Posts Tagged ‘calif.’
Posted by feww on October 12, 2017
Updated: 2:50 pm PDT
21 Wildfires have burned more than 191,000 acres in Calif.
ALL residents of Calistoga and Geyserville were ordered to abandon their homes.
Emergency Declarations have been proclaimed by the state governor for Napa, Sonoma, Yuba, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada, Orange and Solano counties.
At least 29 people are confirmed to have died in N. California wildfires this week, with 285 others reported as missing.
The ferocious fires have destroyed an estimated 3,500 homes and businesses, and charred more than 191,500 acres (~ 77,500 hectares).
The wildfires have also destroyed or substantially damaged at least 13 Napa Valley wineries, and razed entire neighborhoods, with an estimated total of 2,834 homes, in the city of Santa Rosa.
Tens of thousands have evacuated their homes, including 25,000 people in Sonoma County alone, while 8,000+ personnel are trying to contain the fires.
Red Flag Warnings have been issued for much of Northern California due to gusty winds and low humidity starting today. While these winds may hamper the efforts of firefighters, they will also increase the risk for new wildfires. [Cal Fire]
“We’re not going to be out of the woods for a great many days to come,” said Cal Fire director.
“We’ve had big fires in the past,” said Gov. Brown. “This is one of the biggest.”
Posted in News Alert | Tagged: calif., Calistoga, Geyserville, Mass Evacuations, NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, Sonoma County, state of emergency, the Golden State, wildfires, wine country | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on October 11, 2017
Toll from N. California’s ferocious wildfires continued to grow
As of Tuesday evening (PDT) the fires had destroyed 2,000 structures and killed at least 17 people, with more than 170 other reported as missing.
- Eleven of the fatalities, and the missing reports are from Sonoma County.
- Large sections of the city of Santa Rosa have been razed by the Tubbs fire, making it look like the war-stricken city of Aleppo in Syria.
- At least six more fatalities have been reported in Napa, Mendocino, and Yuba Counties, Cal Fire said.
The two largest fires, the Tubbs fire and the Atlas Peak fire in Napa County, have consumed 27,000 and 25,000 acres, respectively, Cal Fire reported.
About 30,000 people are under mandatory evacuation orders.
Orange County firestorm destroys 24 structures, consumes 7,500 acres
The Canyon 2 fire has forced the officials to evacuate more than 5,000 residences in three cities, and close down at least 9 schools.
California Statewide Fire Summary
Tuesday, October 10, 2017 PDT [CAL FIRE]
“17 large wildfires that started in the past 24 hours continue to burn across California and have burned over 115,000 acres. The winds that fanned these fires Sunday night and Monday morning have decreased significantly, but local winds and dry conditions continue to pose a challenge. With the decrease in the winds combined with cooler weather, firefighters made good progress overnight. Sheriff officials have confirmed that 11 people have died as a result of the wildfires in Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa and Yuba counties. These fires have already burned an estimated 1,500 homes and commercial structures. Several Damage Assessment Teams have been deployed to get a full account of the destruction.
“Yesterday Governor Brown declared a State of Emergency in Napa, Sonoma, and Yuba Counties, as well as a State of Emergency in Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada and Orange counties.
“Red Flag Warnings in Southern California due to gusty winds and high fire risk remain in place, but are expected to end later this morning. The warnings in Northern California have all ended, but breezy and dry conditions remain.”
Read more…
Posted in News Alert | Tagged: Aleppo, calif., Canyon 2 fire, mandatory evacuation, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County, state of emergency, syria, wildfires | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on June 15, 2008
Desertification of Southern Spain
The land of southern Spain has dried, leading to rationing and disputes over water. Photo: Monica Gumm for The International Herald Tribune. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
The average surface temperature in Spain has risen 2.7 degrees compared with about 1.4 degrees globally since 1880, records show. (Source)
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Posted in Climate Change, energy, environment, food, Global Warming, health, politics, Tourism, Travel | Tagged: Africa, agriculture, aquifers, australia, calif., Climate Change, corruption, crops, Drought, environmental catastrophes, EU, farming, freshwater, global food crisis, golf courses, Mojavefication, Mojavefied, Murcia, national crisis, north africa, poor land use, rainfall, rationing, riots, runing dry, socal, Southern Spain, Spain, USA, water shortages, water wars | Leave a Comment »
Posted by feww on June 14, 2008
submitted by a reader
“You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
Beginning to feel that the environmental disasters are getting up close and personal?
