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A forest fire that scorched more than 500 acres and damaged at least three homes in Iosco County has been contained. A forestry official says firefighters were still dealing with hot spots and flare-ups as of yesterday. Firefighters plan to monitor it for several days to make sure it doesn't rekindle during expected dry conditions. Authorities don't know what caused the blaze or its exact starting point.

BLM Signs Alternative Consultation Agreement for National Fire Plan Projects on Endangered Species The BLM signed an Alternative Consultation Agreement (ACA) with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on March 3, 2004. The ACA was required under the joint counterpart regulations to the Endangered Species Act that the FWS and NMFS developed jointly with Bureau of Indian Affairs, National Park Service, USDA Forest Service, and Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The joint counterpart regulation to the Endangered Species Act (ESA) provides alternative procedures that may be used to comply with the federal agency...

WASHINGTON (AP) Confusion about whether the Endangered Species Act allowed water to be taken from a river delayed a water drop on a wildfire that killed four firefighters. The amount was relatively small and did not lead to the deaths. The Forest Service's report is due out Wednesday on last summer's deaths in the north-central Cascade Mountains of Washington state. Sources with knowledge of the investigation said there was a delay of almost two hours as Forest Service personnel sought guidance about whether the Fish and Wildlife Service needed to give permission to get water from the Chewuch River, ...

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a statement on Friday February 8th blaming the U.S. Forest Service for willfully disregarding the safety of firefighters in the 30 mile fire that broke out in Washington State's Okanogan National Forest last year. The statement echoed the Forest Services own report that claimed that the fire managers violated 10 of the basic safety rules of fire fighting and ignored 10 out of the 18 basic warning signs for danger. These were all factors that resulted in the deaths of four forest firefighters, but the report seemed to have left out one ...