300 watchers, guards to be hired to combat forest fires

300 watchers, guards to be hired to combat forest fires

18 January 2015

published by www.thehindu.com

India — Three minor fires that broke out in Bandipur last week has made the Forest Department to take precautionary measures to combat forest fires that are common in the run-up to summer.

Fire was noticed in the Kundagere range near Mangala village, Karemala Betta, close to the tribal colony and near Maddur Gate, all in Bandipur.

Though the extent of damage caused to vegetation was minimal, it is the timing that has caused concern.

The forest betrays traces of greenery and has not fully turned dry, as the early morning mist tends to keep the vegetation wet. Besides, the waterholes are nearly full and there is enough moisture content in the air. Yet, there was fire owing to the rising temperature during the daytime.

Hence, the authorities are gearing up for an intense summer in the days ahead, which will turn the entire national park bone-dry by the first or second week of February. Consequent to the outbreak of fire, the authorities met to finalise the temporary appointment of forest-watchers and guards from the local village and tribal communities. H.C. Kantharaju, Director, Bandipur Tiger Reserve and Conservator of Forests, told The Hindu that they planned to recruit 300 temporary watchers and guards to combat forest fires this year.

“The recruitment of watchers will commence from January 20 and they will be provided ration and daily wages,” said Mr. Kantharaju. The new temporary recruits would be deployed till the first few spells of the monsoon.

Arrangements would be made for their stay in anti-poaching camps and in the forests during which they would be on jungle patrol to keep a watch on any fire outbreak.

“Besides recruitment, the burning of ‘fire lines’ is nearing completion, and in all 3,200 km of fire line will be burnt and vegetation cleared,” Mr. Kantharaju said.

“Fire lines” refer to a 25 ft to 30 ft wide bald land that marks the boundary of a beat of a block within the forest. The boundary is cleared of vegetation through controlled burning during winter. In case of a fire within the block it cannot spread beyond the bald patch of land and the fire is confined to that particular block. In the tourism area, “fire lines” are burnt along the safari route.

D. Rajkumar of the Wildlife Conservation Foundation, Mysuru, explained that the bald patch of land helped the flames to die out, as in the absence of any combustible material to burn the fire is confined to a specific area within the forest.

Bandipur — as also the adjoining Nagarahole National Park — has a history of forest fires abetted by proliferation of weeds such as lantana in recent years and fires could degrade the habitat in the long run.
 

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Pacifica: Firefighters contain huge vegetation fire

Pacifica: Firefighters contain huge vegetation fire

26 January 2015

published by www.contracostatimes.com

USA — In what officials worry could be a harbinger of another dangerous fire season, a predawn brush fire in a canyon southeast of Rockaway Beach forced the evacuation of some 80 homes in the gully and up along the southern rim. Grady Leaver, who lives in the Seacrest townhome complex on a ridge off Fassler Avenue, awoke not long after 4 a.m. to the sound of a policeman banging on his door, telling him and his wife to get out.

“We looked out the window and it was just red, like it was painted on the window,” said Leaver, 70. “And then I walked up to the window and looked down and I saw a strip of flames running down the canyon.”

Firefighters were able to contain the six-alarm blaze by around 7:30 a.m., and residents began returning to their homes half an hour later. No injuries or property damage were reported.

But seeing a fast-moving brush fire in January in Pacifica, where fog typically keeps vegetation from getting too dry, is a sobering way to begin 2015, said Scott McLain, spokesman for Cal Fire. A historically wet December gave way to a bone-dry January, and the rest of the winter is shaping up to be mild, he said.

“As of today we’re looking at the same conditions as 2014,” said McLain, adding last year’s fire season was the worst since 2008.

California has seen more than 50 wildland fires since Jan. 1, McLain said, down a bit from the same period last year. Cal Fire has added 25 engines in Northern California and 47 engines in Southern California to its usual staffing to prepare for a busier than normal winter. On Saturday, there were five separate wildland fires in Eldorado National Forest near Lake Tahoe, McLain said.

“We don’t expect to see that type of thing until late summer,” he said of the Eldorado fires, which totaled about 60 acres.

The cause of the Pacifica fire, which scorched 10 acres, is under investigation. About 60 firefighters responded to the blaze, said Clyde Preston, spokesman for the fire authority.

