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National Situation Update: Friday, November 21, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Midwest
A cold front will continue to generate lake effect snow showers off of Lake Superior into Friday and will continue over the north central portion of the Midwest.  The snow bands will begin to weaken as the winds shift northwest.  A Lake Effect Snow Warning is in effect for northeast Wisconsin, northern and southwest Michigan, northern Indiana and northeast Ohio until early Friday afternoon.
Northeast
A Lake Effect Snow Warning is in effect for northwest Pennsylvania and southwest New York until 6:00 p.m. EST Saturday.  A Winter Storm Watch will remain in effect for southwest Pennsylvania until Saturday afternoon.
South
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for southwest Pennsylvania, western Maryland and northeast West Virginia until late Friday evening.  Accumulations of snow ranging from 3 to 10 inches are expected.  A Freeze Warning is in effect for eastern Oklahoma, west central and northwest Arkansas until 10:00 a.m. CST.  A Freeze Watch remains in effect across extreme eastern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the Florida Panhandle through Saturday morning.  Red Flag Warnings are in effect for much of southern Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Georgia from early Friday to Saturday afternoon.  A Fire Weather Watch is in effect for northern South Carolina, northeast and central Florida until late this afternoon; north and central Alabama will remain under a watch until Saturday afternoon.  Flood Warnings continue for southeast Texas and southwest Louisiana.
West
A new cold front will move through the Pacific Northwest today delivering light showers.  Weak Santa Ana Winds impacting southern California will subside by late morning.  Heavy rainfall and possible thunderstorms may affect the Hawaiian Islands today, creating an opportunity for flash floods.  A Red Flag Warning is in effect for the Santa Ynez Range and Santa Barbara county south coast until 10:00 a.m. PST.  A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for all Hawaiian Islands until late Saturday night.  (NOAA, National Weather Service and Various Media Sources)

California Wildfires

State Actions:

  • California OES Southern Emergency Operations Center was deactivated and returned to normal operational hours
  • Local Assistance Centers have been established for Orange, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara Counties

FEMA Region IX Actions

  • FEMA Regional Watch is operating at Steady State, 12/7 operations
  • The Joint Field Office (JFO) is operational in Pasadena, California
  • Regional ERT White team is in Pasadena, California

Federal Actions:

  • President declared Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-1810-DR on November 18, 2008 for the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and Santa Barbara
  • Fire Management Assistance Grants FMAGs Issued:
  • Tea Fire - 2790, November 13, 2008
  • Sayre Fire - 2791, November 15, 2008
  • Triangle Complex (formerly the Freeway Complex) - 2792, November 15, 2008
  • 4 Blackhawks are prepositioned in southern California and 2 Modular Airborne Fire Fighting Systems (MAFFS) are on alert in support of the upcoming wind event (Santa Ana Winds)
  • Joint IA and PA PDAs in Los Angeles County remain ongoing
  • No additional requests for Federal assistance at this time and no unmet needs

Specific Fire Incidents:
Sayre Fire (Los Angeles County):

  • Approximately 11,262 acres burned with 100 percent containment
  • 0 fatalities; 4 (+1) firefighters injured
  • Destroyed structures: 487 (+8) residences, 1 commercial property, 146 (+4) outbuildings
  • Damaged structures: 149 (+1) residences, 5 (+1) commercial properties, 12 outbuildings
  • 1 shelter with 9 occupants (NSS Report November 20)
  • All evacuation orders have been lifted with the exception of the Oakridge Mobile Home Park
  • Resources:          
  • Approximately 378 (-982) firefighting personnel assigned                                                                                   (Sayre Fire: Source - Los Angeles Fire Dept.)
  • 27 (-89) Engines
  • 5 (-28) Hand crews
  • 3 Camp crews
  • 1 (-21) Dozer
  • 3 (-5) Water Tenders
  • 1 (-5) Helicopter
  • 117 (-9) Administrative personnel  (FEMA Region IX, Red Cross NSS, CalFire Report, Santa Barbara County CA. Los Angeles City Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No significant activity  (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
No tropical cyclone formation is expected during the next 48 hours
Eastern Pacific:
No tropical cyclone formation is expected during the next 48 hours
Western Pacific:
No current tropical cyclone warnings (NOAA, HPC,  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)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:31:25 EDT