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SOUTHERN FIRES KEEP CREWS AND AIRCRAFT BUSYMARCH 16 -- TULSA, OK: The Southern Area Coordination Center (SACC) reported that initial attack yesterday included over 200 fires in Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Virginia. The No Man's Land Fire in Arkansas was at 300 acres this morning with zero containment, and reported tonight at 2,000 acres with 20 percent containment.
 The fire started on Monday in Montgomery County west of Little Rock and had airtankers on it today after proving a challenge yesterday; it's burning in heavy fuels with thick underbrush, and yesterday burned through retardant lines and jumped firelines. The fire's in steep rocky terrain in a remote area with difficult access. The fire's burning in hardwood litter and deadfall from the ice storm that hit the area hard almost six years ago, with six or eight feet of brush growing up since then through the deadfall of the 2000 storm. More than 50 personnel are assigned to the fire.
 The 413-acre Slick Fire and the 1,500-acre Moore Fire in Oklahoma were both at 40 percent containment this morning. The Slick Fire is still threatening a handful of homes, but containment is expected by the end of the weekend and both fires were pegged this evening at 85 percent containment. Military air operations in support of the Moore Fire were curtailed at Tinker AFB and some suburbs in southeast Oklahoma City were temporarily evacuated yesterday. About 100 homes were threatened, but only one was destroyed. The East Amarillo Complex, which has destroyed 9 homes and 80 outbuildings, is at 50 percent containment, and was reported at 705,000 acres today. The Skirt Chaser Fire in Greene County, Mississippi, was contained yesterday at 236 acres. It was still being watched late yesterday. 
EAST COAST RED FLAGSMARCH 15 -- WASHINGTON, DC: Red Flag Warnings were posted by the National Weather Service today for Virginia and Maryland, according to the Washington Post. Virginia firefighters have been busy with fires across the state for several days, with dry conditions and high winds contributing to the fire danger. Winds this afternoon ranged between 20 and 30 mph with gusts of 40 mph, and forecasts for the upper elevations of the Blue Ridge Mountains predicted gusts of 50 mph. The Maryland DNR Forest Service has responded to over 160 wildfires in just the last two weeks, exceeding their annual average of 130 fires for the entire month of March. For more information, check with the Maryland Forest Service or the Eastern Area Coordination Center (EACC), the regional GACC with fire info online for the entire region.
TEXAS GETS FEDERAL RELIEFMARCH 15 -- DALLAS, TEXAS: The Lone Star State is in line for $3.9 million in federal funding to help Texas farmers and ranchers recover from recent wildfires. Funding from the USDA Farm Service Agency, according to a report from KTEN-TV, will go into the state's Emergency Conservation Program. Qualified applicants in Texas will be eligible for up to 75 percent of their recovery costs for restoration of agricultural operations -- including fences and structures, livestock watering, and other agricultural land restoration. The Dallas Morning News reported that somewhere between 3,000 and 10,000 head of livestock have been killed in recent wildfires.
11 KILLED IN TEXAS WILDFIRESMARCH 14 -- FORT WORTH, TEXAS: Panhandle firefighters are battling the worst series of wildfires in Texas history, fires that have killed 11 people, injured more than a half-dozen, and burned nearly 700,000 acres in just a few days. A fire in Wheeler County had spread over 220,000 acres, and a 45,000-acre fire in Cottle County was moving north into Childress County. The Star-Telegram reported that the largest fire, near Borger, had burned 432,000 acres by Sunday and killed three people who were overrun by flames. Four homes and 16 outbuildings were destroyed. By yesterday afternoon, the three Panhandle wildfires had burned 697,000 acres, more than double the area burned in 1988. Sheriff's deputies on Monday found four bodies in a car that had run into a ravine; a state trooper said the cause of the wreck was probably fire-related. On Sunday four people from Oklahoma were killed in a nine-vehicle pileup on a smoky stretch of I-40 east of Groom. The East Amarillo Complex near Jerico includes the Borger and I-40 fires. The Borger Fire is 40 percent contained, and the I-40 Fire is 70 percent contained. Eight communities were evacuated. The complex is estimated at 700,000 acres. The Buckle L 2 Fire is 40 percent contained at 40,000 acres south of Childress. The Houston Chronicle reported that firefighters were expecting a shift in wind direction and dropping humidity; winds were near 20 mph this morning. Fire crews fought more than 160 fires in one 24-hour period over the weekend. The Texas Department of Public Safety reported that seven firefighters received minor injuries fighting the fires in the Panhandle; one was hospitalized in stable condition Monday night after a wreck in his engine. A ranch hand helping firefighters was hospitalized with second-degree burns. About 3.5 million acres have burned across Texas since the last week of December.
