posted 05-13-2002 11:34 PM               

I also received the folowing information from the National Weather Service:

quote:

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Showers And Thunderstorms With Rainfall Rates Up To One And A Half Inches Per Hour Were Falling In Central New Jersey. The Heavy Rain Is Moving In A Line Toward Central Bergen County To White Plains And Vicinity.

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posted 05-15-2002 01:35 PM               

Aurora OKs emergency water-use restrictions (Denver Rocky Mountain News)
AURORA -- The Aurora City Council late Monday approved emergency ordinances setting fines for wasting water and raising water rates in response to the most severe drought since 1954. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/krdenver/20020514/lo/aurora_oks_emergency_water-use_restrictions_1.html

DOWNPOUR JUST A DROP IN BUCKET (New York Post)
Two days of steady rains have improved the city's water situation, but the drought emergency remains in effect because upstate reservoirs are still more than a quarter below capacity. http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nypost/20020514/lo/downpour_just_a_drop_in_bucket_1.html

China Huge Reforestation Effort (AP)
...Now it is suffering the consequences — chronic droughts, deadly flooding and loss of farmland to erosion.... http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020514/ap_on_re_as/china_planting_forests_3

Nope, can't forget about the drought yet.... http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/courant/20020514/lo/groundwater_supplies_remain_depressed_1.html

Expert warns world is warming faster than forecast (Reuters) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20020513/wl_india_nm/india_72375_13

posted 05-15-2002 08:13 PM               

By CHARLES SEABROOK
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer

Federal water experts on Tuesday presented data that suggest fast-growing metro Atlanta is taking all the water that Lake Lanier and the Chattahoochee River can provide, decades before it was forecast to have reached that limit.

If the assessment is verified by data being collected and analyzed in coming weeks, it could stymie new development in the region. Metropolitan Atlanta would have to stop growing, or enact tougher conservation measures, or secure new sources of water, an expensive and politically daunting task.

South Carolina and Tennessee have warned there would be major battles if Atlanta tried to tap the Savannah or Tennessee river systems. And residents around Lake Allatoona say they would fight efforts to draw more water from their lake for the metro region.

State environmental officials had predicted metro Atlanta would not exhaust Lanier and the Chattahoochee until 2030. Officials with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division insisted Tuesday their data show that projection is still sound.

But new water use data presented by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers suggest the region already is close to reaching -- or in some cases exceeding -- the predicted 2030 levels.

The corps said metro Atlanta, which grew from 3 million residents in 1990 to 4.1 million in 2000, actually exceeded expected water use for 2030 during some of 1999 and 2000.

Corps officials stressed their information was preliminary. They said they would be compiling additional data over the next several weeks. Water use projections are complicated by the fact they must take into account not just stream withdrawals into drinking water systems, but also discharges from sewage systems. Consumption also can fluctuate with weather conditions -- residents may water their lawns more during droughts, for example.

The corps, which regulates flow in the Chattahoochee by releases from Lanier, must maintain at least 750 cubic feet per second at Peachtree Creek to dilute wastewater and sustain fish and other aquatic life.

Several water experts who viewed the corps' presentation at a meeting at the federal Environmental Protection Agency's regional office in Atlanta said the information was sufficient to raise the possibility that Atlanta will have to find other sources of water years sooner than expected.

"It's really sad to think that Atlanta will run out of water long ahead of time," said Art Holbrook, head of the West Point Lake Congressional Task Force in LaGrange, which has long been concerned about metro Atlanta's heavy water use.

George William Sherk, a Virginia lawyer and water expert who advises the task force, charged that Georgia officials' more optimistic interpretation of water data is lulling the state into a false sense of complacency over Atlanta's water supply.

EPD Director Harold Reheis maintained that while there are still some uncertainties in the data, the corps' numbers don't appear to contradict the state's conclusions.

But other experts, while stressing the need for more information, said the corps' presentation was clearly cause for concern.

"It certainly raises the question of whether Atlanta will exceed its water demands before 2030," said Aris Georgakakos, director of the Georgia Water Resources Institute at Georgia Tech. http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0502/15water.html

posted 05-16-2002 05:51 PM               

April 2002 Second Warmest on Record

WASHINGTON- Last month was the second warmest April on record worldwide, and was warmer and drier than usual for much of the United States.

The conditions led to a worsening drought in parts of the United States, particularly the Southwest and many cities along the Eastern seaboard, the National Climatic Data Center reported Thursday.

Overall it was the ninth warmest April on record for the United States at an average of 54.6 degrees Fahrenheit in the 48 contiguous states. That is 2.6 degrees above the 1895-2002 long-term average.

Worldwide, preliminary data show the average land and ocean temperature in April was 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit, 1.03 degrees above the long-term average.

That's the second warmest average since 1880. The warmest April worldwide was in 1998, when a strong El Nino warming of the equatorial Pacific Ocean helped raise the readings. Researchers report that another El Nino is developing, with sea-surface temperatures rising above their usual levels in the Pacific.

The Center reported that severe drought affected about 21 percent of the contiguous United States as of the end of April. That was down from 36 percent last August.

There are long-term water deficits in much of the West, with the biggest problems from the northern and central Rockies to the Southwest.

The agency said that while a series of storms brought some improvement in drought conditions from northern Virginia to Maine, the persistence of severe to extreme drought required the continuation of drought emergencies in many cities along the northeastern seaboard.

Rainfall was below to much-below average across most southern states. Conditions steadily worsened throughout a large part of the Southwest following a winter of very low snowfall.

The report said that by the end of April extreme drought covered a large part of the West from Montana to New Mexico and Arizona. Montana has experienced some of the most severe drought conditions in the nation.

"The past seven months have been the driest October through April on record in Colorado," the report added, leading to numerous wildfires and concern that the 2002 wildfire season may be extremely busy.

For much of the nation April began with cooler than normal temperatures, followed by record highs in many cities from the Plains to the East Coast.

Overall, temperatures were above average in states from Arizona to Florida and along the eastern seaboard as far north as Connecticut and Rhode Island. It was the warmest April on record in North Carolina, South Carolina and New Mexico and the third warmest April in Florida, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

In other countries in April:

-China was battling one of the worst droughts in decades, particularly in southeastern areas, with as many as 16 million people short of drinking water.

-Wildfires damaged large areas of drought-stricken southern Vietnam.

-Temperatures were above average across a large part of Europe, with snow cover rapidly retreating in Norway, Sweden and Finland.

-Long-term dryness continued to affect southern Africa, in particular Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi.

-Heavy tropical rains drenched the Amazon Basin in northern Brazil and much of eastern Venezuela, Guyana and Surinam. Rainfall was 2 inches to 6 inches above normal for the month.

The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., is part of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2002/may/16/051602843.html

India heatwave toll rises to 622 despite rains

HYDERABAD, India (Reuters) - The death toll from a heat wave in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh climbed to 622 Thursday, even as rains fell in some parts of the province, officials said.

Officials said more deaths had been reported from remote coastal districts. Most were of people admitted to a hospital after suffering sunstroke in the past week.

The heat wave is the worst in four years and comes ahead of the annual monsoon rains which usually first hit the southern coast of Kerala in June and spread across the rest of the country over the next three months.

Officials said temperatures, which hit a peak of 118 degrees F. in the worst affected areas, had fallen in the past two days because of the rains, the first since March. Temperatures normally hover between 40 and 45 degrees Celsius around this time of year.

"In the next couple of days, there's a likelihood of an increase in rain in several places," said C.V.V. Bhadram, director with the Hyderabad Meteorological Center.

Most of the victims were from the rural belt where farmers and hawkers suffered heatstroke due to dehydration.

Large swathes of northern India have also been reeling under scorching daytime temperatures but have not been as badly affected as the southern part of the country.
http://webcenter.newssearch.netscape.com/aolns_display.adp?key=200205161409000270530_aolns.src

posted 05-16-2002 08:38 PM            

Congress takes on the drought http://www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm?pk=DROUGHT-05-16-02&cat=AN

WASHINGTON - Congress is preparing to appoint a National Drought Council to respond to America's critically dry weather conditions that have led to Western wildfires and widespread water shortages along the East Coast.

