California Drought has Killed 12 Million Forest Trees since 2014

Eureka: Millions of dead trees intensify forest fire danger in the Golden State

The catastrophic drought in California has killed more than 12 million trees across the Golden state’s forests over the past year, according to an aerial survey conducted the U.S. Forest Service last month.

Using a digital mapping system, while flying in a fixed-wing aircraft about 300m above ground, a USFS team visually surveyed the forests.

The surveyors tracked about 8.4 million acres in Cleveland, San Bernardino, Angeles and Los Padres National Forests, as well as the Southern Sierra Nevada, and documented a total of more than 12 million dead trees.

The surveyors found substantial pine mortality in San Diego County, especially across the Cleveland National Forest and Mt. Laguna.

A ferocious forest fire that burned for nearly three months late last summer and early fall consumed about quarter-million acres of forest around the Klamath National Forest in Siskiyou County, northern California.

As of last week (April 28, 2015) some 99.86 percent of California was abnormally dry or plagued by drought drought levels D1 – D4.

• Drought levels D1 – D4: 98.11 percent of the land area
• Drought levels D2 – D4: 93.44 percent
• Drought levels D3 – D4: 66.60 percent
• Drought levels D4: 46.77 percent

Drought conditions in California are expected to intensify as the dry season begins.

Powerful Earthquake Shakes East New Britain

M7.5 quake strikes 130km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea (PNG)

Centered at 5.465°S, 151.886°E the quake occurred at a depth of 42.0 km, reported USGS/EHP.

The quake had been preceded buy strong foreshocks and was followed by at least 9 significant aftershocks, as of posting.

See also FIRE-EARTH Forecast on HEIGHTENED SEISMICITY and ENHANCED VOLCANISM in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 31, 2015 concerning

EQ Details
Magnitude: 7.5Mw [USGS/EHP]
Depth: 42.0 km
Location: 5.465°S 151.886°E
Time: 2015-05-05 01:44:05 UTC
Nearest Cities:

• 130km (81mi) SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea [pop: ~30k]
• 193km (120mi) E of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea  [pop: ~20k]
• 341km (212mi) SSE of Kavieng, Papua New Guinea [pop: ~15k]
• 412km (256mi) WNW of Arawa, Papua New Guinea [pop: ~35k]
• 680km (423mi) NE of Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea [pop: ~375k]

Recent foreshocks and aftershocks
5.0 147km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 08:47:08 UTC 61.1 km
5.3 129km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 08:16:58 UTC 42.8 km
4.9 126km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 06:11:04 UTC 51.6 km
4.9 143km SSW of Taron, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 05:07:29 UTC 40.0 km
5.2 86km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 05:03:01 UTC 55.7 km
5.2 130km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 03:55:51 UTC 51.8 km
5.2 124km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 02:40:23 UTC 33.9 km
5.6 103km S of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 01:58:20 UTC 57.5 km
5.9 109km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 01:54:05 UTC 64.5 km
7.5 130km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-05 01:44:05 UTC 42.0 km
5.1 143km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-04 08:09:14 UTC 60.8 km
4.6 102km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-04 01:04:48 UTC 63.3 km
5.2 132km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-03 23:40:56 UTC 35.1 km
5.1 133km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-03 22:50:47 UTC 46.1 km
5.5 142km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-03 22:35:11 UTC 67.9 km
5.6 144km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-03 22:32:42 UTC 35.0 km
5.2 150km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-03 20:21:56 UTC 76.0 km
4.8 148km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-03 19:28:54 UTC 61.0 km
5.0 93km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-02 10:53:06 UTC 103.4 km
4.9 124km ESE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-01 19:55:56 UTC 44.5 km
6.8 106km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-05-01 08:06:04 UTC 57.0 km
6.7 125km SSW of Kokopo, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-30 10:45:05 UTC 48.9 km
5.0 60km WSW of Panguna, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-24 02:51:07 UTC 83.5 km
5.3 80km W of Panguna, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-21 19:10:18 UTC 68.0 km
5.3 32km ENE of Kandrian, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-21 11:21:12 UTC 53.5 km
4.5 74km SW of Taron, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-21 08:14:36 UTC 54.9 km
4.9 80km SE of Kimbe, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-20 20:02:07 UTC 67.8 km
4.6 112km S of Taron, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-19 12:48:42 UTC 36.6 km
4.5 103km S of Taron, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-19 12:17:42 UTC 42.2 km
5.2 66km NW of Rabaul, Papua New Guinea 2015-04-15 10:22:08 UTC 10.0 km

Related Links

• FIRE-EARTH Forecast: Heightened seismicity in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 30, 2015
• FIRE-EARTH ALERT: HEIGHTENED SEISMICITY and ENHANCED VOLCANISM in the Pacific Ring of Fire March 31, 2015
• Calbuco Volcano Finally Erupts April 23, 2015
• M6.7 Quake Strikes East New Britain April 30, 2015
• Calbuco Volcano Erupts Again May 1, 2015
• Another Strong Earthquakes Strikes East New Britain May 1, 2015