“The real challenge to this fire is we have steep terrain in the canyon, the moderate to heavy fuels burning and the 10-15 mph winds that are really driving this fire down the hill,” Preston said early Monday morning before the fire was contained.

Most of the 90 or so people who were evacuated lived on Fassler Avenue and Rockaway Beach Avenue, which runs about halfway up the canyon and dead-ends in a cul-de-sac. About 55 residents took shelter at the Pacifica Community Center on Crespi Drive.

Garber, Leaver and several other neighbors convened at a nearby Starbucks, where they shared information gleaned from their phones and car radios. They were all relieved to learn their homes and possessions weren’t destroyed.

“We just didn’t know when we left what we’d find when we returned,” Leaver said.
 

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Crowd sourcing and satellites help identify Adelaide bushfire destruction

Crowd sourcing and satellites help identify Adelaide bushfire destruction

20 January 2015

published by www.abc.net.au

Australia — Using geographic information data, volunteers around the world were pinpointing buildings destroyed by the Sampson Flat bushfires days before damage assessors could access the site.

Within 12 hours of the bushfire starting, two satellites were making regular passes over the area and providing detailed photographs of the fire ground.

Maps were then interlaced with layers of information from the photographs to provide interested agencies with up-to-date details.

Staff could not safely travel through the area until days later, explained manager Gary Maguire from the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI).

“We have been looking at all data sets that have been spread across government and also some parts of non-for-profit and bringing it [all] together,” Mr Maguire said.

Global crowd sourcing volunteers help find damaged buildings

More than 3,500 “geo-geeks” from around the world logged on to a layer of the map created by Tomnod to begin marking items thought to be remnants of assets.

Volunteers were able to match a pre-fire map with the latest satellite images and determine areas where buildings had been destroyed or badly damaged.

Mr Maguire said crowd-sourced data was added to property information, schools and infrastructure locations and ground data gathered from local government agencies to provide a detailed multi-agency map stored and accessed from one location.

Online maps were also created to plot the growing footprint of the bushfire and display ready reserves of people willing to help during the fires.

“Within 12 hours the DCSI received information that these were the buildings the crowd had identified as being destroyed,” Mr Maguire said.

Data was then matched with reports from ground crews to see if any areas may have been missed or were inaccessible.

Mr Maguire said although the technology had been around for a few years and had been used in natural disasters and the search for Malaysia Airlines MH370, its use in the Sampson Flat fires was innovative for the area.

“When you add it all up, you can’t really employ people for those hours to do the same work,” he said.

Information collected before it was safe to send personnel in

Mr Maguire said one of the greatest benefits of the project was the ability to locate potentially destroyed houses days before assessors were allowed onto the fire grounds.

“They put it [the fires] up on their campaign site and within 12 hours, we had an image of what people around the world were looking at and giving feedback on,” he said.

Mr Maguire said most of the volunteers accessing the site had a background in geosciences, but anyone could log in and help out.

Over the following months the data base will be added to in the hope of identifying gaps in recovery processes.

It would also reveal which parts of the community were showing resilience and which may require additional help in the future.

“It’s not just seeing an Excel spreadsheet anymore, it’s seeing where [the damage] is on the ground and the statistics that go with it,” Mr Maguire said.

“The great thing about is, all of this technology is available on your tablet, phone or desktop so no-one is locked down to the office – they can use it wherever they like.”
 

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Adelaide bushfires: PM announces cash payments for people left homeless

Adelaide bushfires: PM announces cash payments for people left homeless

08 January 2015

published by www.theguardian.com

Australia — Short-term income assistance will be made available for people who lost their homes in the South Australian bushfires, Tony Abbott has announced.

The government will supplement the income of people affected by the disaster for up to 13 weeks.

“We will be making the disaster recovery payments and the disaster recovery allowance available to the victims of the bushfires in South Australia,” the prime minister told Adelaide radio station 5AA on Thursday morning.

“These are Centrelink payments of $1,000 an adult and $400 a child for people whose houses have been destroyed or whose houses have been badly damaged.

“This is modest additional commonwealth assistance that will be made available to victims of these terrible bushfires here in South Australia,” Abbott said.

Abbott said the payments would not be available to volunteer firefighters who lost income from their regular jobs.

The prime minister drew on his own experience as a volunteer with the New South Wales rural fire service to say he was sure that missing out on the payments “doesn’t deter” people who volunteered to help after disasters.