2006 AIRTANKER CALENDARMARCH 08 -- APPLE VALLEY, CA: This year's airtanker calendar is still available online, and it's possibly even cooler than last year's.  The calendar features photos from Charles E. Stewart of Apple Valley, California, including current and vintage airtankers and helitankers. All 13 of the images can be viewed online at cafepress.com/wildfirenews/102588 and calendars can be ordered online. The cost this year is $22 -- less than last year -- and they've been selling fast. Each month's photo measures 11 x 8½ inches and the calendar's printed on 100-pound high gloss paper. The cover photo -- one of the most dramatic tanker shots ever made -- is Stewart's image of Aero Union's Tanker 24 dropping on the Narrows Fire near Wrightwood, California, in August of 1997.
SIERRA FIRE TOPS 7,000 ACRESFEBRUARY 08 -- CORONA, CA: Residents are returning to their homes after evacuations that were ordered on Monday in the area of the Sierra Fire in southern California; about 1,200 homes were under evacuation orders. Mandatory evacuations were issued for residents east of Serrano Road and south of Canyon Rim Road. The fire this morning was 22 percent contained at 7,179 acres. Orange County Fire Authority Capt. Stephen Miller said flying embers started two small spot fires about a half-mile from the closest homes; he told NBC4-TV the spot fires triggered the evacuation orders. The fire started early Monday morning in a remote mountainous area between Orange and Riverside counties near Sierra Peak. Only a handful of homes are now listed as threatened; the fire earlier had threatened over 2,000 homes. Powerlines, a NOAA doppler radar station, the Irvine Lake area, and private ranch properties are still threatened, and fire managers say the communities of Cowan Heights, Lemon Heights, and Silverado Canyon could still be threatened. Contingency plans are being developed for the Santiago and Silverado Canyon areas. Dennis Shell with the Orange County Fire Authority told the San Jose Mercury News that temperatures were rising, humidity was falling, and Santa Ana winds were expected. "Today's going to be a very critical day for us," he said. Gusty northeast winds of up to 50 mph are pushing the fire across steep terrain, and relative humidities in the single digits are expected. The fire's burning mostly in chaparral, with chamise and heavy fuels in some areas. The tollroad Highway 241 is still closed, but that closure will be reassessed today; other area road closures are listed on the Cleveland National Forest website. Nineteen of the 22 Type I engine strike teams were demobilized and replaced with Type III strike teams and Type 1 crews. Miller said the changes reflect a change in the character of the fire; units with engines designed for structural protection were replaced because the threat to 2,100 homes in Anaheim Hills and Orange is no longer imminent. Unified Command has been established with CDF, the Forest Service, and the Orange County Fire Authority. Shell said five planes and ten helicopters were working the fire; more than 1,900 firefighters are assigned. USFS Fire Chief Rich Hawkins said in an AP report that a ten-acre prescribed fire conducted last week was thought to be the source of the fire. He said Santa Ana winds were not forecast when the burn was done. NBC4-TV and the Orange County Register have photos online.
