Edgefield County brush fire spreads to home
 

10 March 2013

published by www2.wjbf.com

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USA — A Waters Edge Drive home was damaged and two other structures, including a Mother-in-Law Suite, were destroyed in a fire Sunday around4:30 pm. The home, mother-in-law suite, and a shed were all log cabin structures. The first firefighter on the scene reported one of the structures “fully involved” and the others, including the home, were actively afire. The fire brought firefighters from three departments to the scene.

Due to the home being located in the woods with a long narrow one lane driveway, firefighters coordinated a “water shuttle” to the trucks at the home through a dropped water line down the driveway from theWaters Edge Driveentrance. Tanker trucks fromCountyLine, Merriwether, and Sage Mill Fire Departments kept a continuous flow of much needed water as the fire spread.

Brush trucks were also used in an area west of the home as a brush fire threatened to spread to a nearby residence. A US Forestry unit was also called to plow a firebreak to contain the brush fire.

When the fire was extinguished; the outbuilding was burnt to the ground, the mother-in-law cabin was standing but gutted and considered a total loss, and the home received minor to moderate damage to the exterior on one side of the home and was otherwise intact.

The fire is believed to have been caused by a burn pile of debris near the structures. Thinking the fire was out it was left unattended on Sunday and as the winds picked up it rekindled and spread to the three structures and the woods surrounding the home and neighbors homes.

Fire crews remained on the scene until 7 pm, with many departing the scene around 6:30 pm. No one was home at the time of the fire. A neighbor called 911 to make the initial report.

Two other brush fires were reported earlier on Sunday, one in the Northside and a second in Johnston.

 

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New Zealand parched as worst drought in 30 years takes toll
 

15 March 2013

published by www.worldnews.nbcnews.com

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New Zealand — Authorities in Wellington, New Zealand, have issued an outright ban on outdoor water use as a worsening drought has siphoned the available supply to less than half of normal level and prompted the government to declare the worst water shortage in 30 years.

New Zealand’s capital, home to more than 200,000 people, has just 19 days’ supply of water left in its reservoirs, the APNZ news service reported.

“The water supply situation is now approaching extreme,” the Greater Wellington Regional Council said in a statement on its website, adding that it is also asking residents to cut indoor water use “to help us avoid a crisis.”

Wellington hasn’t seen a significant rain since Feb. 4, and while a storm is forecast for this weekend, it will have no real impact on the water supply, authorities said. All of the North Island, which holds most of the country’s population, has been declared a drought zone. Auckland on Thursday issued an outdoor fire ban.

The Wellington City Council said urgent action had to be taken to ensure that homes and businesses had sufficient water.

“Water levels in our local rivers — the source of our water supply — are extremely low and dropping,” the council said in a statement. “A significant reduction in demand for water will extend the number of days that back-up storage will last, so it’s important to save water now.”

The drought has had a major impact on farmers, who estimate that it has so far cost them $820 million in lost export earnings, The Associated Press reported, adding that the damage is rising daily as they reduce their herds, which in turn reduces milk production.

“We are beginning to see a decline in milk production — in fact, a sharp decline in some areas — and farmers are considering slaughtering capital stock, which will result in lower future production and reduced revenue,” New Zealand Finance Minister Bill English said Tuesday during a Parliament meeting.

“It’s very hard to remember when the last rainfall was,” dairy farmer John Rose told the AP, adding that he had sent more than 100 of his cows to slaughter in recent weeks as the drought turned pastures brown and dry. He said the move was necessary to make sure his remaining 550 cows had enough to eat — a challenge even as he mixes in palm kernels with their feed to try to stretch it.

Like most farmers, he’s concerned about the future, as are some government officials.

“We know the drought will peg back growth in the economy, but it is not yet clear by how much,” English told Parliament.

Even if the current drought eases soon, the long-term picture isn’t rosy, according to climate scientists.

The government’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research predicts that farmers in the southern part of the North Island, the area around Wellington, will spend up to 10 percent more time per year in drought by the middle of the century.

 

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Haze worsens in Chiang Mai
 

21 March 2013

published by www.nationmultimedia.com

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Thailand — Chiang Mai authorities held an urgent meeting on Thursday to discuss solutions after thick haze blanketed the downtown area and the concentration of dust particles exceeded safe standards.
Deputy Governor Adisorn Kamnerdsiri said that in many areas on Thursday morning the volume of dust particle exceeded the average, which is set at 120 micrograms/cubic metres.