“We do what we do not because someone tells us to do it but because we want to do it. Not because we are paid, but because we are committed to the community. And this idea that you should start to pay volunteers, I think is an idea which should be treated with great caution,” he said.

Abbott met volunteers at a South Australian firefighting staging area on Thursday morning.

“This has been a major incident. It’s now been running for the best part of the week. All of you have been flat out since Friday and you have responded magnificently to all the challenges that you have faced,” Abbott said.

“You have shown all of those great Australian characteristics – mateship, creativity, of calmness in a crisis – and that’s something which is very special.”

The Centrelink payments are on top of the national disaster relief and recovery arrangements, in which the commonwealth government and states split the cost of rebuilding and paying compensation to victims.

The South Australian premier, Jay Weatherill, praised the federal government’s efforts to help and said now the “process of rebuilding begins”.

“This is a massive team effort. It has been seamless. It’s been effective,” Weatherill said.

Abbott shied away from linking the bushfires directly with climate change.

“While there is no doubt that over time climate change could make a difference to these sorts of occurrences, fire, flood and storm are a part of living in Australia, always have been, always will be,” he said.

“Climate change is real. Humanity does contribute to it and it’s important that the government does make a strong and effective effort to combat it.”

By Wednesday morning, 350 claims totalling more than $13m had been lodged with insurers, the Insurance Council of Australia (ICA) said.

“More properties may be potentially vulnerable at this time and it is critical for residents in bushfire-affected areas to ensure they follow the advice of emergency services,” the ICA’s chief executive, Rob Whelan, said.

“The ICA continues to liaise with the state government, emergency services, local governments and members of parliament to provide support and help resolve issues,” he said.

Victims of the South Australian bushfires can find out more about compensation via the federal government’s disaster relief assistance hotline on 18 22 66.

 

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Pupils return to Kersbrook Primary School after Adelaide Hills bushfires

Pupils return to Kersbrook Primary School after Adelaide Hills bushfires

27 January 2015

published by https://au.gwn7

Australia — Students, parents and teachers at Kersbrook Primary School, which escaped serious damage in the Adelaide Hills bushfires earlier this month, have returned for the first day of term.

The school, which has just over 60 students, lost two sheds, fencing and sporting equipment in the fire.

Principal Mike Walsh thanked the CFS volunteers and members of the community who helped save the classrooms from being destroyed.

“Many of them were community members, some were CFS with farm units, some with buckets and hoses came here and defended the school,” he said

“Some of them were ex-students, I know some were ex-parents, I’ve knocked on most of those doors already to say thank you in person.”

Mr Walsh said it was a relief to be back at the school.

“But a bit disappointing in that the trees that framed the school at the back, four thousand of them on a neighbour’s property, they’ve all been cut down, so I’ve watched the children come in and look at that and be a little bit gobsmacked that it’s so different.”

First day ‘a chance for students to debrief’

Mr Walsh said many of the students’ families had lost fencing, sheds, machinery and some had lost animals in the fire.

“A big part of today will be spending some time debriefing because they’re all going to have stories to tell us,” he said.

“It’s important we spend a little bit of time listening to that, but not too much that we’re dwelling on it.

“We want them to get back on the front foot and a normal school day as much as we can.”

Education Minister Jennifer Rankine said the damaged school infrastructure would be replaced as quickly as possible.

“The damage was minimal compared to what it could have been and much of that is thanks to local people who acted swiftly,” Ms Rankine said.

“You can’t go through an event like this community went through without some impact.

“Families in this community lost homes, sheds and fencing and livestock,” she said.

“School’s a place where we can continue to support the students and their families.
 

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Forest Service gets $65M for air tankers — what will it buy?

Forest Service gets $65M for air tankers — what will it buy?

11 January 2015

published by www.eenews.net

USA — Congress gave the Forest Service an early Christmas present last month: $65 million tucked in the fiscal 2015 spending bill for new wildfire-fighting aircraft.

The earmark, which the service didn’t officially request, could fund the agency’s first purchase of a new air tanker.

Large air tankers are a critical first line of attack when a fire ignites in the woods. They carry thousands of gallons of retardant that can be dropped to stunt a fire’s advance, giving ground crews time to build a fire line.

The agency’s aerial tanker fleet has been depleted over the years as a result of safety issues as well as contracting hiccups as it leases planes from the private sector.

