thanks marcia *HUGS* we've got a doozy going on in rancho santa margarita (an elite neighborhood). over 300 acres burned and a major freeway is shut down. fire is nature's way to rejuvinate herself. fire brings nutrients to the soil though the damage it does is more evident.

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/051302_nw_jk_fire_los_flores.html

Riverside CA is now on fire (some smaller ones near Camp Pendelton and about 4 others)....

I was wondering if you could see it or even smell it. I think it will be a difficult season for all of California. Midstate is also dry and the summer is still before them.

Southern Calif. Fire Threatens Expensive Homes Mon May 13, 8:52 PM ET RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. (Reuters) - An out-of-control brush fire driven by hot winds and dry conditions threatened a community of expensive homes in this Orange County community on Monday as residents voluntarily began evacuating. The blaze burned more than 500 acres of bone-dry scrub near the rural community of Rancho Santa Margarita about 55 miles south of Los Angeles, as crews from more than 50 fire engines and three helicopters battled to save multi-million dollar homes. "We still have homes we're concerned with," Orange County Fire Capt. Steve Miller told KABC-TV. "We're nowhere close to having this fire contained. Our main priority is to just protect the homes." Kymbra Fleming, a spokeswoman for the Orange County Fire Authority, said about 200 homes were threatened by the flames, which had also closed several roads through the area. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020514/ts_nm/fire_california_dc_2&printer=1

a couple more fires going on today. i could see the haze in the air and smell a bit. but it's not taking over the evening news tonight. they were busy talking about a break line between brush and the homes and i was driving along the freeway and thought how easy it would be for a fire to break out along the edges since the brush isn't kept mowed or removed.

I noted that same problem on the California Freeways and it has happened - at least farther north in the state. Anyone foolish enough to build in the hills and not keep the brush beaten well back and a swimming pool (or other large catchment) full of water and a hose with pump attached is just plain foolish. It has been a while since Puna has had a brush fire. This is a disaster waiting to happen, also, but it is mostly uninhabited there. (South East of Hilo)

well, we have a lot of ice plants growing along the freeways and just about anywhere nothing else will grow. i was told they were used as fire breaks. they keep 'em watered too (auto sprinklers and everything). the area i live in is well-watered too. all the bushes are required to be maintained by the dwellers (base housing).

Near San Francisco they have big thick oleanders between the going and coming lanes of the roadway. Oleander is resinous and I wondered how dangerous they might become when buring. They are toxic ! I think I would build a moat. At least where David now is safer in his house than he was in his condo.

oleander is indeed toxic. it's all over the place here too (but the bushes look fantastic when covered with flowers)

They are evergreen and beautiful but VERY dangerous!

Wildfire Spreads in Arizona TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) - About 100 residents were ordered to leave their homes on Mount Lemmon on Sunday as a wildfire in the Coronado National Forest grew to 12,500 acres. The fire hadn't damaged any structures but had the potential to threaten roughly 700 homes, said Joan Vasey, a forest spokeswoman. ``It depends on what the winds do today and what the firefighters accomplish,'' Vasey said. Residents and business owners won't be allowed to return until after the fire threat is over, said Dean Barnella, chief of the Mount Lemmon Fire Department. ``We are going door to door to confirm that everybody is out,'' he said. Most of those evacuated were full-time residents. Many cabins on the mountainside are used as summer homes. The fire was first spotted Tuesday and is believed to have been started by humans, authorities said. In New Mexico, a wildfire burning in the rugged Pecos Wilderness of the Santa Fe National Forest had scorched 11,000 acres Sunday. Firefighters had contained 15 percent of the blaze and were getting a break early Sunday as the wind died down. Resident Ricky Romero watched the strong gusts fueling the blaze. ``I could see that fire coming straight at us so many times,'' Romero said, ``and then the wind would change.'' On the Net: National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/

The shiny active flow, which began on Mother's Day, extends from lower right to upper center of photo, entering forest along the edge of older pahoehoe. Smoke comes from burning forest near the flow front in Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park. About 880 acres have been burned. The map below shows the course of this flow, farther west than any other flow of the eruption.

