National Situation Update: Sunday, May 20, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Forecast

Midwest:
Severe weather including strong to severe thunderstorms, high winds, large hail and a few tornadoes are possible on the Great Plains of eastern Montana, northeastern Wyoming and the western Dakotas.

West:
Thunderstorms are forecast over most of the Rockies, from New Mexico and West Texas to Montana and Idaho. Thunderstorms may be severe by the afternoon and evening in eastern Montana and northern Wyoming, with hail and high winds. 

The strongest storms over the next day or two should be across West Texas and New Mexico; the slow-moving storms will be capable of producing areas of heavy rain that cannot be absorbed by the dry ground, resulting in incidents of flash flooding.

South:
High temperatures will be in the low to mid-80s from the Carolinas to Texas. 

Unusually low humidity, lack of precipitation, and the continuance of the severe Southeast drought continues to create an environment of fire danger, particularly in southern Georgia and northern Florida. Little drought or fire relief is expected until possibly late next week.

Showers and thunderstorms are possible in South Florida.

Northeast:
Scattered showers are expected from northern New England to the Middle Atlantic States.  (NWS, Media Sources)

Florida Wildfire Overview

Paterson Fire: A 1,500-acre wildfire started on May 18, 2007 in Hendry County, eighteen miles east of Lehigh Acres, FL and is burning in the Okaloacoochee Slough State Forest. The fire is not currently threatening structures and is 60% contained.

Florida Bugaboo Fire: The 121,319-acre fire in Baker and Columbia Counties continues to burn within the interior, but has not progressed beyond the previous boundary. The fire is 80% contained.  All evacuations for the Florida portion of the Bugaboo Fire have now been lifted.  Cause: lightning.

Dairy Road Fire: The 15, 009-acre fire in Bradford County is 80% contained. Cause: lightning.

Deland Complex: The Deland Complex is composed of three fires; (1) the 6,575-acre WF Airport Road Fire in Flagler County (85% contained), (2) the 881-acre Red Oak Fire in Lake County (95% contained) and (3) the 2,551-acre Lee Fire in Lake County (95% contained).

Middle of Nowhere Fire: The 6,500-acre fire in Charlotte County is 90% contained. Fire is in Cypress Swamp with heavy fuel. No immediate threat to structures. Cause: lightning.

BICY Complex- The fire is located in the Big Cypress National Preserve near Sunniland, FL in Collier County. It was started by lightning on May 4, 2007. It is 21,500 acres and 45% contained. This is a complex of multiple fires: Strickland 14,000 acres, Midrest 4,400 acres, FT6 1600 acres, Trail 450 acres, HP 950 acres and other various small fires are 100 acres. (National Fire Interagency Center, Florida DOF)

Georgia Wildfire Overview

Sweat Farm Road: Started on private land 10 miles west of Waycross, GA in Ware County.  The 46,264-acre fire is 82% contained.  Structures, a state forest and refuge remain threatened.
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Big Turnaround Complex (Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge): The 105,418-acre complex in ware and Charlton Counties is 45% contained. This fire is 10 miles southeast of Waycross. Folkston and other surrounding communities remain threatened.

Bugaboo Scrub (Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge): The 159,473-acre fire 16 miles west of Folkston in Ware County is 45% contained. Fire activity on the Bugaboo Scrub Fire was light on Saturday. Winds continue to push the fire to the west.  Protection of the communities of Moniac and St. George in Georgia and the community of Baxter, Florida continue to be priorities.

Bugaboo Scrub 2 (Georgia Forestry Commission): The 5,585-acre fire in Clinch County is 50% contained. The fire is five miles east of Fargo and threatens numerous structures.  Increase of fire acreage is due to more accurate mapping. (National Interagency Fire Center, Georgia DOF)

New Jersey Wildfire

Warren Grove: The 17,270-acre fire is contained. The fire is located 25 miles north of Atlantic City. (National Interagency Fire Center)

Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 20-26, 2007.

History teaches that a lack of hurricane awareness and preparation are common threads among all major hurricane disasters. By knowing your vulnerability and what actions you should take, you can reduce the effects of a hurricane disaster.

The goal of this Hurricane Preparedness Web site is to inform the public about the hurricane hazards and provide knowledge which can be used to take action. This information can be used to save lives at work, home, while on the road, or on the water.

Hurricane hazards come in many forms: storm surge, high winds, tornadoes, and flooding. This means it is important for your family to have a plan that includes all of these hazards. Look carefully at the safety actions associated with each type of hurricane hazard and prepare your family disaster plan accordingly. But remember this is only a guide. The first and most important thing anyone should do when facing a hurricane threat is to use common sense.

You should be able to answer the following questions before a hurricane threatens:

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean: No significant activity to report.

Eastern Pacific: No significant activity to report.

Western Pacific: At 5:00 am EDT May 20, Typhoon (TY) 02W (Yutu), located approximately 600 miles southwest of Iwo Jima, has tracked northeastward at 13 mph over the past six hours.  Based on the current forecast, 02W poses no threat to U.S. interests.(NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Initial attack activity on Saturday was light with 137 new wildfires reported. There were two (2) new large fires. One (1) large fire was contained and firefighters continued fighting 18 uncontained large fires.  There are currently five Type 1 Incident Management Teams committed.

Predictive Services Discussion: Dry conditions will continue over the Southeast with increased winds over central and southern Florida. Arizona, and the southern Great Basin, will see one more day of scattered mixed wet and dry thunderstorms. (National Interagency Fire Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Monday, 21-May-2007 08:13:06 EDT