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FUSEE members are in the news! Past articles can be read in the archives.
July 30
Saving money on air tanker may cost millions
Los Angeles Times
The budget Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Tuesday canceled the contract for California's largest firefighting tool, a DC-10 jet, to save $7 million. But the long-term cost to taxpayers could far exceed the savings.
July 29
Study: Wildfires will increase with climate change
The Oregonian
A warming climate will lead to more wildfires in coming decades, with the most dramatic increase in the Northwest, a new study predicts.
July 27
When fire is a benefit
Recent Guthrie blaze had nerves on edge, but letting it run its course proved to be wise
Arizona Daily Star
When the Guthrie Fire started on July 11 just north of Redington Pass, it could have been quickly extinguished with "four buckets from a helicopter," Stan Helin said.
Helin, a ranger for the Santa Catalina District of the Coronado National Forest, made the decision to "manage the fire for resource benefit," allowing it to burn under close supervision until Mother Nature put it out.
July 26
Firefighting helicopter hit dip tank before crash, report says
Redding Searchlight Record
A preliminary report on the July 17 crash of a firefighting helicopter on the Backbone Fire says the aircraft collided with a dip tank where it was refilling with water.
Questions raised about firefighting helicopters' safety
Redding Searchlight Record
Timothy Ingalsbee says he owes his life to a firefighting helicopter.
July 23
Firefighter mourned by colleagues
Redding Record Searchlight
WILLOW CREEK - The U.S. Forest Service has halted its training and use of rappelling from helicopters statewide in response to the death of a firefighter who fell from a helicopter Tuesday in the north state.
July 21
Hayward man killed in fall from helicopter
San Jose Mercury News
WILLOW CREEK, Calif.—A Hayward man has been identified as the U.S. Forest Service firefighter killed in a fall from a helicopter during a training exercise in Humboldt County.
July 19
Big shift in fire tactics evident on Backbone Fire
Redding Record Searchlight
CORRECTION:Air quality officials were ready to place monitors in Cecilville, Forks of Salmon and Scott Valley had the conditions gotten smoky enough, but the monitors were not needed. An earlier version of this story said the monitors were already in place.
WILLOW CREEK - Something's different this summer in communities and the national forests west of Redding, and it's not just the absence of brown, smoky haze that left many residents coughing and wheezing for months during last year's record-breaking fire season.
Forester studying lessons from Waterfall and Angora fires
Nevada Appeal
The Waterfall fire on Carson City's west side five years ago cost an estimated $14 million. The Angora Fire at South Lake Tahoe cost a lot more than that.
Ecologists decry efforts to douse fire
Redding Record Searchlight
Two environmentalists who study fire ecology say community leaders shouldn't be applauding U.S. Forest Service firefighters' quick work to contain the isolated Backbone Fire, no matter how much smoke was kept out of the air.
"Smoke is an unpleasant, but unavoidable, fact of natural life," said Timothy Ingalsbee, the executive director of the Eugene, Ore.-based Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics and Ecology. "There's no smokeless fire. This is California fire country. There's no way around it."
July 18
New gel firefighting system demonstrated
The Boerne Star
To the South Dakotans who came to Comfort to demonstrate fire fighting equipment, the 103-degree heat must have seemed like a fire was already raging.
July 17
Helicopter crashes on Backbone Fire
Redding Searchlight Record
WILLOW CREEK — A Sikorsky helicopter working on the Backbone Fire this afternoon came down with a “hard landing,” hitting the ground and tumbling onto its side.
July 6
The 15th anniversary of a tragedy
Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the Storm King Fire, one of the most tragic days in the history of wildland firefighting.
July 5
Nakamura: We must address California's changing wildfire dynamic
Redding Record Searchlight
As summer heats up, so does the wildfire threat. Californians are bracing for what experts describe as a potentially severe wildfire season, but it hasn't always been this way.
July 4
First Detailed Look At Progress Of A Wildland-urban Fire
Science Daily
ScienceDaily (July 4, 2009) — A wildfire rages across southern California wildlands towards residential communities, endangering residents and firefighters and sending property up in smoke. This is an increasingly common story, occurring several times a summer. To better understand these Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) fires and how best to prevent or fight them, researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have issued an in-depth study on fire behavior and defensive actions taken in a community during a such a fire.
July 3 OAKRIDGE — The people in this town remember the same thing: the running. Sara Brown’s footsteps were a constant in high school, pounding out five miles, 10 miles, until it became a way of life. Running these days isn’t as easy as it once was for the 30-year-old. It’s painful. Slow. She’s lost her rhythm. Two years ago, the veteran smokejumper dove out of a plane into a wildfire and shattered all of the bones in her right leg. -------------------- FUSEE is a non-profit organization dedicated to public education on fire ecology and management issues. We believe this news service to be 'Fair Use' of the cited copyrighted material for educational purposes and will advance awareness, understanding, and public discussion of issues relating to firefighter safety, ethical land management, environmental protection, ecological restoration, and other issues in the public interest.
Making strides: Oakridge native Sara Brown embraces her love for running in recovering from an injury
The Register-Guard