"The Map Below" is found on this page http://hvo.wr.usgs.gov/kilauea/update/main.html

With the heatwave come the fires - Greece By Soteris Charalambous THE CURRENT heatwave, with temperatures rising to 39 degrees inland, has also brought the start of the brush-fire season, with fire-fighting crews called out to more than 25 separate incidents across the island yesterday. A spokesman for the Nicosia Fire Brigade said yesterday the worst of the fires, in the Khirokitia area, began at 3pm and was expected to rage into the night as fire-fighters were unable to bring it under control because of high winds. He said that a square kilometre of land had already been destroyed in the blaze, but that no injuries had been reported. In another major incident a man was arrested for starting a fire near his house, which then spread out of control and put other homes at risk near the Paphos district village of Pyrgos. The fire was started at around 8.30am by sparks as the man was working in an open area near his house. It spread quickly, helped by strong winds and tinder-dry land. Four fire engines and two Russian helicopters were needed, as well as forestry department and civil defence officials and other residents, to bring the blaze under control. Half a square kilometre of cultivated land, shrub land and a green house were destroyed before the fire was extinguished. The Fire Brigade spokesman said that a restaurant had been slightly damaged in an incident in the Limassol area, but he described the other fires as "less serious" and confirmed that "no serious casualties" had been reported at any of the fires. http://www.gogreece.com/news/headlines/story.html?id=5512

The Copper Fire is finally under control (can't remember where that is, but it's north of here but not so far as san fran) and there's a big fire in colorado going on too. they determined that the copper fire was started by an illigal campfire.

There are loads of little brush fires around this part of California. Coming back from Shasta we must have heard 15 or more called in on the car's scanner. And, this is early in the fire season. Intersting and deadly - just like volcanoes.

actually, the colorado fire was started by the camp fire. i don't remember what they said sparked the copper fire.

The "thunder" incident (as they call them here) was ignited by a fallen powerline whose sparks ignited the surrounding grasses. That was near Red Bluff and involved many tankers, a few flying machines and many people. Another at Shasta was started by a maintanance shed which held gasoline for the forestry equipment.

I heard about some fires caused by underground seams in coal mine fires that had been burning for decades, did anyone hear this? I didn't catch the location, it was a snippet I heard on NPR.

didn't hear that one either....but what's going on in colorado? they've run out of firefighters, i think. they can't even put people ahead of the fire because it's moving too fast. that has got to be scary.

There are several in Pennsylvania. I've been over them and through the towns. It is strange and scary and smells terrible. West Viriginia also has a few like that. Not healthy and seems impossible to quench!

Hi all Something like that happened on property that is now in my Uncle Geoff's farm, down in Southland because there was a fire in the small mine and it was closed off. Geoff said it burned for a couple years and you knew you were on the farm because it was closed of, a lot of heat built up. Rob

Coal in New Zealand?! I never thought about that possibility, but I also did not think of it in Greece and I know theuy have coal mines. One can see the coal seams in road cuts here - pictures taken and await downloading for your viewing pleasure.

a fire started yesterday at noon and was still going when i went to bed. the interesting thing was that a house caught on fire and it was over 2 blocks away in a well-developed sub-division. why this house? it was the only one with wood roofing! all it takes is a little ember!

That sounds all too familiar. I am reading Don's autiobiographical book of anecdotal information and other fun things. One such involved his grandmother then home alone and pregnant putting out the fire that had begun on the roof from embers emitted by the chimney. Back then, you WERE the fire department! Whst is someone doing with the fire in the fireplace in all this heat?!

the ember was carried on the breeze!

Campfires are a real danger this time of year. Please, people, if you are campingout and need a fire, be careful how you quench it. Remember to stir and quench again and again until you are certain it is extinguished! No burning old letters either. No matter how hurt your feelings...

and no setting fires so you can get hired and paid to put it out!! a large fire yesterday was started by a burning car on the freeway!

