Facts Of The Day 7/29

Extreme Heat

• Farmworkers are 20 times more likely to die from heat-related illnesses than other workers in the United States.

  • Every year, more than 700 people die and 67,512 people visit the emergency room due to extreme heat in the US.

• Extreme heat has caused highways near Flora, Mississippi to buckle on Wednesday.

• The end of the CDC’s eviction ban could leave at least 125,000 households in Oregon at risk for extreme heat and wildfire smoke exposure unless they get housing.

• The US population continues to grow in the Southwest and Mountain West, which are among the most drought-prone regions of the country.

• The prospect of a drought that could last decades or even centuries is causing Napa Valley, California grape growers to cancel plans to replant crops or worry about water well levels.

• California wineries face higher insurance rates due to insurance companies raising rates or even having left the state due to wildfires.

• Residents in the Russian River region north of Sonoma County in California are now seeing complete water cuts to agricultural users despite mandatory rationing.

• As of Wednesday, all of Utah is in either extreme or exceptional drought conditions.

• Wildlife biologists in Utah are planning to transport water for the bighorn sheep on Antelope Island, as the water in the Great Salt Lake has sunk to a record low due to the drought.

• Michigan’s Great Lakes may be seeing a greater threat from airborne algal bloom toxins than previously thought.

• Red tide continues to linger in the Sarasota and Manatee counties in Florida, while Lee and Collier counties are continuing to monitor the beaches and water as of Wednesday.

• A health alert for red tide was issued for Boca Grande Beach in Florida on Wednesday.

• Texas has nine out of ten cities recording their biggest increases in longest heat streaks out of 274 cities.

• Over half of Washington is in a severe drought and 28% is in an exceptional drought.

• Parts of South Dakota are in severe or extreme drought conditions:

  • All of Hughes County is in severe drought, with about 15% in extreme drought.

  • 51% of Stanley County is in extreme drought and the rest is in severe drought.

• Denver, Colorado broke its record for hottest July 28 by reaching 100 degrees on Wednesday.

  • Wednesday was Denver’s fifth 100 degree day of 2021, which is the third time it has done so since 1989 and 1990.

Wildfires

• There are currently 82 large wildfires that have burned 1,694,927 acres across AK, AZ, CA, CO, ID, MT, NV, SD, UT, WA and WY.

• 3 new large fires were reported across Alaska, Idaho, and Minnesota and 2 large fires were reported contained on Tuesday.

• Firefighters in Arizona have been able to travel to California, Montana and Oregon to assist with other wildfires after monsoons have helped calm wildfire activity within the state.

• In 2020, 4.2 acres in California were burned in wildfires – the equivalent of the area of Los Angeles, Orange, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties combined.

  • 15,000 lightning strikes struck in central and northern California on the weekend of August 15th, 2021, igniting multiple fires.

  • 193 of 935 requests made by California for assistance from neighboring states were answered.

  • By mid-August 2020, 14,000 firefighters were working in the state, with 18,500 firefighters fighting blazes at the height of wildfire activity.

  • From 2019-2020, California wildfires released 112 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

  • At the height of the wildfires in 2020, CalFire managed 132 aircraft a day to drop 11 million gallons of retardant and 18 million gallons of water.

  • CalFire needed more than $1 billion to fight the 2020 wildfires.

  • A total of 31 people died during California’s 2020 wildfire season, with 15 of those deaths from the North Complex Fire, which burned 318 acres and destroyed almost 2,500 structures.

• One new fire sparked in Idaho on Wednesday – the Deer Fire burned 300 acres and was 0% contained. One fire was contained – the Rough Draw Fire burned 2,321 acres.

• One fire was contained in Montana on Wednesday – the Anderson Hill Fire burned 750 acres.

• The Bootleg Fire in Oregon has been burning through trees that are part of a project to offset carbon emissions.

• Temperatures topping 100 degrees are forecast for parts of Oregon from Thursday morning through Saturday evening, heightening the risk for wildfires.

Hurricanes

• Areas from the Mississippi River to Lake Michigan region were drenched by storms on Wednesday after storms formed in northwestern Wisconsin.

  • Storms in Wisconsin ended around 2AM on Thursday, along with the expiration of the tornado warnings for Milwaukee and Racine Counties

  • About 80,000 electricity customers in the Milwaukee, Wisconsin area were without power as of 2AM Thursday morning. An additional 20,500 customers in central and northeast Wisconsin were also affected by power outages Thursday morning.

  • Tornado warnings were issued for Waukesha and Jefferson counties at 1:13 AM Thursday until 1:45 AM.

  • Multiple trees and power lines were reported down in Tomahawk and Wausau, Wisconsin, on Wednesday night.

• After an 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday night, a tsunami warning was issued for South Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands.

  • The tsunami warning had been cancelled as of Thursday morning.

  • A tsunami watch had been issued for Hawaii but was cancelled as of Thursday morning.

Climate Studies

• A July 2021 study found that the Dead Sea continues to shrink due to factors including climate change and human overuse of water.

• A July 2021 study found that the climate conditions can affect the ability of mature female Antarctic krill to reproduce.

• A July 2021 study projected that cutting 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions in 2020 could have saved about 226 lives worldwide.