International Fire News

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PYRGOS, Greece, Aug 30 (Reuters) - Greek villages on
Thursday started burying relatives killed by forest fires that
were still burning parts of the country for a sixth day as
thousands rushed to collect damage compensation from banks.
Police arrested 15 people suspected of fraudulently claiming
the immediate 3,000 euros ($4,000) payment the government was
handing out in the affected areas to try to show it was
providing fast relief for the fires that have killed 63 people.
Less than three weeks before a parliamentary election,
critics accused the conservative government of responding
chaotically to the fires and said its compensation system was
open to widespread fraud and offended people's dignity.
"This is far too easy and far too chaotic," said Gerasimos
Paraskevopoulos, mayor of the town of Pyrgos in the southern
Peloponnese, where hundreds crowded outside a bank. "The money
should be distributed by local councils who know their
citizens."
Some people admitted they had come from as far away as
Athens and Thessaloniki, about 600 km (370 miles) north.
"Hundreds of Gypsies have come here who don't live here,"
said Gerasimos Halilopoulos, a Roma from Pyrgos, told Reuters.
"It is making my life difficult because I need the money."
The system required filling out a simple form, to be checked
later, to claim the cash and Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis
said the simplified system was the right thing.
"The order is 'move fast', without any delay. We're removing
bureaucratic hurdles. Nothing should stand in the way of us
doing our duty," he told a news briefing.

ELECTIONS AHEAD
Karamanlis's handling of the crisis could be crucial for his
hopes for re-election on Sept. 16. In two days, 72.4 million
euros were handed to about 20,000 people, the government said.
A cartoon in the centre-right newspaper Kathimerini showed a
helicopter flying over scorched countryside dropping banknotes
from a water bucket while the pilot says: "Yes prime minister,
as agreed, we're dropping 100-euro bills so the land will turn
green again."
Vast swaths of countryside have been burned and more than
500 homes were razed in what have been Europe's most extensive
wildfires in a decade, according to the European Space Agency.
In the village of Anilio, hundreds gathered to bury a forest
warden killed trying to save a mother and her four children from
the flames, only five days after he began the job. The woman was
found dead, the bodies of her children in her arms.
On Thursday 24 fires raged on, mainly in the western
Peloponnese and the island of Evia, north of Athens, the fire
brigade said.
The government said the fires would cost Greece at least 1.2
billion euros ($1.6 billion) but would not derail efforts to cut
the budget. Athens said it planned to seek European Union
emergency aid.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said
Greece would not be left alone in its hour of need.
"This is also a European disaster," he said in a statement.
"At this sad time it is good to stress that solidarity is at the
heart of European vision."
Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyanni thanked foreign ambassadors
in Athens for their countries' firefighting help and said Greece
would make sure Ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic
Games, which was licked by the flames, would be fully restored.
The government has said arsonists started the fires and most
Greeks believe rogue developers are burning forests to make way
for new construction.
"We are determined that not the smallest piece of land will
not be reforested. Nobody will build on burnt land," Bakoyanni
said.
(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy and Michele Kambas)

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Croatia Firefighters

Six firemen die in Croatian island blaze
ZAGREB, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Six Croatian firemen died and
seven others were injured while fighting a huge blaze on an
uninhabited island in the central Adriatic, police said on
Friday.
They said in a statement carried by state news agency Hina
that the fire started in a bay on the Kornat island, which is
part of the picturesque Kornati archipelago national park.
The archipelago is largely uninhabited but its scenic beauty
and crystal-clear sea draws hundreds of tourists and yachts
every summer.
The Jutarnji List daily said the firemen were trapped on a
high ground when strong sudden winds changed direction. The six
died on the spot and seven others were taken to hospital with
various degrees of burns.
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader, who visited the injured firemen
in hospital in Zadar called for an investigation to determine if
the fire was deliberate. Police said that eight people have been
detained for questioning on suspicion of arson.
"At first I could not believe the news of this tragedy. This
is beyond words," Sanader said.
Forest fires killed 63 people in Greece and left thousands
homeless.

