National Situation Update: Monday, June 30, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West
Afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms are forecast for areas from the Cascades eastward into western Montana and southward into the high country of New Mexico and Arizona. Some of the storms will contain dry lightning that may ignite additional wildfires.

Northeast
Scattered showers and thunderstorms are possible in parts of the northeast as a cold front moves eastward to the Atlantic Coast. One or two of the storms could turn severe.

South
Showers and thunderstorms will be scattered across the eastern Carolinas, south Georgia and Florida as well as from the Florida Panhandle westward along the Gulf Coast and over the southern half of Texas. The southern Appalachians and eastern Tennessee could see isolated storms and showers.

Midwest
A few showers and isolated storms are forecast over southeast Michigan, Ohio, eastern Indiana and eastern Kentucky. The flood-prone areas of the Midwest will be dry today. (National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Midwest Severe Weather and Flooding

The USDA Farm Service Agency estimates 11,032,589 acres are damaged, destroyed or prevented from planting. Some sections of the Locks and Dams on the upper Mississippi remain closed. Levees and dams are mostly stable and holding; the USACE and local responders are actively maintaining them.
So far, 41 levees were breached or overtopped; 21 levees remain threatened. Water levels are still too high in many areas for comprehensive damage assessments. (USACE, USDA, Regions V, VII)

FEMA Region V RRCC:
Level II, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CDT (M-F)
A FEMA State Liaison is active in the Illinois EOC.
Joint PA and IA PDAs are ongoing in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Illinois: The State EOC remains fully activated. The Red Cross reported one shelter open with a population of six. FEMA Region V IMAT has a reduced staff that remains active in the Illinois EOC.
Indiana: EOC is activated. Nine FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are open.
Wisconsin: State EOC fully activated. Red Cross reports one shelter with a population of 11. FEMA Region II ERT-A on site in Madison at JFO. Five FEMA Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (MDRCs) supporting 10 FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs)

FEMA Region VII RRCC:
Level II, 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CDT (M-F)
Joint IA and PA PDAs are ongoing.
Iowa: State EOC is at normal duty hours. Red Cross reports five shelters with a population of 181. Region IV IMAT is deployed to JFO in support of FEMA-1763-DR-IA
Missouri: State EOC will return to normal EOC operations effective today. Red Cross reports three shelters with a population of 19. USACE-St. Louis District continues to monitor 3 levees between Hannibal and St. Louis with high potential for overtopping. USACE projects reopening of Locks & Dams 21-24 on July 4, with Locks & Dams 21-24 reopening on July 5. Department of Transportation (DOT) reports 61 road closures. (FEMA Region V, VII, NWS)

California Wildfires

CA OES is fully activated from 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. PDT, with limited night staff.
FEMA Region IX has Liaison Officers at SOC and North Operations Center in Redding, CA and South Operations Center in Riverside, CA.
There have been 49 injuries attributed to the fires; no fatalities.
Red Cross have 4 shelters open with a population 55.

Current Situation:
State, local, and federal firefighters continue to battle wildfires throughout California. Numerous lightning down strikes were reported in eastern Lassen and Modoc counties on Sunday. Mandatory and/or precautionary evacuations have been ordered in areas of eight counties.

Federal Support:
Six Modular Airborne Fighting Systems (MAFFS) are deployed in support of the State of California. The aircraft are based at McClellan Airport in Sacramento. 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, Idaho. California is activating the Military Coordination Group to synchronize and coordinate military resources from all branches and components. 373 National Guardsmen from CA, OR, NV, AZ, and NC are supporting the fire fighting air and ground response.

Statistics to date: 1,420 fires; 396,076 acres burned; 19,622 firefighting personnel committed. 24 residences have been destroyed; 7,680 residences remain threatened. (CA Dept of Forestry and Fire Protection,Region IX, NIFC)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

Fire Management Assistance Grant FEMA-2779-FM-AZ was approved for the Lane 2 Fire in Yavapai County near Crown King, Arizona, 40 miles SE of Prescott, AZ. The Lane 2 Fire is approximately 125 acres and has resulted in the mandatory evacuation of 150 residents and unknown vacationers from the town of Crown King. There are 300 homes, three businesses, Post Office, Ranger Station District Office, Campgrounds, watershed, and Communications Towers threatened. Two structures have been lost and the fire line is up to the community. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours

Eastern Pacific:
At 5:00 a.m. EDT June 30, Tropical Storm Boris was located 830 miles southwest of the southern tip of Baja California moving west at 13 mph. Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph. Although Boris has the potential to become a hurricane during the next day or so, a weakening trend is expected to begin within the next 24-48 hours.

At 5:00 a.m. EDT June 30, the center of Tropical Storm Cristina was about 1,440 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Cristina is moving toward the west near 10 mph. This general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds are near 45 mph. Slow weakening is expected to occur during the next 2 days.

Western Pacific:
No threat to US territories. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

USGS reported a magnitude 5.1 earthquake off the coast of Oregon at 3:33 p.m. EDT Sunday, at a depth of 6.2 miles. A more recent earthquake of 4.1 magnitude early Monday in the same general area and depth was also reported. No injury or damage reports were received, and no tsunami statement generated.

USGS reported a 6.7 magnitude earthquake east of the South Sanwich Islands, at 2:17 a.m. on Monday, June 30. Depth was 6.2 miles. A tsunami information statement was issued to indicate that there was no threat. No reports of damage or injury.
(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
Initial attack activity: Light (189 new fires)
New large fires: 5
Uncontained large fires: 49
Large fires contained: 4

Weather Discussion:
Thunderstorms are expected to continue across portions of northern California, Oregon and the Sierra Nevada, as well as spread into Washington and the Northern Rockies. The thunderstorms will be initially dry but become wetter with time. A mixture of wet and dry thunderstorms will continue over Arizona and New Mexico. A few thunderstorms with limited moisture are on tap for western Nevada, eastern Utah and western Colorado. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity