Key Facts Of The Day 08/10

Hurricanes

• The Shoalwater Bay Indian Tribe built a 50-foot-tall evacuation tower in Tokeland, Washington.
  • The tower will be open to all in a disaster and has a capacity of more than 400 people, which is considerably more than the tribal population of the small Shoalwater Bay reservation.
• National Park Service confronts Death Valley water shortage after flood damages more than 600 feet of a water main that serves park residences and maintenance facilities.
  • The water main serves a residential dorm, maintenance yard, emergency operations building, natural resources offices, and space used by the California Department of Transportation and the Death Valley Natural History Association.
  • While staff living in the residential dorm have been evacuated to other housing units, NPS must still determine how to provide cooling systems and water for the facilities.
    • The park buildings rely on evaporative coolers, which pass air over water-soaked pads to lower the indoor temperature.
• As of Sunday, four people had drowned in northern New Mexico when a flash flood swept through a burn area left by the state’s largest recorded wildfire.
  • Intense heat from the Hermit’s Peak/Calf Canyon wildfire left soil unable to absorb water, turning hillsides into life-threatening debris flows during summer monsoon rains.

Wildfires

• As of Wednesday, there are currently 67 large active wildfires that have burned 1,686,642 across AK, AZ, CA, GA, ID, MT, NE, NV, NM, OR, TX, UT, WA, and WY. As of Wednesday, 40,775 wildfires have burned 5,883,577 acres across the country.
• In Alaska, 27 fires have burned 1,055,515 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Arizona, 3 fires have burned 3,201 acres as of Wednesday.
• In California, 5 fires have burned 97,809 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The McKinney Fire has burned 60,389 acres and is 60% contained as of Wednesday.
    • The McKinney Fire killed four people, including longtime Forest Service employee Kathy Shoopman.
    • Three people were treated for heat-related illnesses on Sunday.
  • The Oak Fire has burned 19,244 acres and is 98% contained as of Wednesday.
• In Georgia, 1 fire has burned 235 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Idaho, 5 fires have burned 79,889 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Montana, 6 fires have burned 27,622 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Nebraska, 1 fire has burned 724 acres as of Wednesday. 
• In Nevada, 1 fire has burned 1,966 acres as of Wednesday.
• In New Mexico, 1 fire has burned 341,735 acres as of Wednesday.
  • The Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire has burned 341,735 acres and is 98% contained as of Wednesday.
• In Oregon, 6 fires have burned 17,797 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Texas, 2 fires have burned 2,986 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Utah, 1 fire has burned 11,666 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Washington, 3 fires have burned 38,359 acres as of Wednesday.
• In Wyoming, 2 fires have burned 7,632 acres as of Wednesday.

Extreme Heat

• Consolidated Edison Inc. asked 252,000 residents in the outer boroughs of New York City to curb their energy use as high heat sears the East Coast.
  • The utility reduced voltage by 8% in parts of Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx to protect equipment while crews make unspecified repairs.
  • A heat advisory was in place for the area until 8 p.m. yesterday, with maximum temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit in recent days.
  • Con Edison asked homes and businesses in the affected areas to refrain from using power-hungry appliances such as washers, dryers, and microwaves until the crew completes repairs.
• On Tuesday, New Jersey issued its first drought watch since 2016 and asked residents to conserve water.

New Reports And Data

• An August 2022 study found that drought increases the amount of microbe-laden dust landing in Sierras.
• An August 2022 study found that rapid warming in the Gulf of Maine reverses 900 years of cooling.