Sheesh, Freeway car fires? How hot is it where you are? In Vacaville it was 180� F yesterday! I really don't need that!

it was pretty hot up where that took place (santa clarita, i think). there are cars on fire all the time here. can't figure it out. all the windows are open and my house is a lovely 70 degrees!

Are you ever lucky! I am about to post an article from the SF area where it is absolutely sweltering. I'm glad you have cool temperatures. It is impossibly hot where my son is. (still waiting for FedEx to deliver my laptop...) Happy Birthday Geo! William was online earlier but I think he did not come to Geo...

Fire weather happens everywhere. THE GREEK POLICE WILL PARTICIPATE IN THE BATTLE AGAINST SUMMER FIRES The Greek Police will participate again this year in the battle against summer fires, according to a decision reached in the meeting of the responsible agencies that was held today and was presided over by Public Order Minister Michalis Chrisochoidis. The decision on the participation of the Greek Police provides for the land and air watch of forests and forest lands as well as every kind of assistance that is deemed necessary. In the land surveillance will participate mixed car patrols made up of Police officers, Fire Department officers and soldiers. Their goal will be to avert fires, or spot them quickly, identify suspects and arrest arsonists. http://www.hri.org/news/greek/mpa/2002/02-06-17.mpa.html

Forest fires Conscripts in central Lesvos helped firefighters to extinguish a blaze which ravaged 15 hectares of forest land near their military base early on Sunday morning. According to an eyewitness, the fire was caused by a bag of inflammable liquid which was thrown at the base from a passing car. A team of 25 firefighters on eight fire engines, 30 ground workers, four water-carrying aircraft and three helicopters extinguished another forest fire on the island of Kythera, in the Peloponnese, early on Saturday morning, before it could cause major damage.http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100012_22/07/2002_19019

CYPRUS FIRES - Hundreds of firefighters battle large forest blazes Hundreds of Cypriot firefighters and British troops yesterday battled to extinguish five separate blazes which ravaged the island for hours, causing large-scale damage but no injuries. Large expanses of forest land, as well as two factories and six houses were destroyed by four different blazes near Limassol in the island�s south, local police said. Three of the blazes in Limassol are believed to be the work of a group of motorcycle-borne youths seen starting fires in the area. The fifth blaze ravaged forest land in Paphos. Cyprus is currently undergoing a heatwave. http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100015_02/08/2002_19451

A string of fires that have ravaged parched forests and farmland across the heatwave-afflicted Republic of Cyprus prompted a rare offer of assistance yesterday across the island�s communal divide. The Turkish-occupied north of the island offered to put its firefighting equipment at the disposal of Nicosia, top Turkish-Cypriot forestry official Irsen Kucuk said. Cypriot President Glafcos Clerides said the fires were already under control but nonetheless expressed gratitude for the offer, Kucuk told the Turkish-Cypriot TAK news agency. Hundreds of Cypriot firefighters and British troops in the region of Limassol yesterday battled to contain three blazes threatening nearby villages. The fires, which started on Thursday morning, had already ravaged at least 10 square kilometers (9 square miles) of pine forests, a factory and three houses, when they were extinguished yesterday morning, but strong winds rekindled the embers hours later. Seven youths, whom witnesses claimed to have seen starting the fires, were remanded in police custody yesterday. (Combined reports) http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_politics_100010_03/08/2002_19489

From Romain Cooper in Takilma, Oregon (souther OR. near the CA. border): As perhaps you've heard, a huge fire (~380,000 acres) is now burning just to the west of here in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness and surrounding wildlands. This is a rough situation that has kept me, and all the staff, busier than usual. From the SJ Mercury News: Oregon fire grows into largest in state history GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - The nation's largest active wildfire grew to 333,890 acres today, making it Oregon's largest wildfire in a century. Fire crews worked against gusty winds and steep terrain to secure a containment line around the southeastern portion of the wildfire. The fire was spotting along part of the line, said Mike Ferris, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service. ``It slopped over the line that we had established and we're getting it tied back in,'' he said. The blaze in southwestern Oregon and northern California is larger than a 1933 that burned 311,000 acres. National forests weren't managed until the U.S. Forest Service was established in the 1890s. A voluntary evacuation remained in effect today at the southern tip of the fire in Gasquet, Calif., which has about 800 people. The fire was about 25 percent contained. California's largest wildfire, which has burned 61,550 acres northeast of San Diego, was nearly surrounded today. The blaze destroyed at least 35 homes since July 29, but was not threatening homes today, the state Department of Forestry said. The National Fire Information Center reports 5 million acres have burned in the country this year. U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said the fires have cost $325 million to fight.