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VICTORIA (CP) - Canada has five water bombers and three support
aircraft ready to fly to Greece to help beat down the devastating
wild fires that have killed scores and threatened ancient
historical sites.
"We received a request from the Greek embassy through our
foreign affairs office Monday," said Tom Johnston, operations
manager of the Interagency Forest Fire Centre in Winnipeg.
Initially a number of land-based aircraft were offered up by
provincial management agencies, but Greece is not set up for that
kind of fire-fighting.
A second call was put out for water-based bombers, which fill
their tanks by skimming across a lake or the sea.
"We've had responses from British Columbia, Alberta and
Manitoba indicating their skimmer operations could be made
available," Johnston said.
British Columbia has offered one of two giant Martin Mars
bombers, which are Second World War-vintage flying boats under
private ownership. As well, a "bird dog" spotter plane and an air
attack officer to lead the operations are available.
Alberta and Manitoba have each offered a pair of Canadair
CL-215s, plus spotters planes and air attack personnel.
"These packages have been put together and sent to foreign
affairs," Johnston said late Tuesday.
If the offer is accepted, it would mean long flights for the
planes and crews.
"They'd have to go through Newfoundland, probably jump off at
Gander, I'm assuming, to Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles and
then down into Greece through Europe," he said, estimating that it
would take at least three days of flight time, plus several days
preparation prior to departure and time to set up once they
arrive.
"Could be four, five or six days before they're ready to go to
work."
Johnston said Canadian teams regularly go to the United States,
and have been sent to South America and even the Galapagos Islands
in the past.
He was not aware of any previous requests from Europe.
And if the request had come at the height of the Canadian summer
season, it would likely not have been possible. But the end of the
forest fire season is approaching.
"It's a little more acceptable to allow our big assets to go on
an international front, but even so, we aren't at the end of our
season yet," he said, adding that southcentral B.C. is still hot
and dry, as is southwestern Alberta.
Johnston said he hoped to hear back on the package offer as
quickly as possible.
"Obviously time is of the essence."

[NJFFSA16]

August 28th

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Foreign firefighters and aircraft joined
in battling wildfires Tuesday that have burned nearly a
half-million acres and killed 64 people in five days in what
Greece's president called a "national catastrophe."
The devastating blazes have infuriated Greeks - already stunned
by deadly forest fires in June and July - and appear likely to
dominate political debate before general elections scheduled for
Sept. 16. Many blamed the conservative government for failing to
respond quickly enough.
Firefighters themselves have also come under criticism as
disorganized and late to arrive. Some people also blamed a previous
government's decision in 1998 to transfer responsibility for
battling blazes from the forestry department to the national fire
department.
The country's worst fires in memory have burned olive groves,
forests, orchards and homes, and the government budgeted upward of
$410 million for immediate relief, although the bill was expected
to be much higher, the Finance Ministry said.
Southern Greece, where the flames reached the birthplace of the
Olympic Games in Ancient Olympia, was the worst area affected,
although one fire official said there were signs of optimism in the
fight.
New blazes broke out faster than others could be brought under
control, leaving behind a landscape of blackened tree trunks,
gutted houses and dead livestock.
The mayor of Zaharo, in the western Peloponnese, said the body
of a missing shepherd had been found Monday. Rescuers were still
searching for another shepherd missing from the nearby village of
Artemida, where 23 people, including a mother and her four
children, died on Aug. 24.
Some 56 new fires broke out Monday and Tuesday, the fire
department said. The latest outbreak came outside Athens in
Grammatiko, near ancient Marathon.
"It is a national tragedy," said President Karolos Papoulias.
"This is a national catastrophe."
Firefighting efforts were concentrating on one front burning in
the Seta area of Evia, and on the village of Matesi, near Zaharo in
the western Peloponnese. Most of the firefighters who have arrived
from 21 countries are operating in the Peloponnese, spokesman Nikos
Diamandis said.
A group of 55 Israeli firefighters were sent to one of the worst
fires in Krestena, near Ancient Olympia. Parts of the
2,800-year-old World Heritage site were burned over the weekend,
although the ancient ruins and the museum were unscathed.
By Tuesday, the site was open to visitors, and a few dozen
tourists walked around the charred area.
According to the European Commission's European Forest Fire
Information System, 454,447 acres of forests, groves and scrubland
were burned between Aug. 24-26.
It also said that for this year's fire season to date, 664,020
acres have burned. The previous worst year was 2000, when 358,231
acres were blackened around Greece.
Meanwhile, a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5
struck the fire-ravaged area in the south, panicking residents, but
there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
Diamandis said 18 planes and 18 helicopters - including four
from Switzerland - would be used in the southern firefighting
effort.
"The picture we have gives us some optimism" in the south,
Diamandis said. "We have a good picture and hope for some good
results."
From the northern border with Albania to the southern island of
Crete, fires ravaged forests and farms. Residents used garden
hoses, buckets, tin cans and branches in desperate attempts to save
their homes and livelihoods.
"We have been destroyed, we have nothing left," cried Katerina
Andonopoulou, a 76-year-old woman trudging from the edge of Ancient
Olympia to her destroyed house in the nearby village of Platano
laden with a bundle of leaves for the five surviving goats from her
flock of 20. "Who will help us now?"
In many villages, people refused to board helicopters sent to
take them to safety.
"We are asking people to be calm and to follow orders,"
Diamandis said. Greece's civil defense agency said the fire threat
remained high because of high winds and temperatures, especially in
the Athens region.
The government, which declared a state of emergency over the
weekend, said arson might have been the cause of the fires, and
several people have been arrested. A prosecutor on Monday ordered
an investigation into whether arson attacks could come under
Greece's anti-terrorism and organized crime laws.
In the past, unscrupulous land developers have been blamed for
setting fires to try to circumvent laws that do not allow
construction on forest land.
Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said Saturday it could not be
coincidence that so many fires broke out simultaneously in so many
areas, implying that arsonists were at work.
The main opposition Socialist Party leader George Papandreou
accused the government of fabricating conspiracy theories about the
fires and also said it was unable to protect lives and property.
"Unfortunately, the government of Mr. Karamanlis has
disappointed the Greek people. It has been woefully unable to deal
with the major issue of the fires all summer," Papandreou said.
Criticism also has arisen about a decision by a previous
government in 1998 to change jurisdiction in fighting wildfires.
"We used to have one service that fought the fires where they
broke out, and a second that focused on protecting homes," said
Nikos Bokaris, head of the Panhellenic Union of Forestry Experts.
"Now there is nobody in the forests, and the fire brigades take up
positions in village squares and streets."
---
Associated Press writers Nicholas Paphitis and Patrick Quinn in
Athens contributed to this report.