The service believes more large air tankers are needed as climate change, insect epidemics and residential sprawl combine to make wildfire seasons more costly and dangerous. The agency wants 18 to 28 modern, large air tankers at its disposal that can fly faster and carry enough fire retardant to penetrate thick forest canopies. There is still some dispute over the effectiveness of dropping aerial retardants.

While the Forest Service successfully squelches about 98 percent of the fires requiring initial attack, those that do escape tend to grow quickly, threatening homes and the agency’s pocketbook.

But its fleet has shrunk. In-flight structural failures have caused at least six accidents since 1980, forcing the Forest Service to downsize the planes available from 44 in 2002 to eight in early 2013.

According to the spending bill, the $65 million must be spent for “acquiring aircraft for the next-generation airtanker fleet to enhance firefighting mobility, effectiveness, efficiency and safety.”

In recent years, the Forest Service has leased large air tankers from private companies. But the procurement process has been fraught with delays as losing bidders challenge contracts given to their competitors, a pattern that has sparked concern among Western lawmakers (E&ENews PM, May 17, 2013).

The $65 million appears to offer a new paradigm under which the service would own new, longer-lasting planes and pay private firms to operate and maintain them.

The explanatory statement the House passed with the spending bill said: “It is critical to begin the process of developing a long-term solution for air support in fighting wildfires.”

But it’s not clear what the agency is supposed to do with the money.

Jennifer Hing, a spokeswoman for House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.), said the legislation does not specify which aircraft to buy or how many.

Forest Service spokeswoman Jennifer Jones said the money will be used to further the agency’s goal of bringing 18 to 28 modern air tankers into service. “We will be happy to provide specifics once we have them worked out,” she said.

For now, the agency plans to soon issue a solicitation for up to seven additional “next generation” air tankers it hopes will be ready to fly for the 2015 season.

But those in wildfire aviation circles say they believe the Forest Service is eyeing a civilian version of the C-130J built by Lockheed Martin Corp. — which happens to sell for roughly $65 million.

That’s according to Bill Gabbert, former executive director of the International Association of Wildland Fire, who previously managed fires for several national parks, and Frank Gladics, a former forestry aide to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) who now lives in Idaho.

As Gabbert notes on his blog Fire Aviation, Lockheed is represented by lobbyist Mark Rey, who oversaw the Forest Service during the George W. Bush administration as Agriculture undersecretary for natural resources and the environment. Rey’s latest lobbying disclosure says he works on “fire fighting aircraft.”

Gabbert also quotes Jason Gagnon, a spokesman for Rep. Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), the chief appropriator for the Forest Service, saying the $65 million is for purchasing “a C-130 to be specific.”

Lockheed says on its website that the aircraft can operate from short, unprepared airfields without ground support equipment and could be equipped for missions including aerial firefighting.

Rey was not able to comment for the record for this story.

Gladics also believes the Forest Service plans to buy a single C-130J.

“There have been some people in the Forest Service who have dreamed of their own air force for a long time,” he said.

But he said it’s hard to imagine Congress will find money to buy many more of those planes in today’s tight budget climate. They will also carry high operating and maintenance costs, he said.

“How many $65 million aircrafts can you afford? How much extra money is it going to take to get those planes up and fighting fires? And how long will it take?” Gladics said. “The answers are fairly opaque at this time.”

Gladics said he does “minimal consultation” for the American Helicopter Services & Aerial Firefighting Association, which sees government-owned but contractor-operated aircraft as a competitive threat to the private aerial firefighting industry.
Years of debate

The $65 million appears to be have been a compromise between the House and the Senate.

Last summer, the House Appropriations Committee passed a spending bill that would have provided $130 million “only for the purpose of acquiring two aircraft for the next-generation airtanker fleet.” The Senate’s draft bill for the Forest Service had no such language.

According to the Government Accountability Office, Gagnon and Gladics, there’s been support within the Forest Service to purchase new aircraft rather than rely on older aircraft inherited from other federal agencies — but there’s been resistance from the White House Office of Management and Budget.

“While the Forest Service has indicated its long-term intention to rely on a government-owned fleet of C-130Js to meet some or all of its large airtanker needs, the agency has been unable to demonstrate the feasibility of this approach to OMB, which would need to approve such an investment,” said a GAO report from August 2013. Since 2005, the Forest Service had submitted two proposals to OMB for the government purchase of a large air tanker fleet, but both were rejected, GAO reported.

