www.dof.virginia.gov
www.firewisevirginia.org
Thursday, April 9, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Firewise Webinar TODAY !!!!
Planning in the Face of Change;
an Urban Forestry Webinar Series
About the Series
The NC Forest Service's Urban & Community Forestry Program is hosting a series of webinars on five topics designed to educate professionals who have responsibility for managing urban forestry assets. Partnering with the NC State University Forestry & Environmental Outreach Program, the webinars will be accessed through the ForestryWebinars.net portal. The webinars will be offered monthly from January to May 2015. Urban foresters, community and civic planners, arborists and urban conservation organizations are encouraged to participate.
Webinar Opportunities
Each webinar will be 1 hour in duration and feature presenters from a variety of land management organizations and educational institutions. Continuing education credits from ISA, SAF and APA are in the process of being approved for each webinar. Participants will join the webinars through the Webinar Portal at www.forestrywebinars.net.
NEED FIREWISE ?
Click on the webinar title below for registration details.
Urban Interface
Continued development in and around forests, combined with drought, tree mortality and increased fire potential requires careful planning and understanding of people and fire. What is the Interface and what must be considered when building in the Interface? There are resources and partners focused on the interface.
How do you get firewise? | Fred X. Turck Assistant Director Resource Protection Division |
March 26
2pm EST |
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Record Drought Possibly Record Wildfires
While the wildfires in Oklahoma, Chile and elsewhere are for now being contained other parts of the US are gearing up for what might be a significant wildfire season unlike any recently. While here in Virginia yesterdays rains were welcomed as we have had over 100 fires for a couple of hundred acres this last week. This time of year it doesn't take long to go from snow and rain to dry "enough" conditions for wildfires.
No Spring Drought Relief for California, Nevada,
Oregon
The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration forecast predict drought will persist or worsen in
California, Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, and western Colorado through June.
"Periods of record
warmth in the west and not enough precipitation during the rainy season cut
short drought relief in California this winter, and prospects for above-average
temperatures for this spring may make the situation worse," said Jon
Gottschalck, with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
El Niño finally arrived
in February, but forecasters say it’s too weak and too late in the rainy season
to provide much relief for California which will soon reach its fourth year in
drought.
Drought is expected to persist
in California, Nevada, and Oregon through June with the onset of the dry season
in April. Drought is also forecast to develop in remaining areas of Oregon and
western Washington. Drought is also likely to continue in parts of the southern
Plains.
Drought will continue,
increase in wildfire risk
Risk of
wildfires grows across Wisconsin
Forecasters say drought improvement or removal
is favored for some areas in the Southwest, southern Rockies, southern Plains,
and Gulf Coast while drought development is more likely in parts of the
northern Plains, upper Mississippi Valley and western Great Lakes where recent
dryness and an outlook of favored below average precipitation exist.
If you live in any of these areas targeted for an increase in wildfire activity or if you live anywhere where there is a threat of wildfire there ARE things you can do NOW in preparation. Giving YOU, YOUR HOME and YOUR DREAM the best chances possible of surviving the devastation of a wildfire.
I recently came across what I feel is one of the best if not the best website for information. Although it is from a small county in California the information is invaluable and could save property and lives, possibly yours! GO THERE AND SPEND TIME LOOKING AND LEARNING. Then TAKE ACTION.
Thanks Madera County!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
Wildfires in Chile
We might be enjoying an easy (for now) Spring Wildfire Season everyone is not so fortunate.
SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) — A big coastal wildfire was briefly
contained then flared to life again in hot, windy weather, although it posed no
threat to homes in the nearby Pacific ports of Valparaiso and Vina del Mar,
officials said late Saturday.
Chile's National Emergency Office
said the revival was mainly in unpopulated forest along two roads connecting
the two cities, and sections of both routes had to be closed.
Earlier Saturday, many of the
more than 7,000 people who had been evacuated after flames neared their
neighborhoods the previous night were allowed to return to their homes as the
blaze waned in those areas.
About 200 firefighters on the
ground and water-dumping helicopters and planes were battling the wildfire,
which started Friday afternoon at an illegal dump and was quickly spread by
strong winds. Officials declared a state of emergency.
The fire was blamed for the death
of a woman in her 60s who suffered a heart attack. Thirty-two people had been
injured, including 19 firefighters, the emergency office said. Five of the
firefighters were badly injured, but their lives were not in danger.
Electricity service for about
12,000 people was turned off as a precaution, officials said.