[NJFFSA16]

August 28th

Greece-Fires-Fact Sheet

Fires still rage in Greece, sparking anger

THE FIRES
-- Broke out Thursday.
-- Burned almost 500,000 acres in first 3 days.
-- Northern border with Albania to southern island of Crete.
-- Nationwide state of emergency declared Saturday.
-- 410 million dollars for immediate relief.
-- Tuesday: more wildfires broke out, others rekindled.

THE TOLL
-- At least 64 people dead.
-- Vast stretches of Greek countryside charred.
-- Villages and livestock destroyed.

THE EFFORT
-- Foreign firefighters and aircraft helping.
-- Firefighters from 21 countries.
-- Most foreign firefighters operating in the Peloponnese.

THE ANGER
-- Greeks furious after deadly forest fires in June and July.
-- Accuse conservative government of inadequate effort.
-- Many say response to latest crisis was disorganized.
-- Government suggested possibility of arson.
-- Fires dominating political debate ahead of September 16th
elections.
-- Athens newspaper: ballot will be "the elections of rage."

THE OUTLOOK
-- Fire department: "The picture we have gives us some
optimism."

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August 27th

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - Firefighters sent helicopters and buses to
evacuate more than two dozen villages threatened by towering walls
of flames that have left 63 people dead in Greece's worst wildfire
disaster in memory.
From the northern border with Albania to the southern island of
Crete, fires ravaged forests and farmland. Residents used garden
hoses, buckets, tin cans and branches in desperate - and sometimes
futile - attempts to save their homes and livelihoods.
In some villages, firefighters sent helicopters or vehicles to
evacuate the residents, only to find people insisting on staying to
fight the blaze.
A helicopter airlifted five people to safety Monday from the
village of Prasidaki in southern Greece, fire department spokesman
Yiannis Stamoulis said. Another was sent to the village of Frixa,
but the residents refused to leave, he said.
The destruction was so extensive that authorities said they had
no way of knowing how much has burned - or how many people had been
injured.
Fueled by strong, hot winds and parched grass and trees, the
fires have engulfed villages, forests and farmland, and scorched
woodland around Ancient Olympia, the birthplace of the Olympic
games. New blazes broke out faster than others could be brought
under control, leaving behind a devastated landscape of blackened
tree trunks, gutted houses and charred animal carcasses.
The destruction and deaths have infuriated Greeks - already
stunned by deadly forest fires in June and July - and appears
likely to dominate political debate before early general elections
scheduled for Sept. 16. Many blamed the government for failing to
respond quickly enough.
The government - which declared a state of emergency over the
weekend - said arson might have been the cause, and several people
have been arrested. A prosecutor on Monday ordered an investigation
into whether arson attacks could come under Greece's anti-terrorism
and organized crime laws.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said it could not
be coincidence that so many fires broke out simultaneously in so
many areas of the country.
In the past, unscrupulous land developers have been blamed for
setting fires in an attempt to circumvent laws that do not allow
construction on forest land. Greece has no land registry, so once a
region has been burned, there is no definitive proof of whether it
was initially forest, farm or field.
"It is rather late now, but the state should designate these
areas to be immediately reforested, map them and complete the
forest registry without further delay," said Yiannis Revythis,
chairman of the association of Athens real estate agents. "If an
area is officially designated as forest land, who will burn it as
it will still count as forest land?"
But it was in no way clear who - if anyone - was responsible for
the massive fires that have destroyed much of Greece over the past
four days.
"I think it is unlikely that land development was an incentive
behind the arson," said Nikos Bokaris, head of the Panhellenic
Union of Forestry Experts. "The afflicted areas are not prime
targets for construction. These are mountain areas where land is
not that valuable."
Across the country, scenes of devastation unfolded.
A woman killed on Friday, her charred body found with her arms
around her four children, might have been safe if she had stayed in
her home. It was the only house left untouched by the flames in the
village of Artemida in the western Peloponnese. The house's white
walls and red tile roof were unscathed, surrounded by blackened
earth.
Greece's few remaining patches of forest were being rapidly
incinerated, and the environmental consequences will be dire,
experts said.
The worst of the fires are concentrated in the mountains of the
Peloponnese in the south and on the island of Evia north of Athens.
Strong winds blew smoke and ash over the capital.
"This is an immense ecological disaster," said Theodota
Nantsou, WWF Greece Conservation Manager. "We had an explosive
mixture of very adverse weather conditions, tinder-dry forests - to
an extent not seen for many years - combined with the wild winds of
the past two weeks. It's a recipe to burn the whole country."