Hank Kashdan, a 37-year veteran of the Forest Service who retired four years ago as associate chief, said he was initially a skeptic of the Forest Service owning its own “air force.” But after seeing companies dispute contract awards and grind the procurement process to a halt, he’s changed his mind.

“I think it is wise for the Forest Service to own a base-level contingent of large modern air tankers,” he said. “With a need for up to 17 to 20 large air tankers, if the Forest Service owned a third and private industry the other two-thirds, I think you would have a healthy balance that promotes innovation and product development while assuring that the safety of communities and the protection of resources are not hampered by procurement bureaucracy.”

A C-130J, if purchased, would join a fleet of seven C-130H tankers the Forest Service inherited from the Coast Guard, which are also government-owned. The transfer was made possible in late 2013 with Congress’ passage of the National Defense Authorization Act.

Each of those planes is capable of carrying up to 4,000 gallons of retardant but will need to be retired in six to 12 years, according to appropriators.

It will also cost a bundle to retrofit those aircraft for service. The Forest Service hopes to have the first of the C-130Hs flying wildfire suppression missions this summer equipped with a Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS). It’s not clear when the rest of the planes will come online.

The 2013 defense bill also transferred to the Forest Service 15 C-23B Sherpa aircraft to serve as smoke jumper and cargo transports. The agency also owns a number of helicopters and light planes.

Jones of the Forest Service said the agency expects to have up to 29 air tankers available for wildfire suppression nationwide in 2015, eight of which would be owned by the Defense Department.

They include:

  • Up to seven “next-generation air tankers” from contracts awarded in 2013.
  • Six “legacy air tankers” from contracts awarded in 2013.
  • Up to seven “next-generation air tankers” from contracts awarded in 2015.
  • One C-130H owned by the Forest Service and acquired from the Coast Guard through NDAA.
  • Up to eight military C-130s equipped with MAFFS.
     
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Ontario government sues CN rail for millions in firefighting costs

Ontario government sues CN rail for millions in firefighting costs

22 January 2015

published by www.cbc.ca

Canada– The province is seeking compensation from Canadian National Railway over four forest fires in 2012, including $38 million for a massive fire near Timmins.

The province is alleging the fires were started by passing trains. The other three court actions involve another fires near Timmins, Chapleau and Thunder Bay. The damages sought in those cases are between $1 million and $2 million each.

The $38 million court action involves a fire called Timmins 9 in May of 2012.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry alleges the fire was started by the passage of a train through the area. The fire burned 40,000 hectares of bush and destroyed several camps.

The fire was the largest one in the province in half a century, and came within about 20 kilometers of the City of Timmins.

Tom Laughren, who was mayor at the time, said Timmins 9 made people think differently.

“We had just been looking towards celebrating 100 years of the great fire that went through here in 1911,” he said.

“You always look at that and say that couldn’t happen again.”

But it did — and in the days following the start of the fire, the ministry began its investigation into its cause.

In court documents, the province alleges it found a metal fragment in a right-of-way near CN’s tracks.

The province also alleges the metal had been heated, and said it flew off the track — because of wear or buildup from rail operations — and started the fire.

Going to court to recover firefighting costs is nothing new for the ministry.

“We have gone to court and recovered costs from people who started forest fires with negligent burning, throwing a cigarette out [and] not putting it out, or not covering up a campsite fire well and the fire spreads,” Jolanta Kowalski said.

In the case of Timmins 9, the province said a sizable amount of timber destined for harvest was lost, meaning lost revenue for the province. It’s seeking compensation for that, along with millions of dollars spent on fire suppression costs.

None of the province’s allegations have been proven in court.

Asking for case to be dismissed

CN is not commenting on the case because it is before the court.

In a statement of defence, the company denies all allegations and says the fire was not caused or contributed to by CN.

It also denies all allegations in the other court actions involving the other three forest fires.

The company is asking that the suits be dismissed, with costs.
 

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Brigadistas dejaron de trabajar en el incendio y provocaron una fuerte polémica

Brigadistas dejaron de trabajar en el incendio y provocaron una fuerte polémica

10 January 2015

published by www.anbariloche.com.ar

Argentina — El intendente del Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi criticó la decisión de los trabajadores, quienes abandonaron el sitio afectado por el fuego en reclamo de mejores condiciones laborales. “Estoy sorprendido, porque nunca pasó algo así”, señaló a ANB. El incendio está “controlado”.