And from the Guardian (UK): Oregon Fire Grows To 333,890 Acres Saturday August 10, 2002 4:30 PM GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) - The nation's largest active wildfire grew to about 333,890 acres early Saturday, making it Oregon's largest wildfire in over a century. The blaze in the Siskiyou National Forest and adjoining lands in southwestern Oregon and Northern California is now larger than the 1933 Tillamook Fire, which burned 311,000 acres. Officials said some fires may have covered more ground before the U.S. Forest Service was established until the 1890s. The wildfire had at one point threatened about 17,000 people in several small towns in the Illinois Valley. Favorable weather limited the fire's advance near Agness in the Rogue River Canyon, but gusty wind and temperatures in the 90s - factors expected to remain a threat Saturday - gave the blaze new vigor in the hills and valleys east of Brookings near the California border. Sheriff's deputies Friday were asking some Brookings-area residents to prepare to leave their homes immediately if notified. The fire was about 25 percent contained. A voluntary evacuation remained in effect at the southern tip of the fire in Gasquet, Calif., which has a population of about 800 people. Meanwhile, California's largest wildfire, which has burned about 61,550 acres since it began July 29 near Julian, about 60 miles northeast of San Diego, was nearly surrounded Saturday. At least 35 homes have been destroyed by the blaze, sparked when a National Guard helicopter clipped a power line. The flames were no longer threatening homes on Saturday, said Martie Perkins, a California Department of Forestry spokeswoman. A second wildfire in rural eastern San Diego County scorched 350 acres Friday, threatening about 60 homes. In Northern California, a fire burning in Napa Valley consumed about 500 acres. The National Fire Information Center reports 5 million acres have burned in the country this year, including more than 715,000 acres in Oregon. U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth said the fires have cost $325 million to fight. Elsewhere, portions of Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado reopened to the public Friday, 10 days after a wildfire near its best-known archaeological attractions forced it to close. Areas closest to the 2,601-acre fire, including the museum, the library and two cliff dwellings, were to remain closed Saturday. Park Superintendent Larry Wiese said helicopters were still dousing hot spots, and fire crews were still cleaning up. The fire scorched a wall of one archaeological feature, but did no damage to any other park ruins.

USA Today photo. Oregon fire expands to more than 330,000 acres GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) � Gusty winds remained a threat Saturday to fire crews struggling to contain what has become Oregon's largest wildfire in over a century. In Curry County, a pre-evacuation notice was posted to make sure residents are ready to leave on a moment's notice if the Florence Fire � which had grown to 333,891 acres by Saturday morning � moved closer to a few dozen homes scattered along river canyons near the ocean in the southwest corner of Oregon.

Jeez this is awful! Biggest blaze in US merges with smaller Oregon fire -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mail this story to a friend | Printer friendly version USA: August 12, 2002 PORTLAND, Ore. - A wildfire raging on both sides of the Oregon-California border, the biggest active blaze in the United States, merged with a smaller fire and was set to get worse, forestry officials said last week. Dry winds were expected to keep fueling the Florence fire over the weekend, the U.S. Forest Service said. The blaze has so far destroyed 331,000 acres (134,000 hectares) of dense, bush, forests and grasslands. "The two fires are only touching in some places, but we're no longer fighting them separately," said Deryl Jevons, a U.S. Forest Service official. Firefighting crews reinforced containment lines and local residents were kept on alert to evacuate after the Florence fire combined with the Sour Biscuit fire, in an area about 40 miles miles (64 km) wide located about 270 miles (435 km) south of Portland. The fire, ignited by lightning in mid-July near Oregon's border with California, is threatening the communities of Cave Junction, Kerby, Selma, Agness, Gardner Ranch and McCaleb Ranch, Jevons said, with residents put on an eight-hour notice to evacuate. This is where Romain lives. It's the Meadows. It's one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I feel a great pain piercing me.

