WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 081313

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Rick Halsey, Director of the California Chaparral Institute, sent along a new study which debunks the theory that backcountry firebreaks reduce the severity and frequency of wildfires in Southern California (1); the cost of the Silver Fire topping $8.3 million (2); and a new 3.5-acre wildfire was reported near Idyllwild (3); while attorneys are soliciting business from people in the Coachella Valley impacted by smoke and ash associated with the recent wildfires (4); the next article profiling Jeanne Pincha-Tulley, the Incident Commander on last month's Mountain Fire (5); and Southern California-based Blue Sky Network has outfitted Erickson Aircrane heli-tankers with its New SkyRouter cloud-based web portal, improving the tracking of their aircraft (6); heli-tankers being called in to battle a 1,200-acre wildfire burning in rugged terrain in the Tahoe National Forest (7); the blaze filling the region with wildfire smoke (8). Numerous wildfires continue to burn across Oregon, including 30 small lightning-sparked blazes in the Willamette National Forest (9); Douglas Forest Protective Association reporting one lightning-sparked wildfire in their neck of the woods (10); the next article focusing on the impact of wildfire smoke on tourist attractions across the state (11); but residents of Salem were told that smoke settling over their city was from field burning, not wildfires (12). Although firefighters are making progress on a 6,000-acre wildfire in Chelan County, Washington, a change in the weather could complicate things (13). Smoke from the 1,200-acre wildfire burning in California's Tahoe National Forest is flooding into Reno, Nevada (14); while the divisive issue of whether Prescott, Arizona, will grant full-time benefits to members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots posthumously is explored by the next item (15). A fast-moving wildfire has scorched 150 acres outside of Glenwood Springs, Colorado (16); while residents of El Paso County are concerned as to whether new fire codes will be enacted in the wake of the devastating Black Forest Fire (17). Favorable weather allowed firefighters in Idaho to conduct burnout operations on two major wildfires (18); an army of firefighters from around the country focusing on structure protection (19); but lightning has sparked three new fires (20); wildfire smoke fouling the air in central Idaho (21); wildfire activity prompting the governor to issue a state disaster declaration to free up more funding for firefighting efforts (22). Cooler air and higher humidity assisted firefighters in Utah battling several wildfires (23); but the abundance of recent wildfires has put a severe strain on the number of personnel available to monitor smaller blazes in the state (24). Texas A&M has unveiled a new vegetation modeling system which incorporates the simulation of the plant growth process to better predict wildfire danger caused by fuel loading (25); and as the second anniversary of the Bastrop County wildfires approaches, fire officials offered useful tips to residents to reduce the chance of a wildfire destroying their home (26). Firefighters in Montana's Bitterroot National Forest had new wildfires to deal with east of Sula (27); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Mikel Robinson, Executive Director of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sending along a call for presentations for their upcoming Large Wildland Fires Conference, to be held in Missoula next May (28). Eastern firefighters were on their way to help their Western brethren with wildfires: a contingent of firefighters from Pennsylvania shipping out for Idaho (29); and a 20-person fire crew departed Connecticut to help battle a wildfire in Montana's Lolo National Forest (30). British Columbia, Canada's, Wildfire Management Branch contained a small blaze outside of Harrison Hot Springs (31); while residents of Lillooet were allowed to return home after being evacuated due to a nearby wildfire (32); but a small wildfire was threatening homes around Harrison Lake (33); this following a weekend in which 116 wildfires broke out, over 100 of them due to lightning strikes (34); nevertheless, the Southeast Fire Centre reported that the number of wildfires so far this year is about normal (35); a heat wave in the Yukon is not helping the wildfire situation there (36); and the federal government has yet to compensate Labrador for a 2012 wildfire started during a training exercise in Happy Valley-Goose Bay which ended up costing the province $593,000 (37). New wildfire starts were reported in Portugal, Greece, and the North African nation of Algeria (38); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Tony Morris, Communications Director at Wildfire Research Network, interviewing Major-General Shahar Ayalon, Commissioner of Israel's National Fire & Rescue Authority, about firefighting in that Middle Eastern nation (39). An elderly man pleaded not guilty in the High Court in Nelson, New Zealand, after being accused of setting several bushfires last year (40). Heading to Australia, Wildfire NOTD subscriber Nathan Maddock, Communications Officer at Victoria-based Bushfire CRC, sent along their August 2013 Fire Update newsletter (41); and bushfire bunker design is on the agenda for a meeting to be held next month by the Warrandyte Community Association (42). Queensland's Police and Community Safety Minister stressed the importance of bushfire preparations while explaining the goals of Operation Cool Burn (43); while Rural Fire Service Queensland is offering bushfire workshops on North Stradbroke Island this weekend (44). In Western Australia, Bunbury Volunteer Bushfire Brigade is staffing up ahead of bushfire season (45). And finally, firefighters in Kansas City found a new use for their fire trucks: a makeshift cattle corral!