Borakis said authorities would have to move quickly in order to
avert further environmental problems.
"Authorities will have to take measures to forestall ground
erosion," he said. "Luckily, in the broader area there are no
large cities that will bear the brunt of floodwaters from the
mountains. There will be more floods, but the waters will be
carried through the natural system of watercourses and ravines to
the sea."
The government appealed for help from abroad, and 19 countries
were sending planes, helicopters and firefighters, including
France, which dispatched four water-tanker planes, and Russia,
which was sending three helicopters and an amphibian plane. The
U.S. was discussing with the Greek government what form of
assistance to send, U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said.
Desperate residents called into television stations for help
from a firefighting service already stretched to the limit.
---
Associated Press writers John F.L. Ross in Artemida and Nicholas
Paphitis in Athens contributed to this report.

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Sad...very sad.

ARTEMIDA, Greece (AP) - As the wall of flames swept through the
heavily forested mountain toward her home, the mother of four was
forced to make a life and death decision - should she flee?
Athanasia Paraskevopoulou gathered her three daughters, aged 15,
12 and 10, and her 5-year-old son and headed to the village square.
Her husband was elsewhere and as the fire approached she bundled
her children into a car.
Firefighters later found their charred remains not far from
Artemida, the village they fled Friday, the mother's arms wrapped
tightly around her children. Their home survived virtually
unscathed, but the family was among at least 63 victims claimed by
Greece's worst wildfire disaster in memory.
The 37-year-old teacher from Athens was enjoying the end of the
summer holiday in the family's vacation home in this wooded
mountain village near the sea when wildfires started breaking out
across the Peloponnese peninsula Thursday - fires that have since
swept over large swathes of the country and scorched world heritage
sites such as Ancient Olympia, birthplace of the Olympic Games.
The approaching wildfires struck fear among the 100 or so
residents of the village of Artemida, nestled amid the olive groves
that were its main source of income.
"Everyone was in a panic. Within 10 minutes, the fire swept in
from the east and was all around us, both above and below the
village," said 37-year-old Lambrini Tzevelekou, a friend of
Paraskevopoulou's. "They gathered everyone together in the square,
Athanasia and her four children, along with two young foreign kids,
two grandmothers and four other children, and all left together
packed in cars."
"It was horrible," said Tzevelekou's 15-year-old son, Ioannis.
"The fire came over like a huge tide."
The convoy of cars sped out of the village and when the vehicles
reached a fork in the road, a decision was made to go down toward
Zaharo - a town about six miles away.
"There were two roads to choose from - there was no other
alternative out of town. If you went down (the road), you died. If
you went on the upper road, you lived," said village president
Giorgos Korifas.
According to residents and rescuers, the leading part of the
convoy apparently crashed into a fire truck speeding toward the
village. The truck overturned, blocking part of the road. With
little visibility because of the smoke, the remainder of the convoy
slammed into the wreckage and at least four cars burned. Those who
survived the pileup, including Paraskevopoulou and her children,
fled on foot.
Firefighters later found the charred remains of the mother and
children huddled on a hillside near the accident. Nine people died
on that road and they were among 23 victims from the region around
the village, the largest single group of dead from the wildfires.
Another couple, 70-year-old Panagiotis Lambropoulos and his
wife, were more fortunate.
"I saw the flames about 150 meters away. We got in the car,
drove about 10 meters, and then the flames suddenly grew huge," he
said. "We abandoned the car and crawled through the woods, about
400 meters, arm in arm so that if we died, we would die together."
The couple managed to reach the upper road, and safety.
If Paraskevopoulou had stayed at home, neighbors say the family
would have survived.
"Nothing would have happened to them. The few that stayed
didn't get injured," said Vassiliki Tzevelekou, another neighbor.
"The house has not suffered any damage, but it's better for the
house to have been burnt than people."
Lambrini Tzevelekou said her friend "was a very good woman.
What has happened was so unlucky."
The decision faced by Paraskevopoulou, to stay or go, was
similar to that made by thousands of people trapped unaided in
mountain villages. Although Greece has the largest fleet of
firefighting planes in Europe, its forces were stretched to the
breaking point Friday, the day Paraskevopoulou died, as 124 fires
raged around the country - many of them near Artemida.
"It is incredible that villagers should abandon their homes by
road in convoys without a fire truck to open the way for them,
allowing an accident to cause the tragic losses we saw, said Nikos
Bokaris, head of the Panhellenic Union of Forestry Experts. "I
believe these deaths were due to criminal errors and ignorance of
the danger and the circumstances of the blaze."

