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National Situation Update: Sunday, June 29, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Midwest
More showers and scattered strong thunderstorms are expected over the Great Lakes. The flooded parts of the Midwest are forecast to be dry through Tuesday, but thunderstorms and rain will return later Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures across the Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and mid-Mississippi Valley will reach the 70s, but in Upper Michigan top temperatures will be in the 60s.

West
Lightning from dry thunderstorms in the northern Rockies, northern California and Oregon could heighten the fire danger in Oregon and ignite more fires in northern California. The Central Valley of California will experience temperatures ranging from the upper 90s to near 105. Smoke from fires will continue to make the air quality dangerously poor in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys. Across the Northwest highs will move above 90 degrees, and in some areas over 100 degrees, in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. A heat advisory has been issued for parts of Washington and Oregon including Seattle and Portland. Showers and scattered thunderstorms are forecast for Colorado and New Mexico.

Northeast
A cold front will move through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic accompanied by severe thunderstorms and rain. High temperatures will range from the 70s in the Appalachians and points west to the 80s in the Hudson Valley and Northeast Corridor, Boston to Washington.

South
A cold front will move into the South causing thunderstorms in the drought areas of Texas and the Southeast. Clouds and rain could keep many locations in the 80s even ahead of the cold front. (National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Midwest Severe Weather and Flooding

USDA Farm Service Agency estimates 11,032,589 acres are damaged, destroyed or prevented from planting due to flooding events. Water levels are still too high in many areas for comprehensive damage assessments. Upper Mississippi River Locks and Dams are closed from L&D 19 to L&D 22. Kaskaskia Lock remains closed. Levees and dams are mostly stable and holding. The USACE and local responders are actively maintaining awareness of the situation. Rail traffic has been restored through the affected areas on the Los Angeles-Chicago route of the Amtrak. (USACE, USDA, Regions V, VII)

FEMA Region V RRCC:
The Region is Activated at Level II, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CDT. FEMA State Liaisons are active in the Illinois EOC. Joint PA and IA PDAs in Illinois and Indiana are ongoing.
Illinois:
The State EOC is fully activated. One shelter was open with a population of six as of midnight Friday, June 27. The JFO in Springfield was operational Saturday, June 28. FEMA Region V IMAT has a reduced staff remaining active in the Illinois EOC
Indiana:
The State EOC is activated. Four fatalities and 42 injuries are attributed to this event (Reported by JFO). 283 structures have been destroyed and 4,895 damaged. The Mission Planning Team, deployed to the JFO to scope housing issues with the State as part of a Joint Housing Task Force, is progressing. Joint Individual Assistance (IA)/Public Assistance (PA) Preliminary Damage Assesments (PDAs) are ongoing. Nine FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are open (FEMA-1766-DR-IN SITREP #12)
Wisconsin:
The State EOC is fully activated 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CDT. One shelter was open with a population of 19 as of midnight Friday, June 27. The FEMA Region II ERT-A is on site in Madison at the JFO. Five FEMA Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (MDRCs) are supporting nine FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs).

FEMA Region VII RRCC:
The Region is Activated at Level II, 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CDT. Region IV IMAT is deployed to the JFO in Iowa in support of FEMA-1763-DR-IA.
Iowa:
The State EOC is operating at normal duty hours. Five shelters were open with a population of 184 as of midnight Friday, June 27. IA and PA PDAs are ongoing.
Missouri:
The State EOC is activated at Level I daily with SEMA staff only and a limited night staff. Two shelters were open with a population of 29 as of midnight Friday, June 27. The Pin Oak Levee in Winfield, MO breached with no reported Critical Infrastructure Key Resources (CIKR) impact. An estimated 100-150 households were evacuated. DOT reports 58 road closures in the State. (FEMA Region V, VII, NWS)

Nebraska Severe Storms

Severe storms moved across northeast Nebraska and produced 80 mph winds and large hail on the afternoon of June 27. The storm affected the counties of Douglas (City of Omaha), Dodge, Sarpy, Saunders and Washington.

The American Red Cross (ARC) set up two shelters in the Omaha area with a total of four occupants overnight. ARC will also open up some Respite Centers in the Omaha area.  The Centers will provide food and water to citizens and emergency workers as well as a place to get out of the heat.