The fire is now 390,000 acres and is officially called the "Biscuit Fire"; it's in Josephine County (Grants Pass, Takilma, Selma, Wonder, etc.), Curry County and Del Norte County (California). It stretches from Brookings on the west to the Illinois Valley on the East, where Takilma is located and where my friend Romain Cooper lives in the Meadows community. You can get updates at http://www.biscuitfire.com

Tala fire threatens houses A FIRE which broke out in Paphos was raging out of control yesterday evening, burning shrub and carob trees. The blaze began at around 3pm at the village of Tala, and put many houses in the area in danger. The Fire Service said it had mobilised more than 20 men as well as fire-fighting helicopters to try to extinguish the flames. Members of the Game Service were also helping. A Fire Service supervisor told the _Cyprus Mail_ it was not yet known how the fire started. http://www.goGreece.com/news/headlines/story.html?id=7390

In southwest Oregon, the Biscuit Fire continues to grow. This ASTER image from August 14, 2002, shows the pillars of smoke arising from the fires. Active fire areas are in red. More than 6,000 fire personnel are assigned to the Biscuit Fire alone, which was 390,276 acres as of Thursday morning, August 15, and only 26 percent contained. Among the resources threatened are thousands of homes, three nationally designated wild and scenic rivers, and habitat for several categories of plants and animals at risk of extinction. Firefighters currently have no estimate as to when the fire might be contained. from http://asterweb.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/gallery.htm?name=BiscuitFire

from sfgate.com The fire had reached 448,857 acres, or about 700 square miles -- an area two-thirds the size of Rhode Island, said David Widmark, spokesman for the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland. The blaze is the largest wildfire in Oregon in a century and the largest now burning in North America. More than 6,500 people were fighting it, including 470 Canadians, 39 Australians and nine fire managers from New Zealand. The fire was 40 percent contained Monday.

From sfgate.com . . . The fire has burned over much of the Kalmiopsis Wilderness Area in the Siskiyou National Forest and into northwestern California, and it is now threatening homes and businesses in Agness, Ilahe, Oak Flat, upper Pistol River, upper Chetco River, Cave Junction, O'Brien and Selma. (Cave Junction is very near Takilma so Takilma must be under threat also?):e

I will see them when I fly back to the west coast. It will be interesting to see how many I can observe. I know in central California they are having fires. It has been a very dry summer in many parts of the US. Now I worry it will be an even more destructive fall. Tennessee's trees are shedding their leaves already. It will be an early autumn!

it's been cooler the last couple of days....wonder how long it will last!

David mentioned the same thing and it was cooler in the midwest - finally! Cooler is definitly better and I also wonder how long it will last.