(1) Silver Fire Defies Popular Beliefs About Wildfire by Burning Within the Deadly 2006 Esperanza Fire Scar

(2) One Calif. Wildfire Battle Price Tag at $8.3M So Far

(3) Fire breaks out in Skunk Cabbage Meadow area near Idyllwild

(4) Law firms solicit smoke, ash claims after back-to-back wildfires

(5) Firefighting's First Female General Makes Order Out Of Chaos

(6) Blue Sky Network Provides Erickson Air-Crane With M2M Satellite Tracking Solutions for Aerial Firefighting

(7) Forest fire NE of Foresthill burns 1,200 acres

(8) Air quality, particularly in foothills, could diminish

(9) Scattered fires continue to burn in Willamette forest

(10) Weekend lightning leaves dozens of small fires in forests

(11) Forest fire smoke clarifies Oregon's arboreal identity: 200 wiseguy words

(12) Valley smoke from field burning, not forest fires

(13) Major progress made on wildfire burning south of Wenatchee

(14) Smoke from California fire settles in Reno

(15) Firefighters' Benefits Divide Northern Ariz. City

(16) Red Canyon fire south of Glenwood Springs spreads to 150 acres

(17) Black Forest residents want to know if new fire codes are coming

(18) Crews successfully conduct wildfire burnout in Idaho town

(19) Local firefighters join agencies from coast-to-coast to save homes

(20) Tuesday morning's thunderstorms spark wildfires

(21) Health officials: central Idaho air quality now unhealthy because of area wildfires

(22) Governor Otter issues state disaster declaration to help firefighting efforts

(23) Crews gaining upper hand on Utah wildfires

(24) Utah low on firefighting resources, officials say

(25) A&M scientists aim to predict wildfires in Texas

(26) Wildfire prevention tips as Bastrop fire anniversary nears

(27) Bitterroot firefighters chase new wildfires east of Sula

(28) Call for Presentations - Large Wildland Fires Conference

(29) Second group of Pennsylvania fire officials headed to Idaho wildfires

(30) Conn. crew to help fight Montana wild fires

(31) Forest fire in Harrison Hot Springs now under control

(32) Evacuation alert lifted as Lillooet wildfire contained

(33) Fire crews hitting hot spots on Rockwell Drive fire

(34) B.C. fire crews battle 116 wildfires during hot, dry Sunday

(35) Wildfires in the Southeast Fire Centre almost right on five year average

(36) Yukon heat wave sparks new forest fires

(37) Feds yet to pay for fire started at 5 Wing

(38) EFFIS - Current Situation

(39) Interview with Major-General Shahar Ayalon IAF

(40) Accused man denies lighting forest fires

(41) Bushfire CRC August 2013 Fire Update

(42) Warrandyte landowners building bushfire bunkers to meet their own needs

(43) Preparation is the key to a safe bushfire season

(44) Bushfire workshops on Straddie

(45) New recruits eager for new members

(46) KC police and firefighters get creative to corral loose cattle