And Now, The Telegraph Fire!

“A Conspiracy Against the Public”: For reasons unknown to Moderators, Google has blocked this post [it only shows up via Technorati.com and examiner.com]

What Next After The Telegraph Fire?

SOS: The Telegraph Fire

An out-of-control 26,000-acre wildfire, dubbed the Telegraph Fire, about 12 miles west of Yosemite National Park has consumed 12 homes, engulfed 27 other buildings and threatens thousands more.

“There’s no fire history in the past 100 hundred years. That’s one of the reasons this fire’s been able to burn so erratically,” said a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Orange County Firefighters Tyler Johnson, left and Mike Reinhold look at fires burning across the Briceburg mountains along side the Merced River Sunday, July 27, 2008 in Briceburg, Calif. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Officials have ordered the evacuations of some 500 homes under immediate threat, most of which were in the town of Midpines. Hot, dry weather is expected to continue into the week.

Meanwhile, the Custer National Forest fire in Montana, had grown to about 3,000 acres by late Sunday and charred five summer homes and an outhouse in the Camp Senia area, reports said.

Jennifer and Harry Strawbridge watch their property go up in flames on the slopes of Mount Bullion. Photo by Michael Maloney / The Chronicle. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Statewide – Fire Overview – Issued by Cal Fire

Sunday, July 27, 2008 9:00 a.m.

Current Situation: On June 20, 2008, a thunderstorm system moved over California striking over two thousand lightning sparked fires. Today over 98 percent of those fires have been contained. California’s firefighters have received assistance from firefighting agencies across the state, nation and several foreign countries. Conditions throughout California remain extremely dry and fire danger remains very high.

On Friday afternoon a new fire broke out in Mariposa County. The Telegraph Fire is burning near the community of Midpines and is threatening approximately two thousand homes. Firefighters observed extremely erratic fire behavior due to the dry conditions and the fact that the area has not burned in the past 100 years.

Statistics:

Fires: Peak Fires: 2,093
Contained: 2,067
Active: 26
Acres charred: 1,060,907
Personnel Committed: 11,793
Resources Committed:

• Engines: 660
• Crews: 267
• Dozers: 129
• Water Tenders: 216
• Helicopters: 78

Items of Interest:
Highway closures: Firefighters remind everyone to use extreme caution while driving on roads affected by fires. All major roads are now open. There may be some delays on State Highways 70, 299. Travelers are advised to seek current information on secondary road closures from local law enforcement.

Evacuations: Areas of Mariposa and Trinity counties are under evacuation orders at this time. Residents are advised to monitor their local fire situation, check with local law enforcement agencies for information, and be prepared to evacuate when necessary.

Structures:

• Threatened: 4,310 residences, 86 commercial, 1,113 outbuildings.
• Destroyed: 158 residences, 1 commercial, 139 outbuildings.

Related Links:

• Wildfires
  
• Stop Nature! She Is Ruining Our Lifestyles
• California Fires

• Nature Must Be Punished, Look at the Mess in California!
• California Inferno Rages On
• The problem is they don’t understand the fires in California!

• Images of the Day: California Fires
• Lightning Safety Awareness Week: June 22-28
• A Few Extreme Events Away

• 2008: Year of the Fire
• Raging Wildfires: Mother Nature ensuring the cycle of life?
• Nature’s Defense Mechanisms

• UPDATE #2 – California Fires
• UPDATE: California Fires
• Early Halloween
• Images of the Day: California Fires
• Climate-enhanced catastrophes in the US

Fung Wong Races Towards China

Typhoon Fung Wong Strengthens on the Way to China

Having lashed Taiwan Monday morning, Fung Wong continued to strengthen as it headed towards China coast with winds of about 153 km/h (95 mph).

Fung Wong satellite image [Source: NOAA – MTSAT Northwest Pacific Imagery]

Fung Wong is expected to make landfall between Xiapu and Jinjiang counties on the coast of China by midnight (local time) on Monday.

About 275,000 people in China’s Fujian province have been evacuated.

Fung Wong, the eighth tropical storm to strike China’s coast this year, is reportedly the strongest one to date.