One minute you are in your comfortable home near Paradise, north of Sacramento, the next minute you are being consoled by the firefighters as you stand in the front garden watching your home turn into blackened cinder. They apologize for failing to help you, but it wasn’t their fault. They ran out of water!
Wondering why?
Butte Valley fire, Humboldt, Thursday night. Image: Jason Halley / Chico Enterprise-Record. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
Into the SUV with what little you could snatch away from the mouth of the fire heading east to Iowa to stay with Aunt Molly. On interstate 29 a twister is about to touch down. Whoosh! You swerve out of the way just in time.
Parkersburg Tornado. Photo AP. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
Aunt Molly’s house in Cedar Rapids wasn’t so lucky. It didn’t have wheels to drive away and avoid the floodwater; it is completely deluged.
An aerial photo shows a flooded area of downtown looking North over Cedar Rapids, Iowa June 13, 2008. Interstate I-380 can be seen at top while Mays Island, with Cedar Rapids City Hall, is seen on the left with its bridges under water. Floodwaters have inundated about 100 city blocks of Cedar Rapids, Iowa’s second-largest city with 200,000 residents. REUTERS/Ron Mayland. Photo AP. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
Five hours and a dozen phonecalls later, you are finally heading to the calm of Wisconsin to stay with Cousin Thelma and her family. Turn the radio on. Homes on Lake Delton in central Wisconsin have been ripped apart by deadly storm and washed away by floodwaters. Chilly gooseflesh grow on your forearms. Something tingles deep inside your gut, that uncomfortable feeling something is wrong. And you are right! Well, It’s Friday the 13th, you hear yourself murmuring.
Lake Delton is a popular tourist spot south of the Wisconsin Dells. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
Distant Cousin Joe and his family are in deep mourning in Loveland. Two of their kids with four of their classmates and a teacher didn’t make it back from a fishing trip. And his 5,000 acre cornfield is submerged in floodwater …
Corn crop submerged in floodwaters near Loveland, Iowa, June 12, 2008. REUTERS/Dave Kaup. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
Back to Iowa to stay with an old classmate who lives in Marshal Town, Iowa, and who invited you to visit her last summer. A rain check is as good as … a rain check! Finally you arrive in Marshal Town. But the whole town has been evacuated and the power plants have been shut down!
Well, at least you have the good old, reliable SUV, and it’s not as if the world is running out of corn to make ethanol for you!
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Posted in Climate Change, energy, environment, food, Global Warming, health, politics, Travel | Tagged: agriculture, calif., Cedar Rapids, corn, cornfield, Drought, environmental disaster, Environmental Impacts, ethanol, flood, floodwater, GHG, gooseflesh, grains, Iowa, Lake Delton, maize, Mays Island, Paradise, Parkersburg, pollution, Sacramento, socal, SUV, topsoil, Tornado, twister, wildfire, Wisconsin, You ain’t seen nothing yet! | 3 Comments »
Posted by feww on June 13, 2008
A Shrinking World Series
Could California Turn to Desert by 2011?
Water, water, my bloody kingdom for a drop of water. ~ King Conan
Water Emergency in Calif
As most of the croplands in the Central U.S. is submerged under floodwater, the heart of California’s farming area is feeling the heat. Gov. Schwarzenegger who proclaimed last week a drought in California, declared yesterday a state of emergency in nine counties in Central Valley.
“Just last week, I said we would announce regional emergencies wherever the state’s drought situation warrants them, and in the Central Valley an emergency proclamation is necessary to protect our economy and way of life,” Mr Schwarzenegger said.