[NJFFSA16]

Greece August 17th

ATHENS, Greece (AP) - A huge forest fire burned two dozen homes,
animals and cars in the northern outskirts of Athens before
firefighters extinquished most of it, officials said Friday.
The fire Thursday also forced the evacuation of medical clinics
and a summer camp. Gale force winds fanned on the flames on Mount
Penteli, hampering firefighters and preventing water-dropping
aircraft from reaching the scene for nearly two hours.
More than 300 firemen, assisted by the aircraft and volunteers
eventually extinguished the major fronts of the blaze and remained
on alert in case winds rekindled it, a fire brigade spokeswoman
said.
The fire quickly swept through tinder-dry pine forest, burning
at least 25 homes in the capital's affluent northern suburbs.
Officials have yet to establish the cause of the blaze, but
state NET television said experts were investigating residents'
reports of arson.
Many of the forest fires that strike Greece every summer are
attributed to arsonists seeking to develop prime land.
The full extent of the damage was still unclear Friday. The
three affected districts - Nea Penteli, Melissia and Kifissia -
were declared in a state of emergency.

[NJFFSA16]

Croatia 2007

ZAGREB, Croatia (AP) - Residents joined hundreds of firefighters
Monday to beat back a wildfire that threatened to consume the
medieval city of Dubrovnik, a popular tourist destination famed for
its churches, monasteries and palaces.
Residents helped firefighters by carrying hoses and buckets of
water to douse the flames that surrounded the historic southern
coastal city. With the smoke thick and overpowering, many used
handkerchiefs or shirts to cover their faces as they struggled to
keep the fire at bay.
The effort helped avert a disaster for Dubrovnik - known as the
"pearl of the Adriatic" - during the height of summer holiday
season. Most tourists were not affected by the fire because the
majority of hotels are situated along the coast.
Paramedics were seen attending to a number of firefighters at
the scene, but it was not immediately clear how many people were
treated.
Strong winds helped the flames spread swiftly through the woods
outside Dubrovnik on Sunday. The line of fire above the city was
about 13 miles long at one point.
Officials prepared shelters in an ancient fortress and sports
hall in the city in case the fire spread and required its
evacuation - scenes reminiscent of the 1991 Croatian war, when the
city was bombarded by Serb rebels.
Dubrovnik, founded in the seventh century, has been on UNESCO's
list of protected world cultural heritage sites since the 1960s.
The city is cherished for the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque
architecture. Its walled Old Town dates back to the 13th century.
Only one abandoned house in a Dubrovnik suburb burned down,
officials said.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