Fung-Wong – Tropical Rainfall Potential (TRaP)

Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) – NOAA

Climate Change: A Quickscan

Do You Feel Lucky in 2008?

Ukraine: Worst floods in 100 years

Floods caused by 5 days of nonstop rain kill up to 20 people, mostly children. A senior government official described the floods as the worst in 100 years. More than 20,000 homes have been flooded and 7,000 people evacuated.

Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko (3rd L) visits a settlement affected by floods in the Ivano-Frankivsk region July 27, 2008. Floods described by a senior government official as the worst in a century have killed 13 people in western Ukraine and four in neighboring Romania, officials said on Sunday. REUTERS/Mykhailo Markiv/pool

President Viktor Yushchenko flew to the worst affected area in the Ivano-Frankivsk region after leaving early a service in Kiev marking the 1,020th anniversary of the adoption of Orthodox Christianity in the region. Reuters reported.

Romania

Up to 10,000 people from 200 villages were evacuated as 2,500 houses and 25,000 hectares of farmland were flooded. At least 4 people were killed, including a child who drowned.

“We have two critical situations, on the rivers Siret and Prut,” Romanian Prime Minister said.

“So you understand the gravity of the situation, water levels on the river Prut next to the borders with Ukraine and Moldova are higher than on the Danube.”

New Zealand: Worst weather in 50 years.

g at least three dead and as many as 100,000 homes without electricity. About 10,000 tourists were stranded. [In 2008, New Zealand has thus far experienced the worst deforestation rates,worst snow storms, worst floods, worst drought and worst storms in 50 years.]

South Korea: Worst Floods in 50 Years

Up to 20 people were killed or reported as missing as the fourth day of torrential rains lashed parts of South Korea . In the worst-hit areas of North Gyeongsang province, up to 250 mm of rain
in a 24-hour period caused landslides and flooding forcing people to evacuate their homes.

Kenya

Cholera outbreak has affected eight districts in Nyanza and Western provinces. Over 80% of cholera transmission has been attributed to lack of access to safe drinking/domestic water. About 75% of the water sources are contaminated.

Myanmar

Some three months after Cyclone Nargis struck the country inflicting immense damage, as many as 700,000 children are still in need of assistance. The cyclone destroyed or damaged about 750,000 homes, affected about 2.4 million people and destroyed three quarters of the local health facilities. “In addition, the cyclone struck a severe blow to people’s livelihoods by flooding 600,000 hectares of agricultural land, killing up to 50 per cent of livestock in the affected areas, and destroying fishing boats, food stocks and agricultural implements. According to the report, the damages and losses amount to $4 billion.” UNICEF reported.

Taiwan

Typhoon Fung-Wong with winds up to 147km/h (92 mph) struck the east coast of Taiwan today with heavy rains, forcing schools and businesses to close. In July 18, tropical storm Kalmaegi struck southern Taiwan, which left 20 people killed and 6 missing. “A Central Weather Bureau forecaster was quoted as saying the total rainfall may reach 900mm (35 inches).” BBC reported.

Oh, PLEEZE!

Not the Arctic Ocean, it’s already too crowded!

China to deploy first mooring system in the Arctic

Xinhua – China will install its first annual deep-sea subsurface mooring system in the Arctic Ocean to monitor the long-term marine changes in the Arctic ocean, members of China’s third Arctic expedition said Sunday.

The system will collect data on the temperature, salinity and speed of currents at various depth in the coming year in the Arctic Ocean, thus facilitating studies of the impacts of environmental changes in Arctic Ocean on global climate, especially on China’s climate, they said.

‘A trap, as part of the system, will catch marine lives regularly for scientific research, said the members of the expedition team aboard the Xuelong ice-breaker.’ [O RLY?]

China’s ice breaker Xuelong or “Snow Dragon” is blocked by thick ice around the Antarctica during her 25th expedition to Antarctica, on November 24, 2008. An ice detection team was formed on Tuesday to search for new routes due to the thick and condensed ice that stopped the ice breaker. [Photo: Xinhua.] Image may be subject to copyright.

Isn’t that what Japan says about catching whales?

Arctic Ocean may become ice-free for part of each year, bringing devastation to Arctic inhabitants. Photo credit: Jeanne M. Bowles