Yosemite Wildfire blankets region with smoke

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/08/28/20218572-yosemite-wildfire-blankets-region-with-choking-smoke?lite


Yosemite Wildfire blankets region with smoke:

Firefighters reported significant progress Wednesday against one of the biggest wildfires in California's history, but it was still spewing an enormous plume of smoke, dangerously contaminating the air across California and Nevada.

Authorities urged people in the region to avoid all outdoor activity as the Rim Fire's choking haze — a mile and a quarter thick at some points — spread from the outskirts of Yosemite National Park into Nevada. "Unhealthful" and "very unhealthy" air quality readings were recorded Wednesday across the Reno and Carson City area.

The blaze called the Rim Fire, now 23 percent contained thanks to the efforts of more than 4,000 firefighters, is quickly becoming one of the largest wildfires in California history. NBC's Miguel Almaguer reports.

The fire had grown from 144,000 acres Sunday to about 187,500 acres by late Wednesday morning — about the size of New York City. It had destroyed 111 structures and was threatening 4,500 more, according to a joint federal-state-local incident report.

It's already the seventh-biggest fire in state history — and it's only 23 percent contained after almost two weeks of herculean effort by firefighting crews.

Hurricane Katrina Anniversary prompts call on climate change

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/08/hurricane_katrina_anniversry_p.html

Hurricane Katrina Anniversary Prompts call to action on climate change: 

Eight years after Hurricane Katrinadecimated metro New Orleans, elected officials, community activists and religious leaders gathered Saturday to recognize the region's resilience. But more importantly, they urged expedient action on rebuilding the state's fragile coastline and addressing the impacts of climate change.

"We have a moral obligation to future generations to insure that tragedies like Hurricane Katrina do not happen again,'' said Norma Jane Sabiston of the Climate Action Committee Louisiana.

The call came during the Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, which commemorated the eighth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The event was held at the Treme Community Center.

Sabiston said that New Orleans knows well the effects of climate change from rising sea levels and a disappearing coastline and an increased frequency of storms.

"In the past eight decades, Louisiana has lost 1,880 square miles of coastal marshes or an area about the size of Manhattan,'' she said. "It is land that Louisiana and our nation cannot afford to lose.''

http://video-embed.nola.com/services/player/bcpid1949030309001?bctid=2627005393001&bckey=AQ~~,AAAAPmbRMTE~,BWCCSzT6s9kk8xlYY9rVrKw3SC5F9_7L

Tropical Storm Watch

http://www.weather.com/video/tropics-watching-two-areas-6584?collid=/news/top-stories

Possible tropical storms near in the Atlantic, satellites keeping track of any activity for now.

California Tsunami Report Shows Significant Risks For Golden State Residents

SAN FRANCISCO -- A recent report issued by the United States Geological Survey has found that over a quarter million Californians live in areas highly vulnerable to tsunamis.

The majority of workforces in some waterfront cities, such as Belvedere-Tiburon and Emeryville, are employed in areas within the inundation zones. The cities of Alameda, Oakland, Los Angeles, Huntington Beach and San Diego are have the highest number of people and businesses within the inundation zone.

Earthquakes occurring across the Pacific Ocean have the potential to trigger tsunamis along the California coast.

The most destructive tsunami in American history occurred in Crescent City, just south of the Oregon border, in 1964, following a massive 9.2 magnitude earthquake in Anchorage, Alaska. The wave killed eleven people, destroyed nearly 300 buildings, submerged approximately 60 square blocks and established the small fishing town as the tsunami capital of the United States.

Tsunamis coming from these types of quakes are precisely why Kevin Miller of the California Emergency Management Agency's Earthquake and Tsunami Program argues that everyone who lives or works in a vulnerable area should make preparations ahead of time.

"The most important thing in people preparing themselves for a tsunami is figuring out where the nearest high ground is," Miller told The Huffington Post. "You should have a disaster preparedness kit ready and conduct a practice evacuation drill so you're comfortable doing it if the time comes."

Miller noted that some warning signs that a tsunami could be headed your way include water levels that appear unnaturally low, water rapidly rushing in from the ocean or feeling an earthquake that lasted longer than 20 seconds.

To determine if you live in an area at a high risk for tsunami damage, enter your address into California's MyHazards website.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/california-tsunami-report_n_2965575.html#slide=2177063

Louisiana Community A Ghost Town A Year After Hurricane Issac

BRAITHWAITE, La.  -- Isaac barely had hurricane-strength winds when it blew ashore southwest of New Orleans a year ago, but its effects are still apparent in coastal areas where it flooded thousands of homes.
After landfall on Aug 28, 2012, Isaac stalled, dumping more than a foot of rain and churning a monstrous storm surge. Water flowed over levees and destroyed homes and businesses in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.
In the end, it was blamed for seven deaths. In Plaquemines Parish, one of the hardest hit areas, damage to homes and businesses has been estimated at more than $100 million, said Guy Laigast, director of the parish's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness.
Two of the deaths from Isaac were in Braithwaite, La., a small community along the Mississippi River near New Orleans that has been all but abandoned since the storm.

Play Video

Flying into Isaac

Streets where children once played are eerily deserted. Homes with blown-out windows and toppled porches sit on lots overgrown with weeds reaching past window sills.
The storm left many residents facing prohibitive increases to flood insurance premiums if they choose to move back. Some have spent insurance payouts on houses elsewhere and have asked that their homes in Braithwaite be demolished. Others are taking their time considering whether home improvements or changes to local levees could make it affordable to insure their houses in the future.
http://www.weather.com/news/weather-hurricanes/hurricane-isaac-ghost-town-20130827

Texas Wildfires. Homes lost in such a short time.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/texas-wildfires-852-homes-lost-48-hours/story?id=14454307
There is a video with this link, not a picture.

In the last 48 hours, 852 homes have been consumed in the flames of Texas wildfires as dozens of blazes continue to sear the drought-plagued state, according to the Texas Forest Service.

Officials say more than 1,000 homes have been destroyed and over 115,000 acres have burned in the past seven days.

The largest wildfire is raging just east of Austin and has burned at least 600 homes and blackened 30,000 acres.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry set aside his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination to focus attention on the emergency at home. He cut short a campaign stop in South Carolina and returned to Texas on Monday. He says his participation in Wednesday's debate in California is a "fluid situation."

SUW M/W 12:30-1:45

http://www.macon.com/2013/07/31/2584717/unusual-weather-pattern-keeps.html

Cool & wet summer in Macon, Georgia
Coolest 6 month average in 121 years