The fire comes nearly one year
after a wildfire tore through Valparaiso neighborhoods, leaping from one
hilltop to another. The blaze killed 15 people, injured more than 500 and
destroyed nearly 3,000 homes.
No houses were reported damaged
from the latest fire, which Chile's Emergency Office estimated had affected
about 740 acres (300 hectares) by early Saturday.
The government asked people to
avoid traveling to either of the coastal cities, both of which are popular
weekend destinations, especially during the Southern Hemisphere's summer
months.
Friday, March 13, 2015
Can you help little Smokey find his way to the 4 leaf-clover? Each one has a path to the shamrock! All 3 images are dated 1950. Do you know the little girls name?
Judy Bell... That's correct. She enjoyed helping nurse Smokey (the cub) back to health after he was rescued.
Can you believe this is her all grown up.
Smokey looks pretty good also as a grown bear.1961 --- 11-12 years old.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
As the snows melt wildfires occur and....
Saint Patrick's Day is right around the corner and it is said that at least for a day everybody is Irish! Hopefully the Smokey Bear keepers don't get so upset that smokey has a new hat for the day!
PLEASE remember at least here in Virginia we are still in what is considered our Spring Wildfire Season and as the snow melts the wildfires are beginning to show up. There were several around yesterday even with snow still being found on the Northern slopes and in shaded areas. DON'T depend on being LUCKY obey the fire laws and do your part to NOT let a wildfire start. ONLY YOU CAN.
And by the way .......
Friday, March 6, 2015
Enought Snow and Ice talk Lets Talk Wildfires!
For those who must be on the roads:
• Delay trips at
least until the afternoon, if possible.
• Use extreme
caution, increase following distance and do not brake quickly. Many vehicles
have been observed traveling at dangerous speeds for road conditions.
• Roads that
appear clear are likely to have many locations covered with black ice.
• Clean all snow
from mirrors and your vehicle.
• Watch
carefully for pedestrians walking alongside roadways.
Now for the fires!
Wildfires eat up Forest Service budget, hampering prevention
Fire suppression and other firefighting expenses have increased from 16 percent of the Forest Service budget in 1995 to 42 percent in 2014, according to Robert Bonnie, the undersecretary of natural resources and environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees the Forest Service.
“The general consensus is that this is a problem and we need to fix it,” Bonnie said Wednesday during a Chronicle editorial board meeting. He said money has been borrowed that was targeted for non-fire-related activities, like landscaping and fire prevention, to pay for fighting fires.
California, which is suffering from a fourth year of drought, is one of the major culprits. At one point last September, 12 major wildfires were burning in the state. Eleven of them were in Northern California. Nearly 6,000 firefighters were employed to beat back the flames.
Catastrophic
wildfires expected in Southern Oregon this summer
Record low snowpack amid a second
straight drought year has wildland managers bracing for what they consider an
upcoming wildfire season in which catastrophic fire in the Cascades or
Siskiyous "seems inevitable."
State and federal wildfire experts
said Thursday in Medford that they expect mid- and high-elevation forestlands
to be prime for generating a 2015 fire season that will start earlier, last
longer and likely burn hotter than normal in this area known for summer fires.
With minimal or no snow around
places such as Howard Prairie and Mount Ashland, the sun's rays that normally
would melt snow and wet the forest instead will be cooking it tinder dry this
spring, making slopes more able to carry flames and more susceptible to fire
starts caused by lightning downstrikes.
THE Biggest story with regards to wildfires comes out of South Africa.
Despite Encroaching Wildfires, Cape Town Should Be Safe
Wildfires have been ripping through peripheral parts of Cape
Town, South Africa, since Sunday. As of Tuesday, more than 7,000 acres of land
had been destroyed, according to NBC. Allafrica.com reported that at least five
homes have burned, but the fires have yet to claim any lives. City officials
are increasingly concerned, however, dispatching hundreds of additional
firefighters to combat the flames, according to the Independent.
Bushfires raging through one of
South Africa's most popular international tourist destinations have destroyed
vineyards and scorched thousands of hectares of spectacular scenery.
Firefighting teams and water-bombing
aircraft were in action as the flames swept down Cape Town's southern
peninsula, a mountainous spine of land running from the city to Cape Point,
Africa's most southwestern tip.
At least two vineyards in the Constantia
Valley, below the eastern slopes of Table Mountain, and one further south at
Noordhoek, lost vineyards. Steenberg winery general manager John Loubser told
Bloomberg that winemakers were concerned that smoke could taint unharvested
grapes.
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