According to bipartisan legislation introduced in the House and Senate Thursday, the 12-member body would seek to develop national policies to deal with increasing water shortages caused by global climate changes. Sponsors of the measure predicted quick approval by both chambers.

"We will also establish a drought-assistance fund which will be as big as Congress sees fit to fund it," said the bill's author, Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M. "After all, a drought is just as serious as a tornado or a hurricane. It doesn't make sense that a country with as much talent as ours should just sit back and do nothing on this."

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has given a "poor to very poor" rating to half of the range and pasturelands in Montana, Colorado and Arizona and more than three-quarters of New Mexico's pasturelands because of the chronic lack of rain.

"This is not just a one-year problem. We are in the worst drought that has ever been recorded in our state," said Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M.

Dozens of rivers, lakes and reservoirs are at their lowest levels on record and thousands of private wells have dried up throughout the West.

"This will be the third year in a row that I will be hauling water to my home in Montana to flush the toilets and run the showers," said Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont. "A lot of people just think water always will come out of the tap."

The proposed National Drought Council would include the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and representatives from the Army, Interior Department, Department of Agriculture, four state governors, the U.S. Soil and Water Conservation Districts, the National Association of Counties, the U.S. Conference of Mayors and "a person representing the interests of tribal governments."

The proposed council would be asked to develop a comprehensive national plan "that outlines and integrates the roles and responsibilities of the federal agencies for drought."

The council would also be tasked to:

- Establish a National Drought Monitoring Network to track dry conditions and to predict future problems.

- Set so-called "common drought triggers" or lack-of-rain standards that officially designate when drought conditions exist that qualify for federal assistance.

- Authorize the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse states for wildfire threat reduction efforts such as clearing forests of brush and scrub tinder.

- Encourage other governments to establish drought-preparedness plans.

posted 05-17-2002 06:24 PM            

quote:

---

Originally posted by hitech_46253:
BINGO Deborah!!!!

Just as they STAGED the WTC 9-11 event to shove the 'Patriot Act' and other tyranny down our throats, CHEMTRAILS are yet another CREATED CRISIS to install FEMA yet again as a bogus 'SAVIOR' to CONTROL the most precious resource we have that up til NOW has been FREE.... WATER!!!!

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asshole

posted 05-17-2002 07:18 PM            

I posted an article on drought.

Someone chose to interpret it in a certain way and, by association, implied my concurrence with their hypothesis.

I.e. put words in my mouth, so to speak.

REQUEST:

Please stop doing this. I think and speak for myself.

posted 05-17-2002 11:40 PM            

Now, back to the subject at hand. . .

I am curious, Deborah, What is your oppinion/ take on the fact that droughts are cyclic in nature as it has been pointed out here and elsewhere?

You have posted a lot of information, and I get your drift, but I would like to hear your interpetation of the issues.

IMO, clean water is an important resource that needs to be conserved (but it is not "free"), but most of the stories you have posted have more to do with our use and management of water resources. This is important but what is the point you wish to make?

posted 05-18-2002 12:35 AM               

Heavy rains don't make up water deficit
By Hoa Nguyen
Staff Writer

May 14, 2002

Two days of rain may produce a lot of water, but it probably won't be enough to end the drought, water company and state officials said yesterday.

At 78 percent of capacity yesterday, the reservoirs are predicted to rise to about 85 percent by the end of this week, said David Medd, operations manager of Aquarion Co. of Connecticut, formerly the Connecticut-American Water Co.

"Which is great, but it's still 15 percent less than normal," he said, adding that officials are reluctant to lift mandatory water restrictions without more rain in the forecast.

"If the demand was much higher, we wouldn't have seen the recovery that we've had," Medd said.

