Agricultural Disaster Declared in 14 States

138 Counties in 14 states have been declared agricultural disaster areas

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated 138 counties (includes 1 Parish) across 14 states as agricultural disaster areas in 6 separate declarations.

[The figure includes both primary and contiguous disaster areas.]

Drought Disaster

USDA has designated 55 counties in five states as agricultural disaster areas due to  damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. Those areas are

• California:  Alameda, El Dorado, Placer, Solano, Alpine, Glenn, Plumas, Sonoma, Amador, Lake, Sacramento, Sutter, Butte, Marin, San Mateo, Tehama, Colusa, Napa, Santa Cruz, Yolo, Contra Costa, Nevada, Sierra, Yuba, Calaveras, Monterey, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Lassen, San Benito, Santa Clara, Trinity, Mendocino, San Francisco, Shasta, Tuolumne and  Mono counties.

• Nevada: Douglas, Carson City and Washoe counties.

• Texas: Camp, Gregg, Marion, Titus, Cass, Harrison, Morris, Upshur, Bowie, Panola, Rusk, Wood, Franklin, Red River and Smith counties.

• Arkansas: Miller County.

• Louisiana: Caddo Parish.

Agricultural Disaster Designations due to the Drought

At least 1,333 counties across 28 states have now been designated agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought so far this year. [The figure includes both the primary and contiguous drought disaster areas. ]

U.S. Drought Disaster Map as of August 21, 2013. At least 1,333 counties, or 42.41% of all U.S. counties*, were designated as agricultural disaster areas due to the ongoing drought, a net rise of 0.41%  since last week. [The figure includes both primary and contiguous disaster designations.] Source: USDA. Map enhanced by FIRE-EARTH.

Flood Disaster

USDA has declared 41 counties in three states–Florida, Alabama, Georgia–as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by excessive rain and flooding that occurred June 4 – August 1, 2013. Those counties are

• Florida: Bay, Citrus, Gadsden, Madison, Calhoun, Clay, Liberty, Marion, Putnam, St. Johns, Santa Rosa, Taylor, Alachua, Columbia, Gilchrist, Jackson, Baker, Dixie, Hamilton, Lafayette, Bradford, Duval, Holmes, Levy, Nassau, Okaloosa, Suwannee, Union, Walton and Washington counties.
  

• Alabama: Covington, Escambia, Geneva and Houston counties.

• Georgia: Camden, Clinch, Lowndes, Ware, Charlton, Echols and  Seminole counties.

Freeze Disaster

USDA has declared 23 counties in three states–Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma–as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by a freeze that occurred April 1 – May 10, 2013. Those counties are

• Kansas: Grant, Meade, Stanton, Haskell, Morton, Stevens, Kearny, Seward, Wichita, Clark, Gray, Logan, Finney, Greeley, Scott, Ford, Hamilton and Wallace counties.

• Colorado: Baca and Prowers counties.

• Oklahoma: Beaver, Cimarron and Texas counties.

Hailstorm Disaster

USDA has declared 9 counties in three states–Montana, Idaho, Wyoming–as agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by a hailstorm August 1, 2013. Those counties are

• Montana: Gallatin, Broadwater, Jefferson, Madison, Meagher and Park counties.

• Idaho: Fremont County.

• Wyoming: Park and Teton counties.

Disaster Caused by Extreme Cold

USDA has designated 8 counties  in Idaho as a agricultural disaster areas due to losses caused by freezing temperatures that occurred April 14 – May 24, 2013.

Those counties are Gem, Ada, Adams, Boise, Canyon, Payette, Valley and Washington.

Related Links

• U.S. Drought Expands  August 22, 2013
• U.S. Drought Map – August 13, 2013
• Drought Disaster Declared in 37 Counties Across 5 States August 15, 2013
• Agricultural Disaster Declared for Dozens of U.S. Counties August 8, 2013
• U-S Drought 2013: Fueled by Heat from Hell? January 31, 2013 [FIRE-EARTH Forecast]
• US: Drought Disaster 2013 [Index Page]
• Agricultural Disasters Index

State of Emergency Declared as Calif. Wildfire Explodes

UPDATED Friday, 23 August 2013, 02:29UTC

Rim Fire Quadruples in Size

The blaze near Yosemite National Park had grown to about 100 square miles  Thursday and was only 1 percent contained. The fire has so far destroyed at least two homes and seven outbuildings and threatens several thousand homes, hotels and camp buildings.

Fire from Hell

Night Photo of The Rim Fire. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

Gov. Brown Declares a State of emergency in Tuolumne County due to Rim Fire

California Gov. Brown has declared a state of emergency in Tuolumne County due to Rim Fire, one of 5 dozen major fires burning across the western U.S., including about 20 in California.

The emergency proclamation for Tuolumne County states that the massive fire has “damaged homes, and is threatening 2,500 other residences, necessitating the evacuation of residents, and the opening of emergency shelters.”

The fire has also forced thousands of tourists to leave the area during peak season.

Evacuations

The Tuolumne County Sheriffs Office has issued an evacuation order for residents north of Ferretti Road to Elderberry Road. An Evacuation Order is issued when there is an immediate threat to life and/or property. Inciweb reported.

Rim Fire Photo 2. Photo credit: Stanislaus National Forest/USFS.

Earlier,  the summer community of Pine Mountain Lake, home to about 3,000 people, and three campgrounds along Highway 120–Camp Towanga, Spinning Wheel and Sawmill campgrounds–were evacuated.

The fire started on Saturday August 17th, 2013, in Groveland Range District, Stanislaus National Forest, west of Yosemite. Some 1,849 personnel have been assigned to the blaze.

At least five other wildfires in Yellowstone National Park have consumed about 18 square miles.

“U.S. wildfire managers facing increasingly strained resources have opened talks with Pentagon commanders and Canadian officials about possible reinforcements of personnel and aircraft to battle dozens of blazes raging across the drought-parched American West,” said a report.

Related Links

• Large Wildfires in the West Burn Homes, Force More Evacuations August 21, 2013
• State of Emergency Declared in 31 Montana Counties due to Wildfires August 20, 2013
• Beaver Creek Fire Consumes 100,000 acres
• “Take Your Essentials Belongings and Pets and GO NOW” August 18, 2013