,500 to fund wildfire equipment and training from the Arkansas Firewise program (12). A 40-acre wildfire in North Carolina's Croatan National Forest has been determined to be deliberately set (13); while in Florida's Ocala National Forest, clear-cutting of forests is being done mechanically to protect endangered scrub jays who normally profit from wildfires opening up the forest (14). A summary of wildfire activity in Ontario, Canada, is provided by the next item (15); and smoke from a bushfire burning on the Philippine island of Luzon was blamed for a power outrage on May 8th in Talisay, Batangas (16). In Victoria, Australia, the two principal firefighting organizations, Country Fire Authority and Department of Sustainability and Environment, have been cited for not working well together in a report on January's destructive Harrietville bushfire (17); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Mikel Robinson, Executive Director of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along an invitation to a webinar which will discuss how GIS improved response and recovery efforts to floods in Queensland in 2010 and 2011 (18). In South Australia, Mitcham Council discussed compulsory bushfire safety inspections prior to the sale of homes (19); a summary of bushfire activity across Western Australia during the 2012-2013 fire season being provided by Perth-based Action Sheds Australia in the next item (20). And finally, firefighters from Wisconsin's Wrenshall Fire and Rescue Squad had an unusual extrication to perform: getting a horse out of a 10 foot deep sinkhole!

(1) RivCo Fire Department: Hazard reduction is key to preventing wildfires

(2) YUCAIPA: Air tankers help put out vegetation fire

(3) Winds Could Fan Los Padres National Forest Fire That Threatens Cabins

(4) Wildfire forces thousands from Calif. mountains

(5) White Fire burning in Santa Barbara County, Kern County sends help

(6) Firefighters battle blaze near Julian: General Fire burns 980 acres

(7) Community hero: Winterhaven firefighter honored for valor

(8) Wildfire in Tonto National Forest contained by firefighters

(9) Wildfires, wolves make their mark on the Gila Wilderness

(10) Prepare ahead of time before wildfire strikes

(11) Public to play role in forming wildfire plan

(12) Lone Rock VFD improves area wildfire safety

(13) Forest Service: Croatan wildfire was intentionally set

(14) Thinning of Ocala National Forest trees aims to improve habitat for Florida scrub-jays

(15) Monday forest fire report

(16) Bush fire caused huge power outage

(17) Bushfire Response Minister Kim Wells urges CFA and DSE to improve local relationships

(18) Mobile Technology, Situational Awareness, and Emergency Response: An Example from Queensland, Australia

(19) Mitcham Council to tonight discuss introducing mandatory bushfire inspections before hills properties can be sold

(20) Shed Provider Warns Perth: Bushfires Could Get Worse

(21) Wrenshall firefighters rescue horse from sinkhole