Calif Fire Looks Like Volcanic Eruption

Image of the Day: ‘Guiberson Volcano’

A ridge of fire works its way through Grimes Canyon toward Fillmore, Calif., on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009. (AP Photo/John Lazar). Image may be subject to copyright.

More dry, hot weather; more red-flag warnings!

The three-day, 16,400-acre Guiberson fire in Ventura County, which has so far cost about $3.5 to tackle, no longer poses a threat to Moorpark, Somis and other communities on its southern edge, the authorities said.

The National Weather Service has extended red-flag warnings for many areas in Los Angeles and Ventura counties until 9:00 PM Saturday because they expect dry, hot weather  to continue.

Today’s temperatures stayed high throughout the region, reaching a high of 105 in Riverside, 103 in Anaheim,  102 in Pasadena, 100 in downtown Los Angeles, 98 in Santa Ana, and 97 in Long Beach.

Fire officials sent hand crews up into the hills to carve firebreaks on the northeastern and western flanks of the 27-square-mile fire, said Ventura County Fire spokesman Bill Nash. The blaze was 65 percent surrounded and about 2,750 personnel were assigned to the fire Friday. —AP

“We have an army of firefighters on the fire right now,” AP reported Nash as saying.

The LA Times reporter was more modest and put the number at “more than 1,800.”

The Station Fire is now at 98% containment, the fire authorities reported.

Related Links:

• SoCal End-to-End Corporate Arsons Blaze On!
• Calif Fires 2009 – Part 2 ‘We’re Watching You!’ [includes entries up to September 22, 2009]
• California Fires 09 – Part 3 ‘Pile on the Manure, Sheriff!’  [for entries dated after September 22, 2009]

Volcano Watch No. 44

Erta Ale Erupted

Update: Nov 7, 2008 – According to the latest news bulletins, the eruption in the Erta Ale, Africa’s largest in historic times,  was due to a fissure between Alu and Dalaffilla volcanoes.

Erta Ale, an active shield volcano located in the Afar Region of northeastern Ethiopia [located some 600 km from Addis Ababa,] is Ethiopia’s only active volcano. Eye witnesses said the volcano erupted late Monday. Satellite photos show the lava had covered about 300 sq km, a record area.

The volcano  stands 613 meters tall, with a lava lake, one of only four in the world, at the summit. It is notable for being the longest existing lava lake, present since the early years of the twentieth century. It is located in the Danakil Depression, a desert area bordering Eritrea. The area is described as one of the hottest places on earth famed for its salt mines.

Erta Ale’s last major eruption in 2005 forced thousands of nearby residents to flee. Additional lava flow activity took place in August 2007, forcing the evacuation of hundreds and leaving two missing.

Erta Ale, Alu, Tat Ali and other Ethiopian highlands are together known as the Danakil Alps. (Sources: Addis Ababa University, various academic and news organizations, Wikipedia).

Erta Ale, an active shield volcano located in the Afar Region [northeastern] of Ethiopia in the Danakil Desert, is Ethiopia’s only active volcano. License: cc-by-sa-2.0. Credit: posted to Flickr by filippo_jean.

29 October – 4 November 2008

New Activity/Unrest:

• Chaitén, Southern Chile
• Colima, México
• Galeras, Colombia
• Kliuchevskoi, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Nevado del Huila, Colombia

Ongoing Activity:

• Karymsky, Eastern Kamchatka
• Kilauea, Hawaii (USA)
• Masaya, Nicaragua
• Pacaya, Guatemala
• Piton de la Fournaise, Reunion Island
• Popocatépetl, México
• Rabaul, New Britain
• Shiveluch, Central Kamchatka (Russia)
• Soufrière Hills, Montserrat
• Suwanose-jima, Ryukyu Islands (Japan)
• Tungurahua, Ecuador
• Ubinas, Perú

This Weekly Volcanic Activity Report summary is a cooperative project between the Smithsonian’s Global Volcanism Program and the US Geological Survey’s Volcano Hazards Program.

Earthquakes in Alaska

Earthquake History of Alaska

The earth’s most active seismic feature, the circum-Pacific seismic belt, brushes Alaska and the Aleutian Islands, where more earthquakes occur than in the other 49 States combined. More than 80 percent of the planet’s tremors occur in the circum-Pacific belt, and about six percent of the large, shallow earthquakes are in the Alaska area, where as many as 4,000 earthquake at various depths are detected in a year. Excerpt from USGS.

Worldwide Earthquakes 2000 – 2008 [as of July 14, 2008]  – Image: USGS