Facts Of The Day 7/19

Extreme Heat

• North Dakota is facing drought conditions not seen since the early 2000’s.

• Baby birds of prey have been jumping out of their nests to escape the extreme heat in states including Oregon and California.

• A lack of heat danger awareness has led to heat-related deaths that are mostly preventable.

• A reported 3,500 people in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska made emergency room visits for heat-related illnesses in May and June 2021.

• Extreme heat and drought have ruined this year’s crop of Christmas trees in Oregon.

• Extreme weather events such as droughts and hurricanes have driven Guatamalans to seek asylum in the US.

• Boise, Idaho saw a record-breaking 20th straight day of highs of 95 degrees or more on Thursday.

• Salt Lake City, Utah, tied its record high of 104 degrees on Sunday.

Wildfires

• There are currently 80 large wildfires active across AZ, CA, CO, ID, MN, MT, NM, UT, WA and WY. 1,174,486 acres have burned so far this year across these states.

• 3 new large fires were reported across Idaho and Montana and 4 large fires were reported contained on Monday.

• 80 fires across 13 states have burned more than 1 million acres, mostly in Western states. Montana has the most large wildfires at 18, with Idaho second with 17 wildfires.

• Erratic winds, dry Oregon forests and other factors contributed to the Western wildfires.

• Flagstaff, Arizona has declared a state of emergency after being hit with devastating floods that appear to have been accelerated by a severe 2019 wildfire that burned away vegetation that would have slowed the flow of water.

• In California, The Tamarack Fire spawned a pyrocumulus cloud, which has the potential to create lightning storms.

• Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed a disaster declaration for the Muddy Slide Fire on Friday that is intended to help state agencies better coordinate their fire suppression, response and recovery efforts.

• One new wildfire was reported in Oregon on Thursday – The Elbow Creek Fire burned 100 acres and was 0% contained. On Thursday, the Joseph Canyon Fire was contained after burning 100 acres.

• Parts of Idaho are under a red flag warning for critical fire conditions beginning Monday and through Tuesday, with the possibility that thunderstorms and lightning could spark new wildfires.

• One new wildfire was reported in Idaho on Monday – The Lynx Creek Fire burned 100 acres and was 0% contained. One fire was contained on Monday – The Too Kush 2 burned 1,341 acres.

• Three Canadian wildfires have the potential to spread into Minnesota.

• Parts of Montana continue to see declining air quality as smoke and haze from wildfires in the state spread.

• Two new fires sparked in Montana on Sunday – the Outlaw fire burned 577 acres and was 57% contained and the Wolf Coulee Fire burned 733 acres and was 30% contained as of Monday. Two fires were contained – the Brewstew Fire burned 156 acres and the MY Complex Fire burned 27,811 acres.

• In Oregon, the Bootleg Fire burned 294, 307 acres and was 25% contained as of Monday night. The Bootleg Fire has grown to the size of the city of Los Angeles as of Monday.

• Washington firefighters have already responded to more than 900 fires as of July 2021.

• Washington officials adopted emergency rules to protect outdoor workers from the dangers of smoke exposure on Friday.

• One new fire sparked in Wyoming on Sunday – the Dry Fork Fire, which burned 500 acres and was 0% contained.

Hurricanes

• Hurricane Felicia continued to weaken Sunday night. At around 11 PM Sunday, Felicia had sustained winds of 100 MPH and was located 1,590 miles east-southeast of Hilo, Hawaii. Felicia was moving west at about 12 MPH.

  • Felicia is expected to weaken to a post tropical remnant with maximum winds of 30 MPH by Friday, and as it continues to move hundreds of miles south of the Hawaiian islands it will not threaten land.

• Tropical Storm Guillermo had maximum sustained winds of 45 MPH and was moving west at 15 MPH, about 525 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California as of Sunday at 11 PM.

  • Guillermo is expected to weaken to a post-tropical remnant low with winds of 25 MPH by Friday as it moves into the Central Pacific. Guillermo will also not pose any threat to land.

• Miami’s Surfside condo collapse has intensified fears of displacement that has already been happening due to climate change.

• Puerto Ricans are concerned about the stability of the island’s power grid due to the upcoming hurricane season.

• Hurricane season in the Atlantic is projected to be quiet through the end of July but is likely to see an increase in activity in August.

Climate Studies

• A July 2021 study found that at least 20% of intact forest landscapes worldwide overlap with mining, oil and gas activities putting at least 376,449 square miles of land at risk.
• A July 2021 study found that cities will need to engage in multiple tactics to combat climate change.
• A July 2021 report found that only 10.6% of the $17.2 trillion in COVID relief funds in major economies will help the environment.