Facts Of The Day 9/21

Extreme Heat

• The Biden Administration announced it is writing new workplace rules to protect outdoor workers such as farm laborers and construction workers from excessive heat.

• Yields of wine grapes on a farm near Lake Sonoma, California, are down 15% to 30% due to issues such as wildfire smoke, the COVID pandemic, and drought.

• North Dakota farmers have had multiple issues with extreme heat in the summer of 2021, including pests that have consumed Brussel sprout plants and excessive weed growth.

• The ongoing drought has lowered the level of water in Utah’s Rockport Reservoir down to 26%, revealing the remnants of a ghost town.

• One California farmer decided to begin growing coffee trees in the hopes the profit from coffee beans can offset water prices as the drought continues.

• Washington residents may find that they are now eligible to get a new air conditioning unit, repair or replace old ones and pay energy bills under a program previously reserved for heating.

• As of Tuesday, 16 counties in Washington are at their driest levels in the state’s history since record-keeping began in 1895.

• Pinellas County, Florida, has collected 1837 tons of dead fish as of Monday due to the 2021 red tide that lasted from May through August, compared to 1862 tons collected from the August 2018 bloom that lasted through the winter of 2019.

• The Texas Public Utility Commission announced it would begin a search for new board members on Monday after a law was passed earlier this year requiring its members to live in the state and several members resigned in the wake of February’s storm.

• The Orleans Parish in Louisiana filed a lawsuit on Monday against utility Entergy for power outages in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, with some bayou parishes still not seeing any return of electricity 22 days after the storm.

Wildfires

• As of Tuesday, there are currently 68 large active wildfires that have burned 3,170,602 acres across CA, CO, ID, MN, MT, NV, WA, OR, UT, WA and WY. This year to date, 45,339 wildfires have burned 5,700,268 acres across the country.

• Nevada’s bear hunting season will open, despite concerns that wildfires and drought have caused loss of habitat, caused fire-related injuries such as burned paws and have made food sources more scarce.

• California’s Insurance Commissioner has announced that insurance companies are banned from dropping homeowners affected by wildfires for 1 year, which affects about 325,000 homeowners across 22 counties.

• In California, 9 fires have burned 1,883,805 as of Tuesday.

  • As of Monday afternoon, 3,762 people across 4 counties had been evacuated due to wildfires and 5 people were in 2 shelters statewide.

  • The Caldor Fire burned 219,101 acres and was 76% contained as of Tuesday.

    • California state agencies are beginning their assessments of damage from the Caldor Fire, including collecting dangerous materials burned by the fire, including batteries, used oil and propane tanks.

  • The KNP Complex Fire burned 25,020 acres and was 0% contained as of Tuesday.

    • Satellite imagery revealed how close the KNP Complex Fire is to the Giant Forest with the 2,300 year old General Sherman tree.

    • As of Tuesday, Sequoia National Park and portions of Kings Canyon National Park are closed to the public.

    • Parts of Tulare County were issued evacuation warnings on Monday.

    • Satellite imagery revealed how close the KNP Complex Fire is to the Giant Forest with the 2,300 year old General Sherman tree.

• In Colorado, 1 fire has burned a total of 3,792 acres as of Tuesday.

• In Idaho, 21 fires have burned a total of 246,562 acres as of Tuesday.

• In Minnesota, 1 fire has burned a total of 26,797 acres as of Tuesday.

• In Montana, 12 fires have burned a total of 272,922 acres as of Tuesday.

• In Oregon, 7 fires have burned a total of 292,928 acres as of Tuesday.

• In Utah, 1 fire has burned a total of 1,466 acres as of Tuesday.

• In Washington, 8 fires have burned a total of 330,188 acres as of Tuesday.

• In Wyoming, 4 fires have burned a total of 16,270 acres as of Tuesday.

Hurricanes

• As of Tuesday morning, Tropical Storm Peter was located just north-northwest of the northern Leeward Islands with winds measuring at 50 MPH.

  • Peter is expected to make an eventual turn to the north and move away from land before dying out over open waters.

• As of Tuesday morning, Tropical Storm Rose was located about 800 miles west-northwest of the Cabo Verde Islands while moving to the northwest at 45 MPH.

  • Rose is forecast to move north and eventually deteriorate over the Atlantic.

• New Orleans, Louisiana residents threw a “trash parade” to protest the lack of garbage collection since August 29th in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida, which also exacerbated the availability of workers.

• A lack of coordinated plans for the incarcerated population of Louisiana left more than 50,000 people to cope with flooding, power outages, and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic during Hurricane Ida despite evacuation orders.

• Social media changed how people experienced Hurricane Ida, including access to key information, warnings about floods, and other storm risks as well as engaging on the issue of environmental justice in the immediate aftermath.

• Export terminals have been slowly reopening along the Louisiana Gulf Coast after Hurricane Ida, increasing exports of U.S. grain shipments.

• Thousands in New Jersey remain homeless in the wake of Hurricane Ida as of Monday, including 600 people from 1 Section 8 apartment complex in the city of Elizabeth.

• New Jersey residents claimed no one answered emergency helplines during Hurricane Ida and that first responders abandoned people, including children, clinging to trees in floodwaters.

Climate Studies