Key Facts Of The Day 5/17

Storms and Flooding

• Over 40,000 customers were without power in Virginia and Maryland following Monday afternoon’s storms.
  • The worst of the storm tracked through central Fauquier, Prince Wiliam, southern Fairfax, Alexandria, southwest Prince George’s, northern Charles, and northern Calvert counties, where it received more than two dozen reports of damaging winds and hail.
  • By Tuesday morning, Pepco said about 500 customers were without power, mostly in Northwest Washington.
  • In Northern Virginia, about 1,100 customers were still without power early Tuesday.
  • Schools in Howard County, Maryland, closed three hours early. Anne Arundel County Public Schools canceled after-school activities.
  • In some places, trees reportedly fell onto houses; in other spots, they fell onto streets and rain-slicked roads, at times blocking or slowing traffic.
  • Several large trees were uprooted in the Lake Ridge area of Prince William near Springwoods Drive and Old Bridge Road.
  • Storms spawned a possible tornado in North Charlestown, New Hampshire.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 11 large active wildfires that have burned 398,661 across AZ, CO, MI, NC, NH, NM, and TX. As of Tuesday, 25,637 wildfires have burned 1,369,835 acres across the country.
• In Arizona, 2 fires have burned 28,507 acres as of Tuesday. 
  • The Tunnel Fire has burned a total of 19,075 acres and is 98% contained as of Tuesday. 
• In Colorado, 1 fire has burned 1,573 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The High Park Fire has burned a total of 1,573 acres and is 37% contained as of Tuesday.
    • On Monday morning, the evacuation area included 134 homes, while another 463 residences were under pre-evacuation notices.
• In Michigan, 1 fire has burned 2,473 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Blue Lakes Fire has burned a total of 2,473 acres and is 75% contained as of Tuesday.
    • The fire prompted the evacuation of 13 people from a hunting and fishing camp.
    • Officials believe the fire was likely sparked by a lightning strike during a Wednesday thunderstorm.
    • One firefighter suffered a minor injury, but no other injuries or building damage had yet occurred.
• In New Hampshire, 1 fire has burned 106 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Bemis Fire has burned a total of 106 acres and is 25% contained as of Tuesday.
    • The U.S. Forest Service said there were no significant threats to life or property but asked the public to stay away from the area until the fire was considered controlled.
    • The Arethusa Falls trail was closed until further notice. 
    • Saturday afternoon rainstorms helped slow the fire’s progression but also forced firefighters to suspend their work due to lightning.
• In New Mexico, 4 fires have burned 364,904 acres as of Tuesday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned a total of 298,060 acres and is 26% contained as of Tuesday.
    • The New Mexico blaze is now the largest wildfire in state history.
    • Nearly 2,000 firefighters were battling the 5-week-old fire that threatened Las Vegas, New Mexico for a time before being stopped just outside town in the past week.
    • The blaze has already destroyed at least 473 structures, including homes and other buildings.
    • Threatened by the northern part of the fire, the Sipapu Ski Resort in Vadito has turned on giant snow-making machines to blast the flames with water.
    • The blaze has at times exhibited what meteorologists call “extreme fire behavior” in recent days, generating billowing smoke-filled clouds towering 30,000 feet known as pyrocumulus.
    • More than 3,800 homes in northern New Mexico were under mandatory evacuation orders, with another 5,600 under voluntary evacuation.
• As of Monday, the Coastal Fire in California has burned 200 acres and is 90% contained.

Extreme Heat

• Flash droughts are the Midwest’s next big climate threat.
  • Flash droughts are dry periods that can materialize in as quickly as five days, often devastating agricultural areas that aren’t prepared for them.
  • A recent study found that in the last 20 years, the percentage of flash droughts developing in under a week increased by more than 20%  in the Central United States.
    • Flash droughts are coming on faster and faster — making them more difficult to predict and more damaging.
  • Warming temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns due to climate change pose a threat to the cash crops of the Midwest and Great Plains, primarily corn, wheat, and soybeans.
    • Last year, Tulsa, Oklahoma, the state’s second-largest city, went 80 days without more than a quarter-inch of rain, while temperatures in southwestern Oklahoma climbed into the triple digits.
• Oregon adopts permanent rules to protect workers from heat and wildfire smoke.
  • The heat rules take effect June 15 and the wildfire rules go into effect July 1.
  • The heat rules require employers to provide sufficient shaded areas, ample water, and increasingly frequent rest breaks as temperatures rise.
  • Employers need to develop heat prevention plans, train employees and supervisors about heat illnesses, and ensure employees are given time to acclimate to heat and are regularly monitored while working in high temperatures.
  • The wildfire smoke rules require employers to provide training to employees about the dangers of wildfire smoke, make respirators available as the air quality reaches unhealthy levels or require workers to wear respirators if air quality levels spike above a “very unhealthy” 251, and recommend that employers consider relocating if the air quality is unhealthy.

New Reports And Data

• A May 2022 study found that ending the use of fossil fuels in electricity generation, transportation, and other key sectors would save more than 50,000 lives annually.
• A May 2022 report found that climate change is hurting the insurance industry and only 8% of insurers are preparing adequately for its impact.
• A May 2022 study found that deforestation in the Amazon threatens newly discovered fish species in Brazil.