The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) reports 45,000 customers are without power as of Saturday evening (peak outage was 120,000 customers). OPPD estimates it may take up to a week to fully restore power in some areas due to heavy tree debris. Power has been restored at the waste water treatment plant in Omaha. Initial reports indicate approximately 160 homes in Dodge County received some type of damage. The state is working to determine if these are secondary lake homes.  Additionally, a report indicates a trailer park received some storm damage.

The State EOC is not activated. No Federal assistance has been requested; however, the State continues to closely coordinate with the FEMA Nebraska State Liaison at the Joint Field Office (JFO) in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Region VII)

California Wildfires

The CA OES is fully activated from 7:00 am- 7:00 pm PDT, with limited night staff. FEMA Region IX liaison officers at SOC and North Operations Center in Redding,  and South Operations Center in Riverside. No fatalities have been reported; however, 96 injuries are attributed to the fires

Current Situation: State, local and federal firefighters continue to battle hundreds of wildfires throughout California and are preparing for light to moderate dry thunderstorm activity through the weekend. Fires are actively burning and continue to spread. New fires are being identified on a regular basis.
Fires: 1,345
Acres: 340,233
Personnel Committed: 17,264
Resources Committed: Engines: 1,194; Crews: 451; Dozers: 296; Water Tenders: 351; 
Helicopters: 85
Highway closures: State highways and local roads are closed throughout California due to wildfire activities.
Evacuations: Areas of Butte, Mendocino, Monterey, Shasta, Tehama and Trinity counties are under evacuation orders at this time. Precautionary evacuation orders are in place for areas in Butte, Mariposa, Mendocino, Trinity and Shasta counties. Residents are advised to monitor the fire situation in their areas, check with local law enforcement agencies for information, and be prepared to evacuate when necessary.
Structures: 7,369 residences, 123 commercial, and 2,796 outbuildings are threatened. 28 residences, 1 commercial, and 28 outbuildings have been destroyed. (CA Department of Forestry and Fire Protection)

Federal Support: 
Six MAFFS are deployed in support of the State of California. The aircraft are based at McCleland Airport in Sacramento, CA. (National Interagency Coordination Center IMSR) A National Incident Organization  (NIMO) Team is assigned as a planning and operational group in support of the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group at Boise, ID. California is activating the Military Coordination Group to synchronize and coordinate military resources from all branches and components (Region IX, NIFC)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours
Eastern Pacific:
At 11:00 p.m. EDT, Tropical Storm Boris was located 625 miles south of the southern tip of Baja California moving west at 9 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph. Boris is expected to be moving over progressively cooler waters. The official forecast is very similar to the previous advisory and calls for slow weakening. 

At 11:00 p.m. EDT, the center of Tropical Storm Cristina was about 1195 mileswest-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Cristina is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph. The storm is expected to turn toward the west by Monday with little change in forward speed. Maximum sustained winds are near 50 mph  with higher gusts. Gradual weakening is expected to occur during the next two days. Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Western Pacific:
No threat to US territories. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred Saturday, June 28, 2008 at 10:44 a.m. EDT in Central California, about nine miles east southeast from Mammoth Lakes, CA, at a reported depth of  7.6 miles. No damages or injuries reported. (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Wildfire Preparedness Level: 4
As of Saturday, June 28, initial attack activity was Light, with 189 new fires. Six of the new fires were large. Three large fires were contained; however 51 fires remain uncontained.
Weather Discussion: 
Scattered thunderstorms this weekend are expected over much of northern California, the Pacific Northwest, Sierras and far western Nevada. The thunderstorms will be initially dry but should become wetter with time. Southern California will be hot and dry. A mixture of wet and dry thunderstorms will continue over Arizona and New Mexico. Hot weather and a few thunderstorms are on tap for the Great Basin and western Colorado. Much of the Southeast will see scattered showers and thunderstorms this weekend. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

On June 28, 2008, EM-3287 was declared for the state of California for wildfires on June 20, 2008, and continuing.  Approved assistance is for emergency protective measures (Category B), limited to direct Federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program at 75 percent Federal funding.  This assistance is for the counties of Butte, Mendocino, Monterey, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, and Trinity.

On June 28, 2008, Amendment #11 was added to FEMA-1763-DR-IA to include Public Assistance for 5 counties and one county for Individual Assistance.   

On June 28, 2008, Amendment #1 was added to FEMA-1773-DR-MO to include Individual Assistance for 7 counties.(FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:35:10 EDT