Since August, the region has had below-normal precipitation, said Dan Pagliaro, a meteorologist at Western Connecticut State University Weather Center in Danbury. This month may be different.

"Right now, we're running fairly close to normal," Pagliaro said, adding that midway through May, the region has received 1.8 inches of rain, about half of the normal precipitation for this month.

By late yesterday afternoon, about 1.25 inches of rain had fallen in Bridgeport since Sunday afternoon, Pagliaro said, adding that the rain would likely continue until today.

But a few wet days may not be enough to make up for months of dry weather across the state.

"A few puddles in your driveway don't make up for an inch or more per week required" to end the drought, said Arthur Rocque, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

"We have a cumulative deficit of a foot-and-a-half" of rain, going back 18 months, Rocque said at a news conference yesterday in Hartford.

While the state's reservoirs appear to be stable, the lack of snow this winter left ground water at a premium -- the main reason for the statewide drought advisory, Rocque said.

"We would need rain events like today virtually every day for the next week-and-a-half in order to overcome the drought," he said.

Such an outcome is "not impossible, but not likely," Rocque said.

Eastern Connecticut appears to be faring better than other parts of the state.

Deborah Ouellette, chief water plant operator for Norwich Public Utilities, said her two primary reservoirs are at 95 percent capacity. They are usually at 100 percent capacity this time of year.

The South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority reports its reservoirs are at 71 percent, below the usual level of 94 percent for this time of year.

Gary Lessor, a meteorologist at the Weather Center, said if the state is to catch up on rainfall, it will have to happen in May.

"The next month or so is when we've got to do everything," he said, "because the summer is very dry." http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-gt-water4may14.story

Downpours fail to quench drought: Many reservoirs still well below capacity

By Matthew Strozier
Staff Writer

May 14, 2002

STAMFORD -- Two rainy days brought smiles to the faces of local, state and water company officials, but they warned that drought fears have not washed away.

"We are seeing improvement," Gerald Iwan, chief of water supply for the state Department of Public Health, said yesterday. "But we should not be lulled into any false sense of security."

One to 2 inches of rain were expected yesterday, on top of more than an inch that fell Sunday in Fairfield County. That could bring the area's May rainfall to more than 3 inches; the normal rainfall for May is 4.67 inches, according to Aquarion Water Co. of Connecticut.

But Connecticut's rain deficit is 15 inches since July, and the state drought advisory will remain.

"A few puddles in your driveway don't make up for an inch or more per week required" to end the drought, said Arthur Rocque, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection. "We would need rain events like today virtually every day for the next week and a half in order to overcome the drought."

The rain is filling reservoirs, however, and some municipalities are changing water restrictions or advisories. The final effect of the recent rainfall will not be known until later this week after the watersheds clear.

Norwalk expects its reservoirs to be full or almost full later this week.

"We've been flowing over for a couple of weeks now," said Franco Chieffalo, distribution manager for the First Taxing District Water Department, which serves 12,000 customers in central Norwalk. "We've reached our capacity."

Reservoirs of Norwalk's Second Taxing District also are expected to be at or near capacity after the most recent rains. They were at 91 percent of capacity last week.

The district has a good ratio of the size of its watershed in relation to its water storage capacity, said John Hiscock, general manager of the Second Taxing District and its water company.

Reservoirs in Stamford, Darien and Greenwich, however, appeared to remain at 15 percent or more below normal levels for this time of year.

The rain may mean Stamford moves from a phase two emergency to a less serious phase one emergency, said Ben Barnes, director of the city's Office of Public Safety, Health and Welfare. Water use restrictions, however, will remain.

"We are still well below where we should be, and I don't want to announce that the drought is over," Barnes said. "I don't think it is yet. Things could dry up in a hurry, and we would be in trouble again."

The difference between a phase one and two emergency is just a few percentage points in capacity level of the reservoirs, he said.

"It's a distinction without much difference," Barnes said.

Reservoirs for Greenwich and Darien were at 78.5 percent of capacity yesterday morning, according to Aquarion, below the normal 98 percent of capacity for this time of year.