Indonesia seeks help fighting fires polluting region

By Ahmad Pathoni
PEKANBARU, Indonesia, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Indonesia appealed
for help on Friday to fight forest and brush fires that have
spread choking smoke over much of Southeast Asia as environment
ministers from five regional neighbours met for talks.
The ministers from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand
and Brunei were due to hold talks later on Friday in Pekanbaru,
the capital of Riau province, an area of Sumatra island badly
affected by the raging fires.
Indonesia's neighbours have become increasingly frustrated
over Jakarta's inability to deal with the annual dry season
blazes, which in past weeks have caused serious air pollution
across the region, particularly in Malaysia and Singapore.
"We are asking for assistance in terms of equipment or
expertise. We will see what they can offer to us," Indonesian
Forestry Minister Malam Sambat Kaban told reporters.
Kaban said Indonesia expected its neighbours to recognise
that the problem was not a simple one to fix.
"That's why we will take them for a field trip on Saturday
so that they can see for themselves the situation," he said.
The fires, often started deliberately by farmers or big
plantation businesses, have been burning for weeks in parts of
Indonesia, creating a choking haze that has made many ill, shut
airports and threatened wildlife in protected forests.
Kaban said more than 75 percent of the fires were not in
government-controlled forests but in plantations and farms
belonging to private companies and local people.
He said that Central Kalimantan on the Indonesian part of
Borneo island was the worst hit, with around 1 million hectares
(2.5 million acres) of peat land in one area affected. Peat
fires are particularly hard to put out and can burn for months.
"This is where most smoke came from," Kaban said.
MASK-WEARING PROTESTERS
Outside a hotel where senior officials were meeting to
flesh out details for the ministerial meeting, about 20
environmental activists in face masks held a protest over the
fires.
"Business people are receiving special treatment from the
government while the people here and in neighbouring countries
are suffering from the haze. This environmental disaster is an
embarrassment for Indonesia," Johnny Mundong, head of the
environmental group WALHI Riau, told Reuters.
Visibility in some areas of Indonesia was cut to 30 metres
(100 ft) last week, forcing cars to use headlights, although
there was only a slight haze over Pekanbaru on Friday.
Each dry season, fires are illegally lit to clear land for
agriculture, blanketing Southeast Asia in smog.
Kaban said efforts to induce rain by cloud seeding to
contain the fires had been hampered by a lack of clouds.
Under pressure from its neighbours, Indonesia said on
Thursday it would ratify a Southeast Asian agreement that calls
for regional cooperation to deal with the forest fires.
The Association of South East Asian Nations approved the
ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution in 2002, but
Indonesia's parliament has yet to ratify it, angering countries
affected by the smoke, known as haze in the region.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged to use all
resources available to put out the fires, including enlisting
soldiers and police and leasing two Russian cargo aircraft that
could each carry 40 tonnes of water to douse the flames.
He has also apologised to its neighbours for the haze.
Severe fires and smog during a drought in 1997-98 made many
people ill across a wide area of Southeast Asia, cost local
economies billions of dollars and badly hit the tourism and
airline sectors.



REUTERS

[NJFFSA16]

