WILDFIRE NEWS OF THE DAY - 121713

Wildfire NOTD subscriber Tom Lasser, a retired Lt. Colonel in the California National Guard, sent along an announcement from CAL OES that FEMA will allot additional millions of dollars for hazard mitigation to the state after disaster declarations for the next three years (2); Wildfire NOTD subscriber Andrew Madsen, Public Affairs Officer for Los Padres National Forest, stating that a 500-acre wildfire in the Big Sur area that has destroyed 15 homes is now 5% contained (2); some striking video footage showing the wildfire churning through the chaparral-covered hills (3). A newly-released video shows the Granite Mountain Hotshots shortly before they were overrun by a wildfire outside of Yarnell, Arizona (4). An article from Idaho looks at the limited protection provided by current wildland fire shelters (5); the following article discussing several changes that could save more firefighter lives in the future (6); something that could be critical for fire crews battling wildfires in the Salmon Breaks (7). The National Weather Service has issued Red Flag warnings for the area around Wichita Falls, Texas, due to dry, windy conditions over the next 24 hours (8); but with two-thirds of Kentucky's 948 wildfires deliberately set this year, the Division of Forestry is considering the use of arson dogs to track down the perpetrators (9). Testimony continued in New South Wales, Australia, over the 50,000-hectare State Mine Fire (10); but the Rural Fire Service has accused the Defence Force of neglecting its responsibility to keep its training facilities bushfire-safe (11); while Hankook Tyre Australia has donated $10,000 to the Salvation Army Bushfire Appeal to help families impacted by the bushfires in that state (12); but despite the disruption caused by those bushfires, students taking Higher School Certificate tests in Blue Mountains still got high grades (13). The Victorian Government has agreed to alter restrictive Bushfire Management Overlay rules which have prevented 5,000 homeowners from constructing homes in bushfire-prone areas (14); while showing off a pair of Erickson Air-Cranes which are the centerpiece of a 42-aircraft firefighting fleet (15). South Australia's Country Fire Service has put 17 aircraft on alert due to high temperatures that have already sparked 131 bushfires over the past week (16); plaintiffs settling a $60 million lawsuit over a 2005 Eyre Peninsula bushfire for $8 million (17). And finally, Colorado's Black Forest Fire will be the topic of a Lego challenge titled "Nature’s Fury"!

(1) Recognition of State Hazard Mitigation Plan by FEMA as "Enhanced" Qualifies California Agencies for Additional Funding after Major Disasters

(2) 'Too much fire too fast': Big Sur blaze burns fire chief's home

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