Gary Lessor of the Western Connecticut State University Weather Center in Danbury said if the state is to catch up on rainfall, it will have to happen in May.

posted 05-21-2002 10:07 AM               

While the topic here is CHEMTRAILS and DROUGHT, it is important to point out these 'tactics.' The Air Force itself describes using WEATHER MODIFICATION to cause DROUGHTS for varying purposes against 'enemies.' Most people need to wake up to the FACT that our government, (Actually the globalists running it) consider the American people the enemy.

I have TONS of documented backup material at this site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LLNews as does Alex Jones at his site: http://www.infowars.com

posted 05-21-2002 05:43 PM               

By Matthew Strozier
Staff Writer

May 21, 2002

STAMFORD -- Recent deluges have raised water levels in reservoirs significantly, and mandatory conservation measures could be lifted this week, Mayor Dannel Malloy said yesterday.

"The dances have been answered," he said. "Things are looking better. We are not announcing the end of a drought, but what we are saying is that our storage capacity is getting close to normal."

The five reservoirs that serve the city were at 87.5 percent of capacity yesterday afternoon, Malloy said, and water was trickling in from watersheds after a downpour Saturday that dumped 1.5 inches of rain. The reservoirs are likely to reach 90 percent of capacity this week, Malloy said.

If that occurs, the city will remove requirements that businesses cut water use 20 percent and prevent residents from watering lawns or washing cars at home, Malloy said.

If the restrictions are lifted, they would be replaced with voluntary measures calling for a 5 percent cut in use, he said.

This month, 4.58 inches of rain have fallen in the Stamford area, according to Michael Erickson, a forecaster at The Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury. The average rainfall is 2.6 inches.

"It doesn't happen very often, but I wouldn't say it's unusual," Erickson said of the heavy rain.

Malloy may make a formal announcement about lifting restrictions this week after consulting with Aquarion Water Co. of Connecticut, which provides Stamford's water, and officials from surrounding towns. The end of mandatory restrictions would be welcome news for businesses and residents who cut use to help the city survive this summer with sufficient water.

Water officials in Norwalk lifted drought restrictions last week. Norwalk's Second Taxing District Water Department was the first in the area to lift restrictions. The district provides water to 9,000 customers in South Norwalk, Rowayton and portions of West Norwalk, East Norwalk, Silvermine and southwest Wilton.

Landscapers, irrigation companies and water haulers for swimming pools said the Stamford restrictions threatened to cut into their profits. The pool water haulers filed a complaint with the Health Commission Friday, saying some of the restrictions are an unconstitutional limit on interstate trade.

Malloy and others emphasized that if restrictions are lifted, it would not signal an end to the drought, which is a long-term weather pattern that can persist through a brief period of intense rain.

If reservoirs reach 90 percent of capacity, for example, it would be below the normal level of 94.3 percent for this time of year.

Nearby cities, such as New York, did not benefit as much from the recent rains.

"We are still in a drought, but it's not quite as bad as it has been," Erickson said.

Stamford residents have been conserving water, Malloy said. For each week the restrictions have been in place, water use was below normal, he said, though he did not have the amounts yesterday.

If mandatory restrictions are removed, people should take "common-sense" measures to save water, Malloy said.

posted 05-28-2002 12:48 PM               

Texas, Mexico Quarrel Over Water (AP) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020523/ap_on_bi_ge/farm_scene_1
Parched farmland, a summer drought and frustrated farmers have raised the stakes in the international struggle over water flowing through the Rio Grande.

Bethlehem wants drought lifted (Allentown Morning Call) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/mcall/20020524/lo/bethlehem_wants_drought_lifted_1.html
With Bethlehem sitting on a 630-day supply of water, City Council says it doesn't matter that much of eastern Pennsylvania remains in a drought emergency.

As fear of drought recedes, respect for rules ebbs (Allentown Morning Call) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/mcall/20020521/lo/as_fear_of_drought_recedes_respect_for_rules_ebbs_1.html
Joseph DiGirolamo, chairman of the Bucