Environment

Alabama forestry officials prepare for wildfires

Submitted by Lonnie Liebner, Community Web Producer

Thursday, September 1st, 2011, 2:59pm

Alabama forestry officials prepare for wildfires

State Forestry officials fear a 400 acre wildfire in DeKalb County may be the first of many during what could be a long and hard fall fire season in Alabama.

Firefighters with the Forestry Commission worked three days to get the fire near Ider contained and under control before demobilizing Wednesday night.

Dry weather combined with low humidity have currently combined to create conditions favorable for several wildfires.

"We're going to see a lot of them," said Forestry Commission Spokeswoman Coleen Vansant.

Vansant expects the fires to feed off all the debris left behind from the April 27th tornado outbreak.

It's already been a very busy year for wildfires in Alabama.

So far, nearly 2,500 wildfires have burned more than 57,000 acres.

Last year by this time, the state had

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Red Flag Warning for much of Alabama

Submitted by Lonnie Liebner, Community Web Producer

Monday, August 29th, 2011, 3:45pm

A combination of warm temperatures, strong winds and low relative humidity has resulted in a Red Flag Warning for much of Alabama. This means that outdoor burning can become dangerous quickly.

The National Weather Service has more information on their website about this type of warning.

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City of Madison resumed trash collection

Submitted by Lonnie Liebner, Community Web Producer

Tuesday, August 16th, 2011, 2:58pm

City of Madison resumed trash collection

Effective Monday, August 15, the City of Madison is resuming trash collection. Allied Waste will continue to pick up debris as well. They are working diligently to get back to providing once a week service and apologize for the delay in service and inconvenience.

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Sunday morning sunrise in Huntsville

Submitted by Tommy Self

Sunday, August 7th, 2011, 3:33pm

Well with all the heat we have endured and will continue to endure over the rest of the summer, the early morning skies in Huntsville make for a beautiful site. I took these photos Sunday morning from near Research Park.

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Tennessee Valley 3 months after tornado outbreak

Submitted by Tommy Self

Wednesday, July 27th, 2011, 8:59am

Tennessee Valley 3 months after tornado outbreak

First off let me officially introduce myself to everyone that reads this blog. My name is Tommy Self, and I am a professional storm chaser from Madison. I am the owner and lead chaser/forecaster for the Tennessee Valley Storm Trackers. Some of you may have heard of us from Waff 48 Storm Team or by following us on Facebook.

Now that the introductions are out of the way, let's look back at the past 3 months. April 27th will be a day I will never forget. I have been storm chasing for 13 years and have seen some devastating storms during that span, but nothing like what transpired that day. I intercepted 4 different tornadoes that day and was shocked and saddened by what I saw.

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New fire station will meet strict environmental standards

Submitted by Bliss Bowman Wade, Digital Content Director

Monday, July 18th, 2011, 11:52am

New fire station will meet strict environmental standards

Work will soon begin on a new fire station in the city of Madison.

The first shovels of the project turned in a groundbreaking ceremony this morning. The new station will be located on Hughes Road. The building plan is Leeds certified, which means it meets strict environmental standards.

The new station will use 30-percent less water and energy and will even produce some of its own energy.

Right now the firefighters are working out of a temporary station because toxic mold was discovered in their old building.

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ADHD, learning issues may be linked to secondhand smoke

Submitted by Anonymous on Monday, July 11th, 3:11 pm

Children exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes face a higher risk of developing attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, other behavioral problems and learning disorders, a new study finds.

The research doesn't definitively prove that tobacco smoke can harm children's brains, and it doesn't say how much smoke is too much. However, it does add to the evidence that children may be especially vulnerable to the effects of smoke exposure.

"They're in a developmental stage and their body is growing," potentially putting them at greater risk of disruptions to their brains than adults, said study co-author Hillel R. Alpert, a research scientist at Harvard School of Public Health's Center for Global Tobacco Control in Boston.

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