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Siberia: more than 120 thousand ha of forests on fire
7
May, 2014
Photo:
RIA Novosti
Forty-eight forest fires are reported on an area of 120.3 thousand hectares in Siberia on Wednesday, including 118.7 thousand hectares in Trans-Baikal Territory, the press service of the forest department in the Siberian Federal District reported.
Several
hectares of forests are on fire in the republics of Buryatia, Tuva
and Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Irkutsk, Omsk and Tomsk
regions.
For
the past day specialists of the forest security service and
paratroopers specialised in fire-fighting have put out 174 forest
fires on an area of 18.2 thousand hectares in Siberia. Careless
handling with fire and withered dry grass fires on the croplands
became main reasons for the fires.
The
special anti-fire regime is in effect in the eastern Siberian city of
Chita and four districts in Trans-Baikal Territory, nine districts in
Omsk Region and on the whole territory of Irkutsk Region.
The
emergency was declared on the whole territory of Trans-Baikal
Territory and Buryatia, in one district of Irkutsk Region and in one
district of Omsk Region.
Alaska: Forest Service extends fire warning to all of Southeast
A
fire warning issued for northern Southeast has been extended to
other areas of the Tongass National Forest. (U.S. Forest Service
map).
6
May, 2014,
A
fire warning issued last week for parts of northern Southeast Alaska
has been expanded to the whole region.
Tongass
National Forest Fire
Management Officer Seth Ross says continued warm, dry weather is
affecting more areas.
He’s
not predicting large blazes. But he says hunters, hikers, boaters and
campers should be extra careful.
“We
just wanted to talk to folks who are coming back into the woods and
just make a gentle reminder to be careful. The conditions certainly
are right for some fire activity,” he says.
He
says fires should be attended at all times and thoroughly
extinguished when no longer needed.
Forest
fires are uncommon in Southeast’s Tongass rainforest.
But
Ross says an average of 17 happen each year. Some years have as many
as 40.
“They’re
not big. They don’t spread out very far. They do go deep in the
right conditions. We do have fires that burn down a few layers in,
underground. But nothing gets too, too big,” he says.
Ross’s
warning continues until the weather changes.
Dry and drier in West
Texas
Texas
rancher Clay Igo sums it up: "It seems like it is doin' nothing
but getting hotter, and drier, and less rain, yearly." Clay and
his father Kevin have watched as many of their neighbors around
Plainview have lost their herds, the local meatpacking plant closed,
and the tax base shrank. As Kevin puts it, "these communities
are drying up."
Scientists
can put some numbers behind the Igos' experience. In 2011, many
places in Texas and Oklahoma recorded more than 100 days over 100
degrees. Heat and drought contributed to more than $10 billion in
agricultural losses alone. According to the National Climate
Assessment, "communities that are already vulnerable to weather
and climate extremes will be stressed even further by more frequent
extreme events." To explore the 2014 National Climate
Assessment, go to NCA2014.globalchange.gov
National Climate Assessment: Southwest chapter
"The
story in the Southwest is the story of water." National Climate
Assessment Southwest chapter convening lead authors Gregg Garfin and
Guido Franco discuss how climate change is affecting the Southwest,
already one of the driest regions in the United States. Increased
heat, drought, and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change,
have increased wildfires. Declining water supplies, reduced
agricultural yields, health impacts in cities due to heat, and
flooding and erosion in coastal areas are additional concerns.
To
explore the 2014 National Climate Assessment, go
to NCA2014.globalchange.gov
A Colorado fire chief faces more wildfires
Elk Creek Fire Chief Bill McLaughlin's career has followed the spread of wildfires throughout the western United States. In 2012, his teams fought the Lower North Fork Fire in Colorado, an unusual early-season fire that kicked off the most destructive fire season in Colorado's recorded history -- until 2013 eclipsed that record.
According
to the 2014 National Climate Assessment, higher average temperatures
are drying out forest fuels, increasing the length of the fire
season, reducing snow cover, and increasing the vulnerability of
western forests to more wildfire. "Climate change is very real,"
Chief McLaughlin says, "It's changed my entire life."
To
explore the 2014 National Climate Assessment, go
to NCA2014.globalchange.gov
Corn and wheat up 22% so far this year.
LAST NET PCT YTD
CHG CHG CHG
CBOT corn 517.25 9.25 1.8% 22.6%
CBOT soy 1457.00 -6.25 -0.4% 11.0%
CBOT meal 475.90 -2.70 -0.6% 8.7%
CBOT soyoil 41.23 0.06 0.2% 6.2%
CBOT wheat 742.25 13.25 1.8% 22.6%
CBOT rice 1558.00 6.50 0.4% 0.5%
EU wheat 215.50 -1.25 -0.6% 3.1%
Normally 25% of Wisconsin corn is in the ground. Only 2% in the ground so far.
http://wsau.com/news/articles/2014/may/06/just-2-of-wisconsin-corn-crop-in-the-ground
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