Australia gains control of deadly fire in capital MONDAY , 20 JANUARY 2003 CANBERRA: Australian firefighters gained control today of bush fires that killed four and destroyed hundreds of homes in the capital Canberra at the weekend, but hot weather threatened to reignite some blazes. A smoky haze greeted dawn over the "bush capital" after firefighters spent the night battling spot fires which blew up from the smouldering ruins of an estimated 400 houses consumed in Canberra's worst-ever bush fire crisis. "At this stage emergency services have all fires under control, although there are some areas still smouldering," a spokeswoman for the Australian Federal Police told Reuters. "Throughout the night some of the smouldering areas in (the suburbs of) Holt and Holder did reignite but are once again being managed by fire crews," she said. Firefighters fear hot winds could stir the embers of homes, pine plantations, a high school, health centre and space observatory destroyed by the fires, with temperatures forecast to hit 35�C. Bushfires which were burning out of control in forests south of the capital raced into Canberra on Saturday afternoon, overwhelming firefighters in the park-like city. Eye-stinging smoke blanketed the capital, home to 300,000 people including hundreds of foreign diplomats, and a layer of ash stretched to the parliament buildings in the city centre. Four people were killed by the fires. Police said two bodies, including that of a 37-year-old woman, were found in two burnt-out homes after the fire had passed. A 61-year-old man and an 83-year-old woman were confirmed dead from smoke inhalation. Three people suffered serious burns and 60 people remained in Canberra Hospital after 270 sought emergency treatment for smoke inhalation, burns, breathing difficulties and eye irritation. Three burn victims were evacuated to Sydney, about 300km to the north. A state of emergency remained in place in Canberra, and hundreds of homes were still without power after fires knocked out power stations and lines. Thousands have been evacuated to schools and community centres across the city. A sewage crisis also threatened the city, as officials raced to repair a treatment plant damaged by the fire before sewage containment dams overflowed into a river. Emergency officials were already facing stiff criticism that not enough was done to protect the capital from the bush fires, which raged out of control south of the city for a week before they blew into Canberra. However, Prime Minister John Howard, who took a second tour of the devastated areas early today, said emergency workers deserved praise for limiting the death toll from the firestorm. "It's remarkable to me that there wasn't a greater loss of life. It's a tribute to the common sense of Australians and also to the bravery of firefighters and police and others that there wasn't an even greater death toll," Howard told Channel Seven television. http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/print/0,1478,2204935a10,00.html

as you've probably seen in the news--we have about 50K acres burning north of LA and then in San Diego (not sure of the acreage there, started after live-fire training exercises). everything in my yard is covered in ash and smells like my husband is using the smoker. really yucky. everyone in the house has sore throats and stuffy noses now. no AC to filter it out either.

so now there's a total estimate of 300K fires burning in Southern California. worst fire for this area in 50 years.

I hope you're clear of the fire zone, wlfie. Keep us posted. Are you threatened by power outage also, where you are?

no power outage or fires here. we just have a cloud of smoke that would usually be disappated by the marine winds. heard today that all the fires have burned 500K acreage (about the size of Rhode Island). ash isn't so bad in the air today (san pedro) but it will wreak havoc if you have allergies. i'm putting flonase to the test! i hope they find the arsonists who started the grand prix fire (which merged with the "old fire" this weekend-that one started, i believe, by a lost hiker as a signal fire). it's terrible to watch on the news--been crying right along with the families who's homes have been lost....

Yeah, I'll be watching the national news when it comes on here in 9 minutes and be thinking about you wolfie. Pretty sure I got your contrib. .... should have thanked you. I'm getting better at thank yous. Did 2 today. Stay healthy and safe and keep us posted, ok?

will do (no thanks needed, just wanted to make sure it made it)

correction to an earlier post--one of the fires in San Diego, the Cedar (sp) fire was started by a hiker as a signal fire not the "old fire" up my way. *whew* seems like it changes everytime i turn on the T.V. but i must say that the ash was way down here today and managed to rinse off my vehicle without it getting covered again. hosed off all the house windows too and you shoulda seen the black stuff coming off! we have some good neighbors too--fire departments and relief coming from oregon and arizona. God forbid we should have any other pop up because these guys are stretched thin.

We're watching the coverage, looks like IH5 is being threatened today.

one fire starter is in custody but i think he's the hiker.....they're expecting containment by 4 Nov....

I'm glad the winds are more favorable now!

and if the fire isn't bad enough, simi valley has suffered a 3.7M EQ! 1 fireman has been killed in the Cedar Fire. and there's a red flag warning (santa ana wind warning)....

smogalert people http://www.aqmd.gov/smog/areamap.html

This was a terrible mess. I watched it burn all around where I used to stay when I visited in that part of California. How very sad. The Chatsworth fire worried me the most. Just as the area was built back from the Northridge quake, their houses are endangered again by fire. When do the locusts arrive, I heard one person say...

Glad this has passed.

Kentucky is also worrying about fires,though I imagine it is past the time for them. It was very dry here, too. We were justvery lucky!

We had a huge controled burn in the area today. It was all the buzz on the 443.75 repeater in Bastrop.