WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 120413

The California Fire Science Consortium sent along their December newsletter (1). The Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health has recommended action against the Division of Forestry over the deaths of 19 Granite Mountain Hotshots in the Yarnell Hill Fire (2); while Coronado National Forest officials cited a US Forest Service report titled “A Study of Ignition by Rifle Bullets” to warn target shooters of the penalties they face for starting a wildfire (3). Another controversy in regards to Colorado's Black Forest Fire is swirling around a trio of water cisterns which were never tapped during that blaze (4); but with extremely cold nights ahead, a local church is offering an emergency shelter for those displaced by the fire (5); and in the meantime, Plateau Valley Fire Protection District is doing its part to protect the city of Mesa from future wildfires (6). The small community of Tollgate Canyon, Utah, has asked to be annexed into the North Summit Fire District to facilitate better wildfire protection (7). A University of Maryland researcher discusses how he uses a Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite to map wildfires in the next article (8); but with full containment of a 2,579-acre wildfire in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest, US Forest Service is circulating a photo of a "person of interest" seen near the ignition point (9). On South Africa's Western Cape, fire authorities announced that the arrival of AT-802 SEATs from Spain will augment their wildland firefighting force (10). Australian Closed Circuit TV cameras captured the onslaught of an ember storm on a home in Yellow Rock, New South Wales, in October (11); while the Commissioner of the Salvation Army's Australia Eastern Territory thanked donors for $6.8 million contributed to their Bushfire Appeal (12); but the Hunter Koala Preservation Society, which has been overrun with wildlife injured by the bushfires, recommended that a wildlife hospital be established to help with injured wildlife in the future (13). Following Victoria's wet winter, Country Fire Authority's Chief Officer warned of an abundance of bushfire fuel across the state as 38,000 volunteers prepared for an active bushfire season (14). Bushfires which have scorched over 45,000 ha in Western Australia's Karijini National Park have forced closures of all of the campgrounds (15); the danger of grassland fueling bushfires in southern Australia this season being cited in an article from Narrogin (16). And finally, firefighters in Santa Ana, California, had a tricky extrication to perform: rescuing a woman trapped between buildings after she unsuccessfully tried jumping between rooftops!

(1) December Newsletter

(2) Arizona Forestry Faces Violations for 19 Hotshots' Deaths

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