SoCal CREWS PLUNGED BACK INTO FIREFIGHTINGJANUARY 24 -- HIGHLAND, CA: Aircraft bailed from the South and headed back to California today to help about 600 firefighters with a fire in the hills northeast of San Bernardino. The Plunge Fire was threatening about 500 homes, along with threatened and endangered species habitat in the area. Voluntary evacuations were in effect in parts of the community of Running Springs, and an evacuation center was set up in Highland. Today's red flag warning, though, expired at 4 p.m., and evacuation advisories were lifted this afternoon. Winds that were gusting to 40 mph or more, pushing the fire into areas that haven't burned in decades, calmed to 5-10 mph late today. The San Bernardino County Sun, which has a slide show of the fire online, reported that Incident Commander Norm Walker said early today that he expected a wind shift, and that if the Santa Ana winds died down, then airtankers could be dispatched. He said plans in the meantime included building fireline with dozers and hand crews on the north side of the fire. "We have about a mile to do, 25 feet wide, to make it safe,'' he said. "We think the main concern right now is Fredalba and Running Springs. If it goes down to Highland it will get into the Old Fire area, which is just grass right now.''
 Aircraft did fly the fire today, and pilots reported major progress. As of 5 p.m. the fire was 40 percent contained at 485 acres, but pilots who flew it today said it was mostly contained and well lined by late afternoon. They noted, from the air, major progress in the last year on fuels reduction in the area. One pilot said he was amazed at the progress on fuels reduction in bug-kill fuel areas in the hills above San Bernardino. The Press-Enterprise reported earlier today that the fire started yesterday just after noon, burning in an area that's thick with chaparral and other heavy fuels.
STIHL RECALLS CHAINSAWSJANUARY 18 -- WASHINGTON, DC: The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and Stihl Inc. of Virginia Beach, Virginia, have announced a recall of the Stihl MS 192 T chainsaw.
Stihl has found that with this model chainsaw, a fuel line in the purge pump system may pull apart from a connector, allowing fuel to escape; a connection in the ignition grounding system may loosen and create a spark; and/or the springs in the clutch assembly may come out of position, allowing a spring of the clutch to be projected from the saw housing. No incidents nor injuries have been reported. The recalled chainsaws are model number MS 192 T, which is labeled on the side of the chainsaw's starter housing. Recalled saws include serial numbers 264371702 through 266087005, and the serial number can be located on the decal and is engraved into the housing. If you have one of these saws, take it to an authorized Stihl dealer for a free repair. For more information, call Stihl at (800)610-6677 between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday.
FEDS ASK FOR DISMISSAL OF AIRTANKER LAWSUITJANUARY 17 -- CASPER, WY: A federal judge is considering a request from the U.S. Department of Justice to dismiss a lawsuit against former aerial firefighting giant Hawkins & Powers Aviation and others over a fatal crash of a PB4Y-2 airtanker nearly four years ago.
TheDenverChannel.com reported that on January 5 attorneys asked Chief U.S. District Judge William Downes to either dismiss the case or drop certain defendants, including the U.S. Forest Service, from the case. Debra Fowler, senior aviation counsel for the U.S. Department of Justice, said the Forest Service had no obligation to supervise the airtanker's maintenance. The Casper Star-Tribune reported that several attorneys argued that the case should not go to trial. "The happening of an accident doesn't mean someone was negligent," said attorney Rick Koehmstedt. The NTSB investigation identified the probable cause of the crash as inflight failure of the left wing due to fatigue cracking in the wing's forward spar and wing skin, with a contributing factor of "inadequate maintenance procedures to detect fatigue cracking." Judge Downes is expected to rule on the motions within several weeks. The lawsuit is scheduled to go to trial in about a month. Downes commented at one point on the age of the airtanker and said it had been around longer than he had.