La determinación de un grupo de brigadistas de dejar de realizar tareas en la zona del incendio forestal ubicada cerca de esta ciudad motivó la dura crítica de Damián Mujica, intendente del Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi. “Llevo 25 años trabajando en este lugar y en todo este tiempo no hay un antecedente de algo similar”, cuestionó.

Unos 20 agentes decidieron este viernes a la mañana retirarse del lugar del incendio desatado el sábado 3 de enero en inmediaciones del kilómetro 2073 de la ruta 40 -en el camino que une Bariloche con Villa La Angostura-, el cual se encuentra “controlado” y “en proceso de extinción”, según el último parte oficial de Parques Nacionales.

Los brigadistas, nucleados en ATE, se declararon en estado de asamblea permanente y efectuaron la retención de servicios para exigir mejores condiciones laborales. Denuncian contratos precarios y falta de equipamiento, entre otros puntos.

“Lo que hicieron me sorprende mucho, porque más allá de que sus pedidos sean o no justos, es totalmente cuestionable el abandono de las tares”, sostuvo Mujica, en diálogo con ANB. “Me entristece lo que pasó”, añadió.

Indicó que “vienen desde mitad de año con asambleas y paros y justo ahora tomar una decisión así”. Criticó que los agentes efectuaron la medida “sin notificar a la patronal, a las autoridades de Parques ni al Ministerio de Trabajo”.

“Existe una modalidad que tiene que ver con avisar previamente si van a hacer paro, para estar al tanto y para poder organizarnos”, afirmó Mujica, con un claro tono de molestia ante la situación.

El referente del Parque informó que desde este viernes trabajan en el lugar afectado unas 15 personas. Aseguró que el Plan Nacional de Manejo del Fuego convocó a otras 15 que arribarán desde Chos Malal en las próximas horas a modo de refuerzo.

ATE denunció días atrás que los brigadistas de Parques Nacionales que combaten el incendio carecen de la indumentaria adecuada de seguridad y tienen contratos precarios. “La desidia del gobierno y de la Administración de Parques crece a la par del fuego”, aseveraron desde el sindicato, que una vez más expuso las problemáticas que atraviesan los empleados del sector.

“A la falta de contratos se suma la incertidumbre sobre el periodo de contratación, ya que el 26 de diciembre se emitió una disposición por sólo tres meses de contrato, desconociendo el acuerdo firmado previamente”, afirmaron oportunamente desde la entidad gremial.

El último parte de Parques Nacionales -emitido este sábado en horas de la noche- detalló que el fuego está “controlado” y en “proceso de extinsión”.

“El estado de un incendio controlado significa que posee líneas de control en todo su borde y sin peligro de propagación. Dentro de la superficie afectada pueden existir pequeños rebrotes hasta su extinción total”, se señaló en relación al desastre que afectó aproximadamente 900 hectáreas.

En el sector trabajan miembros del Departamento de Incendios Comunicaciones y Emergencias (ICE) del Parque Nahuel Huapi, del Plan Nacional de Manejo del Fuego y de otras entidades. (ANB)
 

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New measure targets wildfire funding

New measure targets wildfire funding

22 January 2015

published by http://durangoherald.com

USA — Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho introduced a bipartisan bill Thursday that would overhaul federal wildfire policy by increasing funding for fire prevention and treat the largest wildfires as natural disasters.

The Wildfire Disaster Funding Act, sponsored by Sen. Michael Bennet and Sen. Cory Gardner, would allow the U.S. Forest Service to access the pre-existing disaster fund used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to adequately respond to wildfires.

While responses to other natural disasters can draw money from an emergency fund, wildfire suppression budgets are based on their average costs for the past 10 years, which often results in underfunding. The senators described this as an “outdated” tradition.

The U.S. Forest Service and the Department of the Interior as a result are often forced to “borrow” money budgeted to other programs to make up for insufficient funding.

This legislation would make any fire-suppression spending above 70 percent of the 10-year average for fire suppression eligible to be funded under a separate disaster account.

“Colorado and other Western states continue to face year after year of catastrophic wildfires that threaten people and property and are busting our budgets. We need to restructure the way we pay for fighting and mitigating wildfires,” Bennet said in a statement. “This bill will ensure that these disasters receive adequate funding to end the damaging practice of ‘fire borrowing’ that results in taking critical funding away from fire prevention efforts.”

Gardner also expressed his support in a statement.

“Major wildfires are natural disasters in every place but the federal budget,” Gardner said. “But because the law doesn’t allow funding for these events to be properly budgeted, the Forest Service routinely has to pull money from other important priorities, including fire prevention and forest management, in order to fight these major wildfires. It’s time for that counterproductive cycle to end, and this bill does it.”

U.S. Forest Service and Interior Department estimates found that 1 percent of fires consume 30 percent of firefighting budgets, and thus should be treated as true natural disasters.

It was also estimated that proper budgeting could free up $412 million in discretionary funds for fire-prevention programs.

The legislation’s other co-sponsors include Sens. James Risch, R-Idaho; Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; Steve Daines, R-Mont.; and Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis.

Michael Cipriano is a student at American University in Washington, D.C., and an intern for The Durango Herald.
 

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Houses under threat as flames approach Waroona

Houses under threat as flames approach Waroona

30 January 2015

published by https://au.news.yahoo.com

Australia — A total fire ban has been declared in Perth today as fire crews battle a bushfire in Waroona.

After upgrading the fire to an emergency warning this morning, the Department of Fire and Emergency Services has since downgraded the The alert level for the lightning-sparked bushfire has been downgraded with firefighters making progress.

The alert was on Friday morning elevated to an emergency as the blaze sped towards the town but 35 firefighters are building containment lines and it is now moving slowly.

A downgraded watch and act alert still applies to people in the eastern part of Waroona bounded by Nanga Brook Road, Scarp Road, Invarell Road, Drake Brook, Brookside Grange, Elliot Street and Hill Street, including Woodley Heights and Forrington Heights.

Houses in Forrington Heights may still be under threat by fire.

It is out of control and unpredictable, and conditions are changing.

The thunderstorm on Thursday, which ended a 61-day dry spell, also triggered blazes in Forrestfield and around Perth Airport, but firefighters gave the all clear for these early today

A Department of Fire and Emergency Services spokesman said the total fire ban was due to risky weather conditions and firefighter fatigue.

Firefighters have been kept very busy in the past few weeks, battling two major fires in the northern suburbs and many smaller bushfires across the city.

Earlier this week, there were times when the department did not have as many crews as it would have liked at the Nowergup fire simply because of a lack of resources.

The fire ban is designed to give firefighters a chance to recover.

“It’s a relatively uncommon situation,” he said.

“It’s because of the weather conditions and the drain and exhaustion of current resources.”

Businesses wishing to carry out metal work or any other activity which could start a fire must have an exemption or they risk prosecution.

The DFES spokesman said most businesses were aware of the exemption process.

“To get an exemption you have to satisfy a number of criteria regarding trained personnel and satisfactory equipment,” he said.

“You need to have access to a mobile water tanker, for example.”

Department of Fire and Emergency Services assistant commissioner Chris Arnol warned that lightning and strong winds would create dangerous fire conditions over the next week, with the small amounts of rain forecast not enough to put out fires.

“Some of the worst fires the State has experienced started in similar weather conditions to what we are expecting over the next week, so we are on high alert,” he said.

Thunderstorms swept across the city early yesterday, filling rain gauges with about 13.4mm – the first fall in 61 days.

Lightning closed beaches, sparked about 36 fires, delayed flights and left tens of thousands of homes without power as storms made the humidity stifling. More hot weather and storms were forecast for today and the weekend.

Western Power crews worked to restore power to almost 27,000 homes and about 3100 customers were without power last night.

The humidity also meant yesterday felt hotter than it was. The science of muggy weather was complicated but Bureau of Meteorology spokesman Neil Bennett said dew point, not relative humidity, was the crucial measure.

This was the temperature at which water vapour in the air condensed into liquid and generally the higher it was, the more humid it felt.

High levels of moisture in the air hamper the cooling evaporation of sweat and, with light winds, lead to a higher “apparent temperature”.

“Once you get to a dew point of 18 or 19 degrees and above, it is going to start to feel unpleasant,” Mr Bennett said. By 1pm, it was 27C in Perth but the apparent temperature was 30.4. The dew point was 22C, compared with 15C and 10C the previous two days.
 

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