WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 090913

We lead off with a technology story today in which cloud computing companies FireBase and SimTable demonstrated how their products enable wildland firefighters to track wildfires in real time (1). In Southern California, Los Angeles County Fire Department pounced on a 5-acre wildfire next to Interstate 5 near Santa Clarita (2); several more lightning-sparked wildfires being ignited in the San Bernardino National Forest (3); but fire officials fear that the $89 million suppression cost for Yosemite's Rim Fire could increase 30-fold (4); CAL FIRE reporting that a 1,500-acre wildfire in Contra Costa County, California, is now 10% contained (5); after forcing the evacuation of about 100 homes in the San Francisco Bay Area (6); while a 40-acre wildfire swept through a pallet factory outside of Sonoma (7); and fire officials in the Klamath National Forest reflected on a busy fire season of lightning busts (8). Lightning sparked two wildfires over the weekend in Oregon's Umpqua National Forest (9); while a candlelight vigil was held for a wildland firefighter who died when his ATV crashed in New Mexico's Santa Fe National Forest (10). An update on the wildfire situation in Idaho is provided by the next article (11); where the Umatilla-Pomeroy Ranger District needs more rain to reduce the fire danger (12); and hikers commented on the changes wrought by wildfires in the Seven Devils Mountains (13). A vehicle is being blamed for a string of wildfires that scorched 350 acres in Smith County, Texas (14). A 125-acre wildfire was reported over the weekend near Whitehall, Montana (15); while a retired Director of US Forest Service Fire & Aviation expounds on how firefighting policy must change in Montana and the West (16). More fire crews continued to return home from fighting wildfires in the West: a wildland firefighter from Ohio's Mohican Memorial State Forest comments on his exploits this summer (17); while firefighters from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation discussed their activity in Montana (18); and a resident of Rockport added his own comments in the next article (19). New Jersey Forest Fire Service crews were monitoring a smoldering wildfire in Ocean County's Cattus Island Park (20); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Mikel Robinson, Executive Director of the International Association of Wildland Fire, sending along an invitation to their upcoming Smoke Symposium, to be held in Hyattsville, Maryland, next month (21). Firefighters from West Virginia who volunteered to fight fires in the West discuss some of the things they learned in the next article (22); Florida-based GelTech Solutions announcing the inclusion of their FireIce wildland firefighting gel in Con Edison's most recent Sustainability Report for combating fires in manholes and other enclosed structures (23). The European Forest Fire Information System reported 21 wildfires in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Syria, Turkey, and on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus (24); while firefighters quickly contained a small wildfire in Taipei, Taiwan's, Beitou District (25). Local politicians were protesting plans to add 17,000 more homes to Victoria, Australia's, Bushfire Management Overlay (26); and Rural Fire Service Queensland crews grappled with a bushfire in Mount Archer National Park (27). Following a warm, dry winter, Rural Fire Service officials warned residents of Sydney, New South Wales, that the bushfire season could be disastrous (28); residents of Young, NSW, being warned to prepare (29); while RFS crews conducted controlled burns outside of Dubbo (30). Western Australia's Department of Parks and Wildlife carried out controlled burns to reduce fuel loads on the outskirts of Perth (31). And finally, a horse badly burned in Colorado's Black Forest Fire has finally gotten to go home!

(1) Tracking real wildfires with SimTable and FireBase

(2) Brushfire near I-5 out quickly

(3) Firefighters working small lightning fires in San Bernardino National Forest

(4) California’s wildfire burns through funds

(5) Morgan Fire in Contra Costa Co. quickly grows to 1500 acres

(6) About 100 Homes Evacuated in SF Bay Area Wildfire

(7) Brush fire sweeps through pallet factory south of Sonoma

(8) Klamath NF Takes on More Than 100 Wildfires So Far

(9) Fires Start in Umpqua National Forest

(10) Candlelight vigil for fallen firefighter draws crowd

(11) Sunday wildfire update: 9/8/13

(12) Umatilla Nat’l Forest fire danger remains high despite last week’s rain

(13) Seven Devils: Hikers approve of God’s work above Hells Canyon

(14) Forest service releases cause of Sunday afternoon fires

(15) Fire sparks in Hells Canyon near Silverstar

(16) Guest opinion: Firefighting policy must be adapted to new reality

(17) Western wildfires are a far cry from working in Mohican forest

(18) Valley firefighters recount 16-hour days containing Montana wildfires

(19) Back from the western wildfires

(20) Forest Fire Near Cattus Island Park Still Smoldering

(21) International Smoke Symposium

(22) Local firefighters return from western wildfires

(23) GelTech's FireIce Product Documented in Con Edison's 2012 Sustainability Report

(24) EFFIS - Current Situation

(25) No injuries reported after bushfire breaks out in Taipei's Beitou district

(26) Bushfire Management Overlay extends to 17,000 more homes, owners set for heartache

(27) Crews fight bushfire near Rockhampton

(28) Disastrous bushfire season predicted

(29) Now is the time to prepare

(30) Burn-offs boost bushfire prevention

(31) Burns target high bushfire fuel loads on Perth’s fringe

(32) Horse burned in Black Forest fire allowed to go home