La forêt de Mantasoa prend feu –
Panique

1 September 2006

published by www.lexpressmada.com

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Madagascar — Le lambeau de forêt de pin situé à côté du barrage de Mantasoa a pris feu, hier après-midi. 

Les flammes se sont très vite propagées si bien que les habitants ont eu du mal à les éteindre. 

Les sapeurs pompiers de la capitale ont prêté main forte à la population. 

Un témoin rapporte qu’il a fallu deux heures de temps pour maîtriser l’incendie. L’origine du drame et l’intensité des dégâts restent encore indéterminées.

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Sabah and Sarawak want big plantations to help prevent haze

5 September 2006

published by thestar.com.my

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Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia —  The Sabah and Sarawak governments hope that big plantation companies across Borneo will stop open burning while clearing their land to prevent the haze from occurring. 

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman said it was important for the companies to heed the advice in view of the problem becoming a regional concern. 

“We in Sabah have always advised and even acted on those involved in burning activities. Today, the situation is better,” he told reporters after opening the 4th Sabah-Sarawak Environmental Convention 2006 here on Tuesday. 

He was asked what initiatives the two state governments were taking to stop open-burning activities in Kalimantan, Indonesia, which caused severe haze in Sarawak and parts of Sabah last month. 

Musa said although the problem was being tackled on a government-to-government level, it is necessary for all big plantation companies in Borneo to take the initiative to nip the problem in the bud. 

“I believe that there is a need to educate people involved about the hazards of open burning,” he said. 

The three-day convention is aimed at highlighting issues and problems related to managing the environment. 

It also provides the opportunity for participants from the two states to share their experiences in maintaining environmentally sound development.

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Forest fire in Datça threatens 100 hectares

3 September 2006

published by english.sabah.com.tr

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Turkey — A forest fire which broke out in the Datça district of Muğla has affected 100 hectares of forest land. 

Having not yet been taken under control, fire brigades are still working to put out the fire.

A forest fire which broke out yesterday in Datça threatens 100 hectares of forest land, due to wind. 

Mugla Forest District Manager Ibrahim Çiftçi stated that the powerful wind has caused trouble and fire brigades have spent intensive efforts to put out the fire.

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Goats Chow Down While Lowering Wildfire Risk Wildfires

26 September 2006

published by dailycal.org

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Berkeley, CA, USA — Campus researchers and city residents are using both traditional and modern ways to improve fire prevention in Berkeley after heavy winter rains led to increased vegetation in the area.

A Web site developed earlier this month by UC Berkeley researchers gives residents detailed information about the risk of fire in their neighborhood.

But only a few weeks prior to the launch of the Web site, campus officials finished the first stage in clearing fire-prone grass from the hills in an all-natural way-using a herd of hundreds of goats.

UC Berkeley and other landowners have been using goats to control fire-prone vegetation for over a decade, said Tom Klatt, manager of the UC Berkeley Office of Emergency Preparedness.

As many as six herds of 350 goats each could be seen in the Berkeley Hills this summer. They were rented by UC Berkeley, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the East Bay Regional Park District, among others, Klatt said.

The goats are set loose within areas contained by portable electric fences, where they eat grass and thistles commonly involved in the beginning of destructive wildfires, he said.

“The goats are a wonderful fuel management tool,” said Berkeley Deputy Fire Chief David Orth. “In areas where the goats grazed, fires have been less significant and easier to control.”

Maintenance of dry grass in the hills is important because it burns and spreads the flames quickly, making it hard for firefighters to get in front of the fire, Klatt said.

Goats have been in particularly high demand in Berkeley in the past two years, each of which had more than the usual amount of rainfall and increased vegetation in the summer, Klatt said.

UC Berkeley, which has used goats to maintain flammable grasses since the early ’90s, rented its herd this August from an Orinda-based goat ranch called Goats R Us, Klatt said.

The ranch maintains 6,500 goats year-round, including Spanish goats and angora crosses, said ranch owner Terri Oyarzun.

“We have a smorgasbord of goats,” she said.

Landowners began using the goats because they were more cost-effective for keeping dry grasses under control than using groups of people with weed-whackers, Klatt said.

“Goats are less expensive per acre of light fuels,” he said. “What you’re left with are goat pellets. The fuel is removed.”

In another effort to reduce the risk of brush fires, Campus officials announced the launch of a new fire-prevention tool open to the public.

The Fire Information Engine Toolkit, a Web site launched Sept. 13 by the UC Berkeley Center for Fire Research and Outreach, allows users to fill out an online form and receive feedback about the fire risk of a specific building or area.

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On brink of worst fire season ever

25 September 2006

published by www.news.com.au

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Australia — Australia is on the brink of a horror bushfire season, a bushfire expert has warned.

With the Bureau of Meteorology reporting the hottest, driest August on record, these extreme conditions, teamed with a severe drought across most of the country, is posing a major threat to people living in bush areas, Kevin O’Loughlin from the Bushfire Co-operative Research Centre, in Melbourne, said today.

Mr O’Loughlin said the massive fires, which blazed across NSW at the weekend – combined with bad fires in Victoria last week and the 200 fires already reported in Tasmania this month – could be a taste of things to come.

“Just looking at what we’ve seen already, this is a major concern,” Mr O’Loughlin said.

“It’s a major concern that fire seasons seem to be starting earlier and lasting longer.

“We’ve got to get a greater understanding on this, on the frequency of fires, the earlier start to the season and if there’s any connection to climate change.”

Mr O’Loughlin said the dangers were heightened by the increasing number of people living in areas at risk of bushfire.

“If you’re talking about the driest August on record and the warmest August on record and you set that against a period of drought, then you would have to be concerned that this could be a bad fire season,” Mr O’Loughlin said.

“The agencies, no doubt, will be taking precautions and would be stressing that people who lived in properties at risk of bushfires make very, very serious preparations for potentially a very bad season.”

Meanwhile, Victorian Environment Minister John Thwaites said 200 seasonal firefighters – more than the usual number – were being hired and were starting work one month earlier this year to help prepare for the fire season.

“We have been doing fuel reduction burning and seeking to do it earlier, but the conditions are so dry and so adverse that we’re already having to wind down fuel reduction burning,” Mr Thwaites told reporters.

Firefighters were now in the process of building trails and fire breaks in key areas.

“We are very concerned that this summer will be one of our worst bushfire risks ever.

“The state is extremely dry. We’ve had 10 years of below-average rainfall. Areas like the Otways and the Dandenongs, which weren’t burnt in the 2003 fires, are particularly atrisk.”

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