“Central Valley agriculture is a $20 billion a year industry. If we don’t get them water immediately the results will be devastating,” he added. “Food prices, which are already stretching many family budgets, will continue to climb and workers will lose their jobs—everyone’s livelihood will be impacted in some way.”
“His declaration covers Sacramento, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties and directs California’s Department of Water Resources to work with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation to deliver more water through the State Water Project to where it is most needed.” Reuters reported.
Conservation Action:
- Water rationing is imposed in Long Beach, Roseville and the East Bay Municipal Utility District, which serves 1.3 million people in the San Francisco Bay area.
- Water agencies serving about 18 million people throughout Calif have declared a water supply alerts.
- Officials are planning for reduced water use through this year because lower water supplies are anticipated next year.
- Schwarzenegger is asking lawmakers to back a “comprehensive solution” to expanding water and says he needs $11.9 billion bond to finance water projects. (Source)
Coyote Dry Lake, Mojave Desert. Image: Jeff T. Alu via Wikimedia. This file is licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.
Coyote Dry Lake is a dry lake bed in the Mojave Desert located about 24 km northeast of Barstow, and north of Interstate 15 in southern California. The lake measures about 10 km long and about 6 km wide at its widest section.
California’s Last Chance: Do a U-Turn, or Turn to Desert!
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Posted in Climate Change, energy, environment, food, Global Warming, health, politics, Tourism, Travel | Tagged: air soil and water pollutions, Barstow, Business as usual, calif., civilization, Climate Change, CO2, CO2e, Coastal areas, Collapsing Cities, conserve, Coyote Dry Lake, crops failure, Department of Water Resources, desertification, deserts, Drought, dying cities, economy, energy, environment, extreme fire hazards, food, Global Warming, government, health, Mojave Desert, onservation, politics, quality-of-life, recycling, Sacramento, Schwarzenegger, southern California, Water pollution, water quality, water shortages, water supply | 4 Comments »
Posted by feww on June 5, 2008
Bets are on!
Schwarzenegger declares statewide drought
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought in California after two years of below-average rainfall. “We have a serious drought,” said Governor Schwarzenegger on Wednesday.
“For the areas in Northern California that supply most of our water, this March, April and May have been the driest ever in our recorded history,” Schwarzenegger said. “As a result, some local governments are rationing water, developments can’t proceed and agricultural fields are sitting idle.”
“We must recognize the severity of the crisis we face, so I am signing an executive order proclaiming a statewide drought and directing my Department of Water Resources and other entities to take immediate action to address the situation.”
The executive order enables water officials transfer water around California swiftly dealing with unusually dry conditions that are destroying crops, affecting water quality and creating extreme fire hazards across the state, one of the nation’s top farming regions.
To enlarge, right click on the image and select View Image
“Mr Schwarzenegger warned that conditions could be even worse next year if there was another dry winter. The governor wants voters to approve a $12 billion bond to fund delta, river and groundwater improvements, conservation and recycling efforts, and reservoirs. But legislators have not agreed to the plan despite ongoing negotiations with the administration.” USA today reported.
“This drought is an urgent reminder of the immediate need to upgrade California’s water infrastructure,” Schwarzenegger said. “There is no more time to waste because nothing is more vital to protect our economy, our environment and our quality-of-life.”
[Note: Gov Schwarzenegger’s statement is fundamentally flawed and factually incorrect because “to protect our economy,” i.e., business as usual, results in the destruction of “our environment” and therefore harms “our quality of life.”]
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[Nothing short of a catastrophic ecosystem collapse would make humans change their unsustainable lifestyles!]
Posted in air soil and water pollutions, civilization, Climate Change, CO2, CO2e, Coastal areas, Collapsing Cities, conserve, economy, energy, environment, food, Global Warming, government, health, politics, Water pollution, water shortages | Tagged: Business as usual, calif., crops failure, Department of Water Resources, desertification, deserts, Drought, dying cities, extreme fire hazards, onservation, quality-of-life, recycling, Sacramento, Schwarzenegger, water quality, water supply | Leave a Comment »
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