Wildfire news, October 26, 2011

Portrait of Wildfire by Herb Williams

Portrait of Wildfire, by Herb WilliamsThe sculptures in the above photos are made of tens of thousands of Crayola crayons that artist Herb Williams made to represent flames, intended to draw attention to the wildfires that have devastated some areas in Texas. The sculptures are supposed to melt under the hot Texas sun, changing their shapes at their installation at the National Ranching Heritage Center in Lubbock, Texas. More photos are at their Facebook page (which was the source for these photos).

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HughesNet sics bill collector on victim of Texas fire whose home burned in a wildfire. HughesNet insisted that the dish, the cable, and the modem be returned.

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Michael Anthony Penn, 22, will be arraigned on Thursday for setting the Beaver Creek fire that burned about 60 acres near the U.S. Air Force Academy in the Pike National Forest in Colorado on August 19.

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The Texas Workforce Commission is requesting $1.4 million from the U.S. Department of Labor to provide temporary jobs in areas affected by wildfires.

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Five years ago today five U.S. Forest Service wildland firefighters were entrapped and died on the Esperanza fire near Cabazon, California. Killed were engine Capt. Mark Loutzenhiser, 44, of Idyllwild; engine operator Jess McLean, 27, of Beaumont; assistant engine operator Jason McKay, 27, of Phelan; and firefighter Daniel Hoover-Najera, 20, of San Jacinto. A fifth firefighter Pablo Cerda, 23, of Fountain Valley, who was injured along with the other four, passed away on October 31. More articles about the Esperanza fire on Wildfire Today can be found HERE.

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“O! for a muse of fire, that would ascend the brightest heaven of invention.”
From Henry V, Act 1, Prologue, by William Shakespeare

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About Bill Gabbert

Wildland fire has been a major part of Bill Gabbert’s life for several decades. After growing up in the south, he migrated to southern California where he lived for 20 years, working as a wildland firefighter. Later he took his affinity for firefighting to Indiana and eventually the Black Hills of South Dakota where he was the Fire Management Officer for a group of seven national parks. Today he is the creator and owner of WildfireToday.com and Sagacity Wildfire Services and serves as an expert witness in wildland fire. If you are interested in wildland fire, welcome… grab a cup of coffee and put your feet up. Google+

2 thoughts on “Wildfire news, October 26, 2011

  1. I’m glad the artist was concerned about wildfire. I also know that artists can use some unusual mediums to express their work. Does this fall under “Performance Art” as they melt? Perhaps he could have distributed the crayons to needy rural school kids and let them create artwork related to wild fire. The kids could get a lot more use out of them after drawing the fire pictures. A better use then just letting them melt in the hot Texas sun.

    • The value of any art is in the eye of the beholder. A person could say: “If Picasso, instead of putting all that paint on canvas, had donated it to a kindergarten class…..”

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