SINGAPORE, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Visibility plunged to 50
metres in parts of Borneo island on Saturday and Singapore
recorded its highest pollution reading in nearly a decade as
fires in Indonesia sent acrid smoke across Southeast Asia.
Singapore issued its first haze-related health warning this
year. The daily air pollution index hit 128, the National
Environment Agency said on its Web site (www.nea.gov.sg). A
reading above 100 is rated unhealthy.
In Central Kalimantan, on the Indonesian side of Borneo,
visibility in some places had plunged to 50 metres (165 ft)
governor Agustin Teras Narang told Elshinta radio.
Hundreds sought medical help for respiratory problems, with
more than 500 fires counted from satellite images. Malaysia
also reported unhealthy levels of smoke in many areas.
Purwasto, head of forest fire control of Indonesia's
environment ministry, said experts would go to Central
Kalimantan on Sunday to assess the situation.
"The worst situation is in Central Kalimantan now. Most
areas in the province contain peat", he told Reuters. Peat can
burn for years and produces thick smoke.
"We cannot estimate the extent of the fires now."
This year's worsening haze has rekindled memories of a
choking cloud of smoke that covered large areas of Southeast
Asia in 1997-98, sickening large numbers of people and costing
local economies billions of dollars.
The smoky haze occurs every year during the dry season on
the Indonesian island of Sumatra as well across large parts of
Indonesia's portion of Borneo, prompting protests from
neighbouring Malaysia and Singapore.
WAITING ON A WIND CHANGE
"Frustration is an understatement," Malaysia's Environment
Minister Azmi Khalid was quoted on Saturday as saying by the
Star newspaper, as haze in Kuala Lumpur also hit unhealthy
levels.
Timber and oil palm plantation companies are accused of
lighting fires to clear land for planting. But the fires
sometimes get out of control and spread into forests or set
large areas of peat on fire.
Farmers, too, use slash-and-burn methods, a traditional
practice magnified by a growing population, demand for land and
vast areas of forest that have been cleared in recent decades.
Air pollution in Malaysia's worst-hit area of Sri Aman in
Sarawak improved to 131 from a very unhealthy level of 221 on
Friday.
Kuala Lumpur recorded a reading of 108 at 11 a.m. (0300
GMT) but the Meteorological Services Department said there
could be relief with a change in wind direction on Sunday.
Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister George Chan said hospitals
and clinics in the state were treating about 200 cases of
respiratory illness daily, up from the normal 40 to 50 cases.
Authorities have distributed more than 200,000 masks to the
public.
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said on
Saturday Southeast Asian countries must take concerted action
to set up a sizeable fund to tackle the annual blazes.
"The haze will recur during the dry season. It cannot be
resolved by one government alone. For example, we cannot enter
Indonesia without their consent.
"They give a commitment but we believe that they lack the
resources or have limited capacity," he said, adding there had
been discussions on the joint fund but with no agreement.
ASH RAINS DOWN
In South Kalimantan, Indonesia's Antara news agency said
smouldering ash from uncontrolled forest fires rained down on
the town of Sampit for a second day on Friday, triggering
fires.
A spokeswoman for Singapore's National Environment Agency
said Saturday's air pollution reading at 4 p.m. (0800 GMT) was
the worst for a 24-hour period since 1997, when the index
reached 138.
"It appears that the wind direction for the next few days
will be headed this way," the spokeswoman told Reuters.
The agency said satellite pictures showed 506 hotspots and
thick smoke haze in Sumatra, mainly in Riau, Jambi and South
Sumatra.
(Additional reporting by Telly Nathalia in Jakarta and Syed
Azman in Kuala Lumpur)

[NJFFSA16]

Australian firefighters spy on own firebugs

CANBERRA, Oct 9 (Reuters) - As Australia braces for a
scorching summer wildfire season, firefighters are being forced
to spy on their own ranks amid suspicions one-in-five bushfires
are lit by firefighters.
Firebug suspects have been listed by police in New South
Wales state, where wildfires have already destroyed homes
during an unexpectedly hot early spring in which temperatures
are already touching 30 degres Celsius (86 Fahrenheit).
The size of the state's 70,000-strong, mostly-volunteer,
bushfire fighting service made checking the criminal records of
all personnel almost impossible, police said.
But state bushfire chief Phil Koperberg said commanders
were watching up to 30 suspects for certain telltale signs.
"You are not supposed to like going out firefighting,"
Koperberg told Australian newspapers.
In 2003 bushfires destroyed more than 600 houses in the
Australian capital Canberra, while "Ash Wednesday" fires in
1983 killed 75 people and left thousands homeless in the states
of Victoria and South Australia.

[NJFFSA16]

By Ahmad Pathoni
JAKARTA, Oct 4 (Reuters) - Indonesia on Wednesday urged
airports in areas shrouded by thick smoke from forest fires to
close if conditions made landings' hazardous, after a jet with
more than 100 on board skidded off a runway in Borneo.
The passenger jet operated by Mandala Airlines skidded off
the runway upon landing amid thick haze in Indonesia's East
Kalimantan province on Tuesday as fires spread choking haze to
neighbouring Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore.
"We recommend that authorities determine minimal visibility
standards in airports. If visibility is below the standards, an
airport should be closed temporarily," said Setyo Raharjo, the
chairman of the National Commission for Transport Safety.
The current regulations allowed a pilot to decide whether
it was safe enough to land, he told Reuters.
Raharjo said haze had contributed to the mishap involving
one of Mandala's Boeing 737-200 aircraft. No one was hurt after
the jetliner skidded 50 metres (164 ft) off the runway in
Tarakan.
An air traffic controller at Cilik Riwut airport in Central
Kalimantan said there had been some landing delays on
Wednesday.
"In the morning it is usually dark (with visibility) around
400 metres (yards). It usually lasts until 2 pm (0700 GMT) when
visibility rises to between 800 metres to 1 km," said Zamroni
who, like many Indonesians, is known by one name.
The haze, caused mostly by farmers and plantation owners
setting fires to clear land, has forced many flights to be
delayed or cancelled in Indonesia in recent days.
MALAYSIA, SINGAPORE SHROUDED THIS WEEK
South-southwesterly winds have blown smoke from fires in
central and south Sumatra to Singapore and Malaysia, obscuring
sunlight and reducing temperatures and visibility.
The haze appeared to worsen in Malaysia on Wednesday, with
pollution hitting unhealthy levels in more areas. The Borneo
state of Sarawak, blanketed by smog for weeks, was the worst
hit.
"Today is the worst so far," said one resident in the
Sarawak state capital Kuching. "Schools remain open but many
people are already wearing face masks."
At the daily 0300 GMT reading, the air-pollution index
(API) showed "unhealthy" levels in most areas in Sarawak.
Helicopter flights in the state have been stopped
indefinitely because of poor visibility, news agency Bernama
said. It also said the state government would distribute one
million masks.
Kuala Lumpur was also covered by haze with the API level
rising to just below the "unhealthy" mark.
Visibility at the capital's main airport fell to
3,000-4,000 metres from the usual 10,000 metres, an airport
official said.
Singapore's Pollutants Standards Index hit the highest
level this year on Monday at 73, but improved a day later and
by Wednesday it had fallen to 52. A reading of up to 50 is
considered healthy, 51-100 is moderate and 101-200 is
unhealthy.
Masud, an Indonesian forestry ministry spokesman, said most
fires were in plantations and criticised local governments for
not doing enough to stamp out land-clearing by burning.
"Local governments only make noise after fires have become
big and caused haze problems," he said.
He said water bombs had been dropped from aircraft and
hundreds of firefighters mobilised to extinguish the blazes.
Environment ministry spokesman Hermono Sigit said about 600
hotspots were identified this week in Sumatra and Borneo.
The worst smog in the region hit in 1997-98, when drought
caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon led to major
Indonesian fires. The smoke spread to Singapore, Malaysia and
south Thailand and cost $9 billion in damage to tourism,
transport and farming.
(Additional reporting by Sarah Webb in SINGAPORE, Jalil Hamid
in KUALA LUMPUR and Diyan Jari in JAKARTA)

[NJFFSA16]

9/12/06

China says forest fires kill 33 so far this year
BEIJING, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Forest fires have killed 33
people and destroyed 380,000 hectares (938,600 acres) of woods in
China in the first eight months of the year, state media said, as
the country battles prolonged drought in certain areas.
Although the death toll was a third lower than the average
for the same period over the last three years, more than double
the area of forests was damaged by fire, Xinhua news agency said
in a report.
The vast majority of the fires were caused by human activity,
Jia Zhibang, head of the State Forestry Administration, was
quoted as telling a conference in northern Shanxi province.
China's arid north, as well as the usually wetter northeast
and southwest, have been battling abnormally dry conditions this
year, affecting parts of even the normally lush tropical province
of Yunnan.

REUTERS

[NJFFSA16]

Unprepared?

Northern Sask. community not prepared for forest fires, minister
says
By Jennifer Graham
REGINA (CP) - A community in Saskatchewan's far north that was
threatened by forest fires hadn't done enough to prepare for such
danger, the province's environment minister said Tuesday.
John Nilson said the hamlet of Stony Rapids, near the Northwest
Territories boundary, had not finished work on measures that could
have protected it from a raging fire this summer.
"Some of the mitigation factors, like setting up firebreaks and
other things like that, they hadn't completed all that work," said
Nilson, who has been fending off criticism his department
mismanaged the crisis.
"They were working on them."
In June, nearly 800 residents from Stony Rapids and the nearby
communities of Fond-du-Lac and Black Lake were forced from their
homes.
Stony Rapids was blanketed by thick smoke, but spared from the
flames.
Nilson said Stoney Rapids, which has a population of about 360
people, hadn't done as many things to prepare as others communities
had done.
"Part of what happens is you develop a whole fire prevention
plan," he said, acknowledging that the community and province work
together on such a plan.
"Most of the time it is the responsibility of the local
community to do all the things they need to do. We will provide the
overall professional advice and the assistance if it's needed."
Saskatchewan Environment's policy is to let fires burn if they
are more than 20 kilometres away from a community.
Shifting winds sent the flames racing towards Stony Rapids and
forced the evacuation.
Saskatchewan Party environment critic Glen Hart, who visited the
community, disagreed and blasted Nilson's comments as ludicrous.
"It was only through the extraordinary efforts of the members
of the community that the community was saved," Hart said.
"I think it was prepared. They did have some fire breaks in
place," he said.
Community officials in Stony Rapids could not be reached for
comment.
Last week the hamlet demanded an inquiry into the fire.
Nilson defended the policy, but said a review will be undertaken
this fall, including allegations that the situation was
mismanaged.
The findings are to be made public before the end of January.


(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)