10,000-ACRE NEBRASKA FIRE NOT THAT BIGJANUARY 17 -- HALSEY, NE: A wildfire that started Sunday morning on the Nebraska National Forest near Halsey was reported as 70 percent contained last night at 10,000 acres. But the Lincoln Journal Star reported today that fire managers have reduced their estimate of the fire’s size to about 5,600 acres based on a satellite survey conducted yesterday. Information Officer Jerry Schumacher said the fire was likely human-caused. He told the North Platte Telegraph that the Four Corners Fire started about nine miles southeast of Thedford. "Because of the weather and the wind, it spread fast enough to become a threat to firefighters." Crews had about five miles of line left to build as of last night, and they expect to have the fire contained by this evening. Winds of up to 20 mph have been a problem; the fire's threatening forest and historic resources and range improvements. About 90 personnel remained on the fire last night. Initial resources included 200 volunteer firefighters from 19 departments. Schumacher said the quick initial response by the volunteer fire departments made a huge impact on preventing the fire from growing any larger. The fire did reach some heavily timbered areas, but Schumacher said those areas had recently been thinned. "None of us expect a fire in January," he said.
FIRE CREWS BUSY ACROSS TEXASJANUARY 16 -- FORT WORTH, TEXAS: Firefighters across north Texas were busy over the weekend; on Friday high winds pushed several grassfires burning in several counties, and red flag warnings have been in effect. One of the fires temporarily closed Interstate 35W in Fort Worth and another burned 900 acres and a hunting cabin in far north Parker County; a fire near Bryson grew to over 4,000 acres. A grass fire that took off Saturday had burned 2,500 acres by yesterday afternoon and caused the evacuation of 62 homes. Possum Kingdom State Park was also evacuated. Les Wadzinski with the Texas Forest Service said the park was closed, and that three helicopters and six airtankers dropped on the fire till dusk yesterday. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that a 900-acre fire in Parker County destroyed a hunting cabin and a barn; up till this year, 1996 was the record for fires in north Texas. A 16,000-acre fire that year burned 85 homes in two days. In Palo Pinto County, a fire that burned 300 acres and threatened five structures was at 70 percent containment by yesterday evening. Resources on that fire included five SEATs, a couple of helitankers, and one heavy airtanker, according to Bob Miller with the Texas Forest Service. "It was one hell of an air show around five o'clock," he said. "The winds were really rocking." Nationally, 31 new fires were reported yesterday. Four new large fires started in the South, and very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Texas and Kansas. KWTX-TV reported that a red flag warning was issued for central Texas through this evening, but rain was reported at the tanker base at Fort Smith, Arkansas earlier today. A Unified Command including Custer's Type 1 team, a Florida Type 2 team, and a Type 2 incident commander from Texas, is operating from Granbury and Abilene, assisting local jurisdictions with management of existing fires that have burned about 22,000 acres -- plus initial attack on new fires. They reported seven new fires totaling 121 acres yesterday. The Caddo Fire is about 50 percent contained at 2,500 acres. It's burning just north of Caddo and threatening structures; active fire behavior with torching was reported yesterday. Both the 4,700-acre Burwick Fire west of Jacksboro and the 440-acre Lonestar Fire northeast of Mineral Wells are more than 90 percent contained. nbc5i.com has an online collection of about 5 dozen Texas fire photos submitted by viewers.
2006 AIRTANKER CALENDARJANUARY 16 -- APPLE VALLEY, CA: This year's airtanker calendar is finished and available online, and it's possibly even cooler than last year's. This year's calendar features 13 photos from Charles E. Stewart of Apple Valley, California, including current and vintage airtankers and helitankers. All 13 of the images can be viewed online at cafepress.com/wildfirenews/102588 and calendars can be ordered online. The cost this year is $22 -- less than last year -- and they've been selling fast. Each month's photo measures 11 x 8½ inches and the calendar's printed on 100-pound high gloss paper. The cover photo -- one of the most dramatic tanker shots ever made -- is Stewart's image of Aero Union's Tanker 24 dropping on the Narrows Fire near Wrightwood, California, in August of 1997.
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