Facts Of The Day 7/1

Extreme Heat

• More than 50 million people in the United States remain under heat alerts as of Thursday morning. 
• Heat waves in the United States have led to an increase in heat related deaths.
  • The Oregon State Examiner’s office reported 63 heat-related deaths on Wednesday.
  • One Oregon farm worker died on Saturday possibly from heat-related causes.
  • The medical examiner’s office for Washington’s King’s County said on Wednesday that 13 people died of heat-related causes.
• 1,300 people made emergency room visits for heat-related issues in Washington State throughout the heat wave.
• 486 people on the western coast of Canada died from what is suspected to be heat-related causes over a five day period. This represents a 195% increase of approxminiately 165 deaths that normally occur within a five day period. 
• Parts of Montana are under a heat advisory, including the Flathead and Mission valleys, West Glacier region, the Missoula and Bitterroot valleys, Potomac and Seeley Lake region and with excessive heat warnings in the Kootenai, Cabinet and Lower Clark Fork regions.
• Parts of Montana saw record-breaking temperatures on Tuesday, including the cities of Kalispell (98), Missoula (101) and Libby (109).

Hurricanes

• Tropical Storm Elsa formed Thursday morning over the tropical Atlantic with maximum sustained winds of 40 MPH.
  • Elsa was located 65 miles east-southeast of the Windward Islands and was moving west at 28 MPH as of Thursday morning. Over the next 24 hours, the storm’s winds are expected to increase.
  • Else is projected to possibly pass over Central Florida on Tuesday morning. 
• Tropical Storm Enrique was expected to continue weakening and be downgraded to a tropical depression on Wednesday.
• Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer declared a state of emergency for Wayne County following severe flooding from last week’s rain.
  • 52 of Wayne State University’s 117 buildings saw some degree of water damage, with six of those buildings closed. 
  • Nine pumps on the I-94 freeway failed during last week’s rains due to power outages.
• Clean up efforts continued across parts of Illinois following rains over the weekend that caused damage and flooding.
  • Multiple suburban roads remain closed due to flooding.
  • McLean County’s board chair declared the county a disaster area, with damage assessments pending to see if the county meets the $20 million threshold for state funding.

Wildfires

• There are currently 43 large wildfires active across AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, MT, NM, and UT. Nationally, 667,509 acres have burned so far this year. 
• President Joe Biden announced plans to hike federal firefighter pay to at least $15 an hour and offer new incentives for retention.
• In 2020, FEMA denied 70% of wildfire claims in Oregon and 86% of wildfire claims in California.

• Smoke from California wildfires are expected to reach areas including eastern Washington, eastern Oregon and parts of Idaho
• Scientists proposed installing 1,000 cameras across California by 2022 to monitor wildfire ignition and growth to detect fires sooner.
• 23 fires continue to burn in Arizona as the dry season continues with not enough rain to provide relief.
• In Arizona, the Rafael Fire has burned more than 78,000 acres and was 70% contained as of Wednesday evening. Evacuation orders were lifted for nearby communities on Wednesday evening, but the Coconino, Kaibab and Prescott national forests all remain closed to visitors.
• Pacific Gas and Electric proposed an 18% rate hike to the California Public Utilities Commission, claiming the estimated 3.6 billion revenue from the hike would go to wildfire reduction efforts.
• In California, the Lava Fire in Siskiyou County has burned through almost 17,591 acres and was 19% contained as of Wednesday evening. At least 8,000 people remain under evacuation orders as of Wednesday evening, and the fire threatens marijuana farms in the area.
  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the state had received a Fire Management Assistance Grant from FEMA to fight the fire. 
• In California, the Tennant Fire has burned 8,159 acres and was 6% contained as of Wednesday evening. Nearby areas were ordered to evacuate Wednesday evening, and the fire is currently just 25 miles apart from the Lava Fire. 
• In California, the Salt Fire burning north of Redding nearly tripled in size to 2,800 acres between Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning, with no containment. Evacuations were ordered for the Lakehead area.
• In Colorado, the Muddy Slide Fire in South Routt County burned 4,093 acres and was 28% contained as of Wednesday night. The fire has cost $3.1 million to contain as of Wednesday.
• Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency due to wildfire threats on Wednesday.
• In Oregon, Incident 422 near the Redmond Air Center burned 200 acres as of Wednesday. Residents on the east side of Redmond were ordered to evacuate Wednesday.
• In Oregon, the Wrentham Market Fire, near the town of Dufur, has burned about 10,000 acres with unknown containment as of Wednesday night. 70-100 people in the nearby area were ordered to evacuate Wednesday, and at least one structure had been destroyed by the fire.

Climate Studies

• A report published in June 2021 found that building clean energy infrastructure could de-stress earthquake regions, making them less prone to earthquakes.