Facts Of The Day 7/22

Extreme Heat

• • Drought conditions have damaged or destroyed wheat crops, driving up the price of bread and other baked goods.

  • Kansas City, Missouri, could see its first heat wave since 2019 beginning Friday and lasting into next week.

  • North Texas is forecast to see its first 100 degree days next week.

  • Portland, Oregon, has formed a task force to address future heat waves.

  • Doctors are increasingly using body bags filled with ice and water to treat heat emergencies.

  • Due to the drought, Montana farmers are forced to wait to harvest alfalfa, which has caused the price of hay to spike.

  • Drought conditions in parts of Utah have become so severe that the city of Oakley has halted construction on new homes.

  • The drought in the Western part of the United States has now lasted longer than the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.

    • Ranchers in North Dakota have reduced their herds by 10% to 25%, partially due to a lack of animal feed.

Wildfires

• • There are currently 79 large wildfires that have burned 1,448,053 acres across AZ, CA, CO, ID, MN, MT, NM, NV UT, WA and WY.

  • 4 new large fires were reported across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming and 3 large fires were reported contained on Wednesday.

  • Climate change and poor forest management has caused a spike in wildfires to burn in areas where they were previously rare.

  • Western wildfires are disrupting the lumber industry’s chain supply, which has been recovering from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

  • California utility provider PG&E announced on Wednesday that it would bury power lines in areas where wildfire risk is the highest at a cost of up to $30 billion.

  • Mayor of Grand Junction, Colorado, John Suthers may ask voters to consider a ballot measure that would allow the city to keep an extra $15 million in tax revenue for wildfire mitigation efforts.

  • One new wildfire was reported in Idaho on Wednesday – the Lusk Fire burned 2,000 acres and was 50% contained. One fire was contained – the Fritzer Fire burned 100 acres.

  • One new fire sparked in Montana on Wednesday – the Long Spur Fire burned 500 acres and was 0% contained. One fire was contained on Tuesday – the South Tullock Creek Fire burned 1,186 acres.

  • 19 of Oregon’s 36 counties are experiencing drought emergencies as of July 2021 with more to be expected as the wildfire season continues.

  • Oregon’s Almeda fire in September 2020 burned down 2,800 homes and some of those residents remain in hotels, unable to find affordable housing as of July 2021.

  • The Bootleg Fire burned 395,463 acres and was 32% contained as of Wednesday afternoon. Lightning has been cited as the cause of the Bootleg Fire. The Bootleg Fire has destroyed at least 67 homes and more than 100 structures. Around 3,400 dwellings are listed as threatened as of Wednesday.
  • One new fire sparked in Utah on Wednesday – the Black Pine Fire burned 563 acres and was 40% contained.

Hurricanes

• • Parts of northern Florida, Georgia and South Carolina could see more rainfall beginning Friday and into the weekend due to an area of low pressure that is expected to form off of the coast of northern Florida and the Georgia Atlantic coast late this week.

    • The low pressure area has a chance of becoming a more organized tropical system because of the warm Gulf Stream waters off of Florida.

    • The low pressure area is forecast to drift out to sea early next week.

New Reports And Data

• A July 2021 study found that low-income countries are significantly more likely to be impacted by climate change and toxic pollution.

• A July 2021 study found that better energy management in buildings could cut the need for gas or coal-powered energy generation by one-third.

• A July 2021 report found that nature-based solutions such as planting trees in streets, are critical for cities to adapt to climate change.