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National Situation Update: Saturday, July 12, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:
High pressure ridging in off the Pacific will keep the Pacific Northwest generally dry.  Temperatures will be 5 to 13 degrees above average reaching into the 90s in parts of Oregon, interior Washington, Idaho and Montana by tomorrow. Northern and central California will continue to have above average temperatures through the weekend but not the excessive heat of last week.   The summer monsoon will bring showers and thunderstorms to the Four Corner States to the southern Sierra and interior Southern California through the weekend. The extensive cloud cover will lower high temperatures 5 to 10 degrees below average.
Midwest:
A cold front extending from the Great Lakes region to the Texas panhandle will produce widespread precipitation. Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms are forecast from Michigan to Missouri. Some storms may produce locally heavy rain, large hail and damaging winds.   High temperatures will range in the 90s ahead of the front to the mid 60s in northern Minnesota.
South:
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and Georgia will have showery precipitation. Showers and thunderstorms will increase across the entire Southeast tomorrow as the frontal system drops into the Region.   Highs will range from the low to mid 90s over most of the Region to near 100 in parts of Texas.
Northeast:
Under a ridge of high pressure the Region will be dry except for western New York and western Pennsylvania, which will see showers from the frontal system moving out of the Great Lakes.  High temperatures will range from the 70s in Maine to 90s in Virginia. (National Weather Service, Various Media Sources).

California Wildfires

Summary:
California has a total of 1,781 fires, 1,458 are contained (81%); 323 total active fires. There are currently 23 fire complexes that are actively threatening life and property.  There are a total of 752,944 acres burned (519,121 acres for the 10 reported fires) and 19,900 personnel assigned.
California Wildfires
Fatalities - 1; Injuries - 262
ARC Reports 7 shelters with 299 occupants (as of 5:00 p.m. EDT July 11, 2008)
Structures destroyed: 100 residences; 1 commercial; 126 outbuildings for the 10 reported fires
Structures threatened: 12,924 residences; 135 commercial; 2,640 outbuildings for the 10 reported fires
State EOC is activated 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. PDT; limited night shift
There are no CIKR assets of national concern reported to be threatened or impacted.
The DOT-CMC reports closures and delays are in place for State Highways 1 (Big Sur Area), 32 and 70.
Protective Security Advisors (PSAs) continue to coordinate with state and local contacts for impact information.
FEMA NRCC is monitoring the situation and coordinating with Region IX.
FEMA Region IX RRCC is activated to Modified Level III from 7:00 a .m. - 5:00 p.m. PDT
FEMA LNOs deployed to State EOC, NorthOps Center and SouthOps Center
Other Federal Actions
Department of Defense (DOD)
U.S. Marine Corps is providing 6 CH-47 helicopters.
U.S. Navy is providing 2 CH-53 helicopters.
The NGB and AFRC are providing 8 MAFFS Systems and 8 MAFFS C130 Aircraft (Numbers do not include the MAFFS personnel for Guard and Reserves from WY, NC, and CO)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

FEMA-2784-FM-Washington was approved July 11 for Badger Mountain Complex Fire, Orondo, Douglas County.  The fire is made up of the Badger Mountain Fire and the Brown Canyon fire.  The fire has burn 13,300 acres. 220  homes have been evacuated and an additional 180 more homes may have to be evacuated.  The fire is 0% contained.  (Region X, FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Hurricane Bertha
At 5:00 a.m. EDT, the center of Bertha was located about 225 miles southeast of Bermuda.  Hurricane Bertha is moving toward the north-northwest near 5 mph. A slow motion toward the north is expected during the next couple of days. Maximum sustained winds are near 90 mph, with higher gusts. Bertha is a category one hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Little change in strength is forecast during the next couple of days.  Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center, and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 140 miles.  Based on the current warning, Bertha poses no threat to the United States.

Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Eastern Pacific:
At 5:00 a.m. EDT, the center Tropical Storm Elida (the fifth tropical storm of the season) was located about 370 miles southeast of Acapulco Mexico. Elida is moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph. And this general motion should continue during the next 36 to 48 hours. Maximum sustained winds are near 40 mph. Gradual strengthening is forecast during the next couple of days.  Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center.  Based on the current warning, Elida poses no threat to the United States.

Shower and thunderstorm activity associated with an area of low pressure located about 200 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico has diminished in size. However this system still has a short window of opportunity to become a tropical depression before it encounters cooler waters in a day or two.

Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

Western Pacific:
No tropical cyclone activity. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

On Friday, July 11, 2008 at 8:01 pm EDT an earthquake measuring 5.1 struck about 22 miles southeast of Adak, Alaska, at a depth of 39.1 miles. There were no reports of damage or injuries and there was no tsunami generated. (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 Fire Activity as of Friday July 11, 2008:
National Wildfire Preparedness Level: 5
Initial attack activity: Light (152 new fires)
New large fires: 7
Uncontained large fires: 69
Large fires contained: 8  (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

FEMA-1768-DR-Wisconsin, Amendment #12: Effective July 11, 2008 this disaster declaration is amended to include one county (La Cross County) for Public Assistance (already designated for Individual Assistance). 
FEMA-1773-DR-Missouri, Amendment #4: Effective July 11, 2008 this disaster declaration is amended to include one county (Linn County) for Individual Assistance; two counties (Gentry and Livingston Counties) for Individual and Public Assistance;  seven counties (Bates, Daviess, Grundy, Harrison, Mercer, Polk, and Webster Counties) for Public Assistance.  (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:34:54 EDT