Wallow Fire – June 13 Update

Wallow Fire is 10 percent contained: Official report

Wallow Fire official summary:

• Date/Time: June 13, 2011, at 1:18 p.m.
• Source: Area Command 3
• Location: Apache, Navajo, Graham, and Greenlee counties; San Carlos and White Mountain Apache Reservations, Ariz.; Catron County, N.M.  
• Injuries to Date: 7
• Total Personnel: 4,349, including 23 hotshot crews and 78 hand crews
• Date Started: 05/29/2011
• Cause: Human – under investigation
• Residences: 2,714 threatened; 31 destroyed; 5 damaged
• Commercial Property: 473 threatened; 4 destroyed
• Resources: 20 Helicopters, 5 Air Tankers available; 347 Engines; 70 Water Tenders; 22 Dozers
• Outbuildings: 1,216 threatened; 36 destroyed; 1 damaged;
• Vehicles: 1 destroyed.
• Size:  452,155 acres total
• Percent Contained: 10%

[ FIRE-EARTH size estimate for Wallow Fire: ~ 520,000 acres burned as of posting.]

Wallow Fire Map – June 13, 2011.

Progression of the Wallow Fire as of June 13, 2011 [Based on data obtained on June 12, 2011.]  Click image to enlarge. All rights reserved by Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests

The Volcano-like Wallow Fire

Photo by Dean Fernandez with the Southwest Area Incident Management Team. Credit: US Forest Service, Apache Sitgreaves National Forest

Wallow Fire  as Seen by MODIS on the Terra Satellite

Wallow Fire as seen by MODIS on the Terra satellite on June 9 at 10:55 am MST. Active fire areas are outlined in red. The fire was more intense, producing less smoke than the previous day. Click image to enlarge.

Arizona Burn Scars Seen From Space

Imagery from the Landsat-7 satellite shows two glimpses of the same area: one taken on May 5, 2011 and the other on June 7, 2011. In the image from May 5, green areas indicate healthy vegetation and grasslands, light pink areas are naturally occurring rock or bare land. In the image from June 7, the red color indicates burned areas. In some cases, “hot” pink colors can also be seen along with smoke – these are active fire areas. Data from Landsat, a NASA-USGS partnership that was formerly managed by NOAA, is frequently used by NOAA for assessing land cover changes, especially in coastal and wetland ares. Copyright: NOAA [NOTE: FIRE-EARTH cannot confirm copyright validity.]  View High Resolution Version

 

Related Links

• Who needs volcanoes in Arizona

• Wallow Mega Fire – June 11 Update
• Wallow Fire Now Largest in Arizona History
• Who’s Afraid of Wildfires
• Wallow Fire Set to Become Largest in Arizona History
• Wallow Fire Now Arizona’s 2nd Largest, and Growing
• Arizona’s Wallow Fire Grew by 61 pct
• Wildfires Raging in Arizona, Alaska, NC, Georgia, Texas …
• 2011 Disaster Calendar – June 4

Significant earthquakes strike Ethiopia, New Zealand

More than two dozen Earthquakes strike Eritrea, Ethiopia

The swarm included two significant shocks measuring 5.7Mw and striking at depths of about 8 km.

Earthquake Location Map. Source USGS/EHP

The earthquake swarm occurred within the Afar Triangle where the Arabian Plate, and the two parts of the African Plate (the Nubian and the Somalian) diverge. The swarm’s center was located about 100km ESE of Erta Ale volcano, and about 160km NE of the Dabbahu Fissure.

FIRE-EARTH believes there’s a strong probability that the quakes may have primed one or more regional volcanoes for eruption.

Map of East Africa showing some of the historically active volcanoes (red triangles) and the Afar Triangle (shaded, center)— a so-called triple junction (or triple point), where three plates are pulling away from one another: the Arabian Plate, and the two parts of the African Plate (the Nubian and the Somalian) splitting along the East African Rift Zone. Source: USGS

Dabbahu Fissure. Original image JPL/NASA. Enhanced by FIRE-EARTH.

Dabbahu Fissure, along the Somalian Plate, Great Rift Valley (Boina/Afar, Danakil desert, Ethiopia). A ground rupture created during the September 2005 rifting event. Photo: Tony Philpotts/ AP. Image may be subject to copyright.

At 120 meter below sea level, Ethiopia’s Afar Depression is one of the lowest and hottest places on Earth, famous for its salt mines.

New Zealand Earthquakes

Since earlier this morning local time a swarm of at least a dozen earthquakes have struck Christchurch, New Zealand. The largest shocks measured 5.2 and 6.0Mw, USGS/EHP reported.

At least 10 people were injured and several buildings have collapsed/were damaged as a result of the earthquakes, reports said.

Details of the Largest shock

• Magnitude: 6.0
• Date-Time: Monday, June 13, 2011 at 02:20:50 UTC
• Location: 43.580°S, 172.740°E
• Depth:  9 km (5.6 miles)
• Location Uncertainty horizontal +/- 13.9 km (8.6 miles); depth +/- 2.8 km (1.7 miles)
• Region SOUTH ISLAND OF NEW ZEALAND
• Distances
• 13 km (8 miles) NNE of Christchurch, New Zealand
• 292 km (181 miles) SW of WELLINGTON, New Zealand
• Source: Institute of Nuclear Sciences, New Zealand/ Via USGS-EHP

FIRE-EARTH NOTICE: New Zealand Earthquake Forecasts Posted by feww on April 16, 2011

Earthquake Forecasts for New Zealand Region

FIRE-EARTH Moderators have decided NOT to post any specific earthquake forecasts for New Zealand Region until further notice. See the comments section for a explanation.

Related Links

• Volcanic Explosions Could Split More Than Africa
• Arabia Lucky Last Time
• Volcano Watch No. 44
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [9 September 2009]
• Rhyolitic volcanoes pack a much bigger punch
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [2 July 2009]
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 19 March 2009
• Magnitude 4.2 Quake Strikes W. Montana
• Weekly Volcano Watch: 5 March 2009 [Take 2]
• Earthquake Cluster Hits Yellowstone National Park

New Zealand Earthquake Links

• Christchurch Could Vanish from Google Map
• Global Travel Warning!
• A Warning to Visitors to New Zealand
• NZ Govt and Google Buried Quake Warnings

• NZ scientists: Intellectual rigor mortis set?
• New Zealand Earthquake Warnings – 7 March 2011 
• Christchurch Could Vanish from Google Map
• https://feww.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/christchurch-could-vanish-from-google-map/#comment-12597

Japan Earthquake Forecasts/WARNINGS

See:

• TOKYO AREA QUAKE WARNING
• 4 Large Earthquakes Could  Strike Japan Region by 2015
• Global Tectonics Alert – April 9

Puyehue Volcano Ash Clouding SH Skies

Continued Eruption at Puyehue Volcano Complex Wreaking Havoc in Southern Hemisphere

Eruption Details: CONTINUOUS EMISSION

Eruption Details from Darwin VAAC:
HIGH LEVEL ERUPTION, ASH MOVING EAST

Credit: NOAA and EUMETSAT 

Ash and sulphur dioxide (SO2) from Puyehue Volcano Complex eruptions. The Ash RGB is composed from data from a combination of the SEVIRI IR8.7, IR10.8 and IR12.0 channels. Copyright Eumetsat 2011. Click image to enlarge.

Source: NILU Institute, Norway. Image may be subject to copyright.

IDD41290
VA ADVISORY
DTG: 2011/06/13/ 00:00UTC
VAAC: Darwin

VOLCANO: Cordon Caulle 1507-141
PSN: S4031 W07212
AREA: Chile C
SUMMIT ELEV: 1,798M

ADVISORY NR: 2011/24
INFO SOURCE: MTSAT, TOULOUSE VAAC, AIREP
AVIATION COLOUR CODE: RED
ERUPTION DETAILS: HIGH LEVEL ERUPTION, ASH MOVING EAST

Airline Flights

Australian airline Qantas said it was too dangerous to fly through the thick clouds of ash drifting over the Pacific Ocean from  continuous eruption at CORDON CAULLE volcano in the Puyehue Volcano Complex, Chile. Accordingly, it has cancelled all its flights to and from Melbourne. The decision follows earlier flight cancellations in and out of Tasmania and most of of New Zealand.

All other airlines, with the exception of Air New Zealand, have also grounded flights in the region.

The logic-defying Air New Zealand is risking the lives of its passengers by worming in out of the ash clouds, trying to dodge the worst of the plumes. The airline said it was adjusting flight paths to steer aircraft below the ash!!

Related Links

• Puyehue ash raises river temp, kills salmon stock
• Puyehue Volcano Satellite Images
• Puyehue volcano update
• Chile’s Puyehue volcano explodes

FIRE-EARTH Volcano Watch

• A New Era of Intense Volcanic Unrest May Have Begun
• World’s Dormant Volcanoes Firing
• VolcanoWatch Weekly [16 September 2009]

• FEWW Volcano Links
• Volcanoes
• FEWW Earthquake Links