WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 093013

A National Public Radio segment discusses how wildfire fighting in the US needs to change after a particularly deadly year (1); Wildfire NOTD subscriber William Hennigan, a Reporter for the Los Angeles Times, interviewing Wildfire NOTD subscriber Walt Darran, Chairman of the Associated Aerial Firefighters, about the aging heavy air-tanker fleet in a Los Angeles Times article (2); but with 10 million homes having been built in wildland areas since 2000, private firefighters sponsored by insurance companies are becoming more prevalent (3). In California, a 98-acre wildfire destroyed two buildings west of Kelseyville (4); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Bettina Boxall, a Pulitzer Prize-winning Reporter for the Los Angeles Times, reporting that the 402 mi.² Rim Fire is now 92% contained (5); even as recovery efforts, which may cost $300 million, got underway in the Rim Fire burn area (6); while Wildfire NOTD subscriber Jerome Laval, Editor of the California Fire Pilots Association newsletter sent along their September issue (7); and the California Fire Science Consortium sent along their October newsletter (8). Bureau of Land Management plans to reseed over 8,000 acres near Elko, Nevada, burned in wildfires (9); while a KPCC radio segment takes another look at the tragic deaths of the 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots outside of Yarnell, Arizona (10). Ranch owners in Elmore County, Idaho, who suffered wildfire losses this summer will receive financial assistance from a Rancher Relief Fund benefit held over the weekend (11); and one year later, an article takes a look back at a wildfire which destroyed 11 homes and scorched 4,500 acres in Karlstad, Minnesota (12). With the onset of West Virginia's fall fire season, fire officials urged homeowners to be cautious with outdoor fires (13); while First Responders reflected on New Jersey's Boardwalk Fire, which they had to battle like it was a wildfire (14). Six European wildfires were reported over the weekend in Spain, Greece, and Turkey (15); and an elderly bushfire arsonist who was found guilty in the High Court at Nelson, New Zealand, has been sentenced to seven years and six months in prison (16). Fire crews from several agencies in the Australian Capital Territory are on high alert as bushfire season officially kicks off (17); and in Queensland, officials warned property owners of conditions that could make this the worst bushfire season in years (18). A bushfire which closed New South Wales' Pacific Highway near Doyalson has reopened following a month which has seen nearly 1,000 bushfires break out across that state (19); causing fire managers to predict a long bushfire season ahead (20); with an estimated 1.3 million homes in danger (21). Victoria's faunal symbol, the Leadbeater's Possum, thought to be extinct after 1939's Black Friday bushfires, has made an amazing comeback (22); while a Tasmanian oyster farmer who suffered serious losses during the January bushfires offered his thanks for all the support he has received from fellow Australians (23). And finally, we have a video with a very high 'awwww' factor as a firefighter in Fresno, California, revives a kitten overcome by smoke in a house fire!

(1) Is Living With Extreme Wildfires The New Normal?

(2) Fighting fires with aging tankers from another era

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