WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 071813

The impact of forest fire smoke on air quality is taken up by our first article today (1). As 3,000 firefighters and 25 aircraft brought a 30 mi.² wildfire in Southern California's San Jacinto Mountains to 15% containment, 6,000 people were evacuated (2); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Andrew Madsen, Public Affairs Officer for the Los Padres National Forest, reporting on a 169-acre wildfire near the Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (3); but a plan on firebreaks in Marin County has stirred controversy as it advocates eliminating 70 miles of fuel breaks in favor of defensible space around threatened homes (4). Although firefighters in Oregon were making progress against two wildfires, they fear that 800 lightning strikes could spark more (5); but the Oregon Cattlemen's Association announced that $100,000 was available to ranchers impacted by the wildfires of 2012 (6). A heli-tanker was being called in to assist with a wildfire burning near Mount Vernon, Washington (7); while the Bureau Of Land Management provided an update on two wildfires in northern Nevada that have damaged power lines and threatened a pipeline (8). Wildfire NOTD subscriber Ray Rasker, Executive Director of Headwaters Economics, weighs in on how climate change is impacting wildfires (and homeowners) in Arizona (9); but the arrival of monsoon season has allowed New Mexico's Lincoln National Forest to lift fire restrictions (10). The little-known tale of how Schriever Air Force Base's GPS Operations Center helped with Colorado's 109,000-acre West Fork Complex is told by the next article (11); but El Paso County Sheriff's Office is investigating two suspicious wildfires in the Black Forest area (12); and El Paso County Health Department determined that one third of the 522 water wells in the Black Forest Fire burn area were damaged (13); while wildlife officials warned Black Forest residents not to feed wild animals displaced by the blaze (14). Boise National Forest was forced to pull fire crews off a 400-acre wildfire burning north of Lowman, Idaho, for safety reasons (15); nevertheless, over half the wildfires in that forest have been contained (16); a summary of wildfire activity in the Payette National Forest being provided by the next article (17). Oklahoma's McAlester Fire Department is working with Firewise to educate homeowners on how to defend themselves against wildfires (18); while the Nebraska Emergency Management Agency is using funds from the Wildfire Control Act to pre-position a single-engine air-tanker at Valentine (19). An article from Alabama's Maxwell Air Force Base discusses the important role Civil Air Patrol plays providing communications support to Air Force National Guard and Reserve units battling Western wildfires (20); New Jersey's Assistant State Forest Fire Warden weighing in on the wildfire danger in the Garden State (21). A Canadian wildfire continues to expand outside of Pemberton, British Columbia (22); NASA satellite photos showing wildfires blazing in the Yukon (23); while heli-tankers continued to douse hot spots in a 2,400-hectare wildfire burning on Labrador's Gull Island (24). Wildfire alerts were issued to residents of Suffolk County, England (25); dramatic video showing the London Fire Brigade in action against grass fires which continue to break out during the current heat wave (26); the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service dealing with a wildfire in Tentsmuir Forest (27); even as blazes continue to multiply across Europe, with wildfires being reported in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Sweden, Hungary, Romania, Turkey, and on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus (28). After several days of tense negotiations, ASEAN environment ministers have adopted a joint haze-monitoring system to identify owners of land in Indonesia who are deliberately setting wildfires that choke the region in air pollution each year (29). With a boost to funding, New South Wales, Australia's, National Parks and Wildlife Service will conduct 1,370 controlled burns as part of their Enhanced Bushfire Management Program (30); but South Australia's Country Fire Service was unsuccessful in its attempt to have the Supreme Court dismiss a multimillion dollar class-action suit over a 2005 bushfire on the Eyre Peninsula (31). And finally, US Forest Service is using "bearhugs" from Smokey Bear as the centerpiece of a new wildfire prevention campaign!

(1) Poor Air Quality After Forest Fires

(2) S. Calif. wildfire forces more evacuations

(3) Crews make progress on Tassajara fire

(4) Plan Proposes Changes in Fire Fuel Breaks in Calif. Area

(5) Firefighters make progress in 2 Ore. wildfires

(6) $100,000 for ranchers impacted by Oregon wildfires

(7) Wildfire burning near Mount Vernon

(8) Wildfires Burn Thousands of Acres in Northeast Nevada

(9) Climate Change Not Making Researchers Sound Very Optimistic About Future of Wildfires

(10) Lincoln National Forest lifts fire restrictions

(11) 2 SOPS' GPS operations center answers firefighting call

(12) El Paso County Sheriff's Office investigates two arson fires in Black Forest park

(13) Dozens of water wells damaged by Black Forest Fire

(14) Don't feed the animals - even after a fire, officials say

(15) 400-acre Ridge Fire proves difficult for firefighting crews

(16) 7 of 13 Boise National Forest wildfires now reported contained

(17) Crews get control of several fires in the Payette National Forest

(18) Are you concerned about brush, grass or forest fires where you live?

(19) State has new firefighting tool

(20) CAP Bolsters U.S. Air Force Firefighting Role

(21) NJ Forest Fire Risk Remains Low, But Can Change Quickly [AUDIO]

(22) Stubborn wildfire burns south of Pemberton

(23) NASA captures huge wildfires burning in Canada

(24) Gull Island fire under control; crews dealing with hot spots

(25) Wild fire warning as temperatures climb

(26) Firefighters tackle grass fire in Mitcham, London

(27) Fire crews battling to stop fire at Tentsmuir Forest

(28) EFFIS - Current Situation

(29) Asean okays system to monitor haze

(30) Record hazard reduction burns quell bushfire risk

(31) Country Fire Service fails in bid to have multi-million-dollar Black Tuesday court case thrown out

(32) Smokey Bear Gives Bear Hugs in New Wildfire Prevention Campaign