WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 071013

The author of four books on wildfires argues that a respectful memorial for the Granite Mountain Hotshots would be a national understanding about the risk of fighting fire in today's severe conditions (1); and Wildfire NOTD subscriber Mikel Robinson, Executive Directory of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sent along an invitation to a 7/11/13 webinar which addresses how prescribed burn managers can better prioritize their burn schedules (2). The next article provides details on the "Memorial Ramp Ceremony" at Southern California's Los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base for two wildland firefighters killed in a burnover in Arizona (3); while Heli-Expo announced housing registration for their 2014 show in Anaheim today (4); and San Bernardino County Fire took over forest fire-fighting duties in several mountain communities as they absorbed the Crest Forest Fire Protection District (5); fire crews bringing the Kyburz Fire burning in the Eldorado National Forest to 80% containment, allowing them to reopen Highway 50 to two-way traffic again (6); but Six Rivers National Forest implemented fire restrictions due to the wildfire danger (7). A 500-acre wildfire in Yakima County, Washington, has been attributed to a luminaria (8). The National Interagency Coordination Center indicated that Nevada's 25,733-acre Bison Fire has run up suppression costs of $4.4 million so far (9); US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid vowing to do everything he could to help firefighters battling a 40 mi.² wildfire burning in the Pine Nut Mountains (10); smoke from that fire continuing to loom over Las Vegas (11). The Shipman Fire is now 10% contained after burning 518 acres outside of Kearny, Arizona (12); while thousands of people attended the firefighter memorial in Prescott yesterday where Vice President Biden was among the speakers (13); people from as far away as Chicago, Illinois, honoring one of the fallen as his body arrives from Arizona (14); people in Winthrop Harbor remembering him as a young man who grew up there (15). A 30-acre wildfire was reported near Trinidad, Colorado (16); but at least seven incidents of criminals looting evacuated homes in El Paso County during the Black Forest Fire have been documented (17); the next item providing some personal survival stories from that blaze (18); a veterinarian reflecting on the horse rescue effort mounted in the wake of that wildfire (19); church volunteers doing what they can to help with ongoing cleanup efforts (20); but some are complaining that the El Paso County Citizen Service Center is too far away from fire-ravaged neighborhoods (21); the impact of the Black Forest Fire on the 65th annual Pikes Peak Range Ride being covered by the next item (22). A bulldozer operator apparently died of a heart attack while cutting line at Idaho's Pardee Fire (23); and officials in Utah's Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest voiced concern over the dry conditions that could stress vegetation, exacerbating the wildfire danger (24). In Texas, Possum Kingdom State Park was evacuated when a 600-acre wildfire in Stephens County threatened (25); even as FEMA announced the award of $48 million for wildfire suppression costs of blazes in 168 Texas counties in 2011 (26). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Jim Petersen, Founder of Montana-based Evergreen Foundation, reflects on the 19 wildland firefighters killed in Arizona earlier this month and the guilt borne by federal firefighting agencies in their deaths in the third installment of his Silver Bullet series of articles (27). The next article charts the progress of Pennsylvania firefighters battling wildfires in Alaska (28); where rain and cooler weather were helping quench a 130 sq mile wildfire outside of Fairbanks (29). A new study by a University of Alberta, Canada, researcher published in the journal Forest Ecology and Management forecasts that wildfires are expected to become far more severe over the next several decades (30). A 27,000-hectare wildfire continued to burn out of control in western Labrador and Quebec (31); even as owners of burnt-out cabins in Labrador's Blueberry Hill area surveyed the damage done (32). In Europe, wildfires have been reported in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Turkey (33). A wildfire raced through forested areas in the African nation of Rwanda's Rutsiro District barely two weeks after another blaze destroyed 16 hectares in Nyamashake District (34); while the environmental dangers posed by Indonesia's annual wildfires is explored by the next article (35). And finally, Florida firefighters had to perform a tricky extrication: freeing a dog stuck for 5 miles between a car's axle and steering mechanism!

(1) The West is burning

(2) The IMAGINE Prescribed Fire Prioritization Model: A Logistical and Ecological Approach to Management

(3) Local Firefighters Killed in AZ Wildfire Return Home To Southern California

(4) Housing for HELI-EXPO 2014 will open on July 10, 2013

(5) San Bernardino County to absorb Crest Forest Fire Protection District

(6) Fire in Eldorado National Forest 80 percent contained

(7) Six Rivers National Forest initiates fire use restrictions

(8) Selah man started wildfire with luminaria

(9) Wednesday Update: Bison fire cost up to $4.4 million

(10) Crews Burn Brush Near Homes in Vegas-Area Wildfire

(11) Smoke from massive wildfire billows over Las Vegas

(12) Arizona wildfires: Firefighters achieve 10 percent containment near Kearny

(13) Firefighter Camaraderie Draws Thousands to Arizona

(14) Body of local firefighter killed in AZ wildfire returns home

(15) Suburban community honors firefighter killed in Arizona

(16) Wildfire Burning Near Trinidad Too Dangerous For Firefighters

(17) Black Forest Fire Victims Share Concerns About Looting Cases

(18) A lost vignette from the Black Forest fire

(19) Q and A: Veterinarian talks Black Forest fire, horse rescue effort

(20) Church volunteers help sift Black forest fire rubble

(21) Fire victims complain about county services

(22) AROUND TOWN: Black Forest fire derails Pikes Peak or Bust Range Riders

(23) Idaho Dozer Operator Dies Helping at Wildfire

(24) Forest mitigating fire risk

(25) Possum Kingdom park evacuated as wildfire threatens

(26) FEMA reimburses Texas nearly $48M after wildfires

(27) The View From 30,000 Feet

(28) Pa. firefighters help make headway in Alaska forest fire

(29) Firefighters helped by rain, cool weather in Alaska wildfire fight

(30) Wildfires Are Only Going To Get Worse, Says Study

(31) Forest fires still out of control

(32) Labrador cabin owners devastated by forest fires

(33) EFFIS - Current Situation

(34) Rwanda: Wild Fire Leaves Rutsiro Forest in Ruins

(35) Indonesia’s Recurring Forest Fires Threaten Environment

(36) South Florida firefighters called to rescue dog trapped under car's hood for 5 miles