“At the provincial hall, the level of dust particles is 185 micrograms/cubic metres while at Yupparat School, the level is 210. The poor air quality is already affecting Chiang Mai people. Therefore, the authorities concerned, among them the chiefs of 25 districts met this morning via teleconference to find way to solve the problems,” he said.

Every district authority was ordered to strengthen screening and also check people visiting the forests to prevent any building of fires. Anyone found building a fire would be arrested, the deputy governor said.

The authorities would urgently disseminate information to local residents so that they would not do anything that would worsen the haze situation.

He said that between February 18 and March 20, there were reports of 378 bush fires in 23 districts, damaging 4,411.5 rai of land.

Most of the bush fires occurred in Chiang Dao district (63) and followed by Mae On district (55), he said, adding that since February 1, a total of 36,160 people have been affected by the haze.

 

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Partnership aims to protect Fort Collins’ water from wildfire

27 March 2013

published by www.coloradoan.com

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USA — About 860,000 people in Fort Collins and throughout the Front Range rely on a water system that is extremely vulnerable to wildfire.

Now a group of agencies has come together to help improve watershed health around reservoirs in the headwaters of the Colorado River — the source of about half of Fort Collins’ drinking water supplies.

About 90 percent of the trees in the forests around Grand County lakes supplying water to Horsetooth and other reservoirs have been killed by bark beetles, posing a major risk to water supplies.

The U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Reclamation, Northern Water and the Colorado State Forest Service have agreed to work together to establish a joint program to treat fire-prone forests on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Called the Colorado-Big Thompson Headwaters Partnership, the agencies will work together to improve the watershed health above major Grand County reservoirs that supply water to Horsetooth Reservoir, Carter Lake and other reservoirs that supply water to Front Range cities.

The partnership is in the early stages of planning, the U.S. Forest Service said in a statement Wednesday.
 

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Bush fire threatens New Road family’s safety
 

13 March 2013

published by www.sknvibes.com

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St. Kitts and Nevis —  THE safety and home of a New Road family was yesterday afternoon (Mar. 12) threatened by fire of unknown origin that originated within a plot of land that was recently covered with tall grasses and trees.

Cliff Richards, Chief Operations Officer of SKNVibes, told this media house that at approximately 4:25 p.m. while he and six other occupants, including four children, were in his Simeon Prince Street, New Road Housing Project home, he picked up the scent of something burning.

“Suddenly the sitting room was filled with smoke and heat was emanating from the eastern side of the house through the open windows. I immediately got up from where I was seated, looked through one of the windows and saw huge flames as fire burning the grass and trees on the property.

“I told everyone to vacate the building and then I attached a garden hose to the pipe and tried to extinguish the fire. A neighbour also came across with her garden hose to assist as we vainly tried to prevent the fire from reaching my home.”

Richards said they had called the Fire and Rescue Services in Basseterre and some 20 minutes after a fire tender arrived.

On arrival at the scene, this publication had observed firefighters battling with the flames and was drenching the areas close to Richards’ home.

It was also observed that the plot of land upon which the fire started was recently infested with large clump of bushes, tall trees, thick grass and weeds.

One individual indicated that residents in the immediate area were concerned about their safety and some 10 days ago the land was partly cleared with the employment of a backhoe.

“The trees, grass and bushes were really tall and that area could have been used by bandits who are currently breaking into people’s home in this and the neighbouring communities. However, while most of the uprooted bushes and grass were covered with dirt, some were still on top and dried by the sun. Therefore, while the firemen bravely fought to put out the flames, fire was burning the bushes and grass below, which meant they had to thoroughly drench the area to prevent its continuity.”

Richards said he is happy that no one was injured or suffered from smoke inhalation, especially the children.

He also said that some of the licking flames had burnt the transmission line to his home and he was therefore without electricity.

Richards further said that he did not know how the fire started, but however assumed that it could have been either deliberate or by the extreme heat currently being experienced.

Over the past two months or more, firefighters have been very busy extinguishing fires in various areas on St. Kitts. Some of these fires were said to have been caused by the sun’s ultra violet rays, while others were by individuals who wanted their farmlands cleared of unwanted bushes.

 

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