Fire Disasters Declared for Arizona, Oregon

Lightning-sparked wildfire burns thousands of acres in Arizona, threatening scores of homes

Fire Details posted at http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/4465/

• Arizona Willow Fire (FM-5095) Fire Management Assistance Declaration has been declared.
• Oregon Krauss Lane Fire (FM-5096) Fire Management Assistance Declaration has been declared.

National Fire Preparedness Level 4

As of July 31, 2015 at 12 p.m. MDT the National Preparedness has climbed to Level 4 (on a scale from 1 to 5).

[Caution: The stats provided by NIFC have previously proved to be incomplete, erroneous and therefore unreliable. See related blog entries since 2007.]

Preparedness Level 4 is described as “Three (3) or more Geographic Areas are experiencing incidents requiring Type 1 and 2 Incident Management Teams. Competition exists for resources between Geographic Areas. Nationally, 60% of Type 1 and 2 Incident Management Teams and crews are committed.”

As of August 10, nine new large fires were reported: one each in California and Texas; two each in Hawaii and Idaho; and three in Oregon, the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) Reported.

13 States currently reporting large fires:
Alaska (2), Arizona (2), California (16), Colorado (1), Florida (1), Hawaii (2), Idaho (2), Montana (2), North Carolina (2), Oregon (10), Texas (1), Washington (5), Wyoming (2).

Number of active large fires: 48
Acres from active fires: 440,421 acres
Year-to-date statistics: 2015 (1/1/15 – 8/11/15)

• Acres burned: 6,290,234

Annual average prior 10 years: 2005-2014

• Acres burned: 4,517,274

State of Emergency Declared in St. Louis County

Ferguson State of Emergency: More protests, shooting, arrests

A state of emergency was declared by the St. Louis County authorities on Monday and dozens of people were arrested on the second day of protests marking a year since a police officer killed a teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, Missou ri, said a report.

Brown, 18, was unarmed when he was shot by police officer Darren Wilson in the street.

At least 3 people were wounded in shootings Monday night, according to local reports.

Disaster Emergency Declared for Colorado Gold King Mine Release

Colorado Governor declares disaster emergency for Gold King Mine release

Gov. Hickenlooper has issued an Executive Order declaring a state of disaster emergency due to the Gold King Mine release and resulting impacts to downstream waters.

Workers employed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) triggered a breach at the Gold King Mine outside Silverton in San Juan County on August 5, 2015. The breach released a plume of more than three million gallons of water containing potentially harmful contaminants into Cement Creek, which flowed into the Animas River and continued downstream, according to a statement released by the governor’s office.

Elements contained in the plume turned the water a striking mustard-yellow, and graphic images of the discolored water have contributed to community concern about river impacts and water quality. The Southern Ute Tribe, the counties of La Plata and San Juan, the City of Durango, and the Town of Silverton all declared disaster emergencies, highlighting the gravity and severity of impacts to Cement Creek, the Animas River, the San Juan River, and downstream waters. Local authorities have closed the affected rivers to all uses, causing significant local economic impacts. The extreme flow rate of the plume caused significant damage to the Cement Creek stream bed resulting in sedimentation uptake and downstream deposits in both Cement Creek and the Animas River. All of these impacts require emergency action by the Southern Ute Tribe, the State of Colorado, and local officials to avert loss of life, injury, danger or damage, including but not limited to unknown economic, financial and natural resources impacts.  The full Executive Order is attached here.

 The Executive Order will last for 30 days unless extended by the governor.

Massive waste spill “accidentally released” by EPA investigators turns river in Colorado bright orange. Image source: Earth Justice

Related Links

• Mine Waste Ends in River—One Way or Another August 8, 2015