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National Situation Update: Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West
Cooler temperatures south of San Francisco have helped to keep wildfires from becoming more numerous, but dry lightning will persist as a threat to ignite additional wildfires. 
Smoke from wildfires will continue over northern California and southern Oregon and serve to keep the air quality low.  Isolated showers are forecast from Montana southward to New Mexico and eastern Arizona. 
High temperatures should range from near 60 degrees at areas along the north Pacific coast to around 115 degrees in the lower Colorado Valley and Death Valley.
Midwest
Most of the Midwest will be dry today.  Showers and thunderstorms are forecast across parts of northern Michigan and over extreme northern sections of North Dakota and Minnesota; a few thunderstorms may become severe with hail and strong winds.  As a cold front moves south from Canada, showers and thunderstorms will become more frequent from the Great Lakes to the Central Plains on Wednesday; some storms may become severe with large hail, damaging winds, and possibly localized heavy rain in the already flooded areas.
Northeast
Scattered thunderstorms are forecast today from New England to the Middle Atlantic region.  In many areas, temperatures are expected to be slightly below average with highs in the 70s and low 80s.
South
A large portion of the Southeast will experience mild temperatures and low humidity levels, but it will be a bit more humid west of the Mississippi.  Precipitation will be limited to parts of western Texas and the Rio Grande Valley.  A few thunderstorms may occur around the Gulf Coast, but most of the southern rain will fall across the Florida Peninsula. (National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Midwest Severe Weather and Flooding

Conditions continue to improve across the Upper Mississippi Valley as flood waters recede in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa.  Dry weather is forecast throughout the region over the next 48 hours. 
Upper Mississippi River Locks and Dams closed from L&D 20 to L&D 25; estimated re-open dates are July 4-5.  Levees and dams are mostly stable and holding; the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) and local responders are actively maintaining them.  41 levees were breached or overtopped; 21 levees are threatened. (USACE, USDA, Regions V, VII)
FEMA Region V RRCC
FEMA RRCC is activated at Level III, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CDT (M-F).  A FEMA State Liaison is active in the Illinois EOC.  Joint Public Assistance (PA) and Individual Assistance (IA) PDAs are ongoing in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Illinois:  The State EOC is fully activated.  There is 1 shelter open with a population of 8.  FEMA Region V Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) has a reduced staff that remains active in the Illinois EOC.
Indiana:  The State EOC is activated.  There have been 4 fatalities and 42 injuries.  Joint IA and PA PDAs are ongoing.  There are 9 FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) open.
Wisconsin:  The State EOC is fully activated.  There is 1 shelter open with a population of 17. 
FEMA Region II Emergency Response Team (ERT)-A is active at the JFO in Madison, Wisconsin.  There are 5 FEMA Mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (MDRCs) supporting 10 FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs)
FEMA Region VII RRCC
FEMA RRCC is activated at Level II, 6:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. CDT (M-F).
Iowa:  The State EOC is operating at normal duty hours.  There are 5 shelters open with a population of 167.  IA and PA PDAs are ongoing.  Region IV IMAT is deployed to JFO in support of FEMA-1763-DR-IA.
Missouri:  The State EOC returned to normal operations today.  There is 1 shelter open with a population of 7.  The State EMA will be conducting damage assessments in affected counties due to flash flooding last week.  DOT reports 57 road closures. (FEMA Region V, VII, NWS)

California Wildfires

CA State Operations Center (SOC) is activated.  FEMA Region IX has Liaison Officers at the SOC, and North Operations Center in Redding, CA and South Operations Center in Riverside, CA.  There have been 0 fatalities and 113 injuries attributed to the wildfires.  There are 4 shelters open with a population of 11. 
Current Situation:  State, local, and federal firefighters continue to battle hundreds of wildfires throughout California. Although fires continue to burn, hundreds of fires have been contained by the relentless work of firefighters from California and 41 other states.
Current Statistics:  Fires - 1,459; Acres - 416,272; Personnel Committed - 19,134; Resources Committed (Fire Engines) - 1,496; Crews - 571; Dozers - 359; Water Tenders - 400; Helicopters - 100.
Highway closures: Numerous state highways and local roads are closed throughout California due to wildfire activities.
Evacuations: Evacuation orders are in effect for areas of Butte, Mariposa, Monterey, and Shasta,. Precautionary evacuation orders are in place for areas in Butte, Kern, Mariposa, Mendocino, Trinity and Shasta counties.
Structures: 8,638 residences, 154 commercial and 3,035 outbuildings are threatened. 29 residences, 1 commercial and 20 outbuildings have been destroyed.  There are 489 Guardsmen from CA, OR, NC and NV on state active duty supporting the fires; in CA; Guardsmen from Washington and Mississippi were added on Saturday, June 28.(CA Dept of Forestry and Fire Protection)
Federal Support:  NASA is making the Ikhana Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) available for firefighting support.  Tentatively, the first mission over Northern California is scheduled for today.
Six Modular Airborne Fighting Systems (MAFFS), and eight C130 aircraft continue deployment in support of the State of California.
A National Incident Organization (NIMO) Team is assigned as a planning and operational group.
California is activated the Military Coordination Group to synchronize and coordinate military resources from all branches and components. (Region IX, NIFC)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No new activity to report. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific:
At 11:00 p.m. EDT June 30, Tropical Storm Boris was located 1,035 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California moving west at 13 mph.  Maximum sustained winds are near 70 mph.  Boris could still become a hurricane during the next 12 to 24 hours, but a gradual weakening is expected after the 24 hour forecast period.

At 11:00 p.m. EDT June 30, the center of Tropical Depression Cristina was about 1,640 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California.  Maximum sustained winds are near 30 mph.  This storm has degenerated to a Remnant Low; therefore, no more NHC advisories will be issued.

Western Pacific:
There are no threats to U.S. territories. (NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

A preliminary magnitude 4.1 earthquake occurred June 30, 2008 at 6:49 p.m. EDT , 95 miles north northeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, at a reported depth of 5.1 miles.  A tsunami warning, watch, or advisory was not 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 Monday, June 30, 2008:
National Wildfire Preparedness Level:  4
Initial attack activity:  Moderate (203 new fires)
New large fires:  2
Uncontained large fires:  45
Large fires contained:  6

Weather Discussion:
Hot conditions persist across the West under the influence of a high pressure ridge.  Thunderstorms are expected to continue across the Northwest, and spread into Idaho and western Montana.  Mixtures of wet and dry thunderstorms are expected across portions of the Great Basin, Arizona, and Wyoming.  Wind speeds will increase across southern California and the southern Great Basin.  Showers and thunderstorms will develop along the East Coast. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

FEMA-1773-DR-Missouri; Amendment #2 amends the notice of a major disaster declaration to include three counties for Public Assistance (already designated for emergency protective measures - Category B); and seven counties for Public Assistance (already designated for Individual Assistance and emergency protective measures -Category B).

FEMA-1766-DR-Indiana; Amendment #10 amends the notice of a major disaster declaration to include two counties for Individual Assistance; three counties for Public Assistance (already designated for Individual Assistance); three counties for Public Assistance (already designated for emergency protective measures - Category B); and two additional counties for Public Assistance.

FEMA-1770-DR-Nebraska; Amendment #1 amends the notice of a major disaster declaration to close the incident period for this disaster, effective June 24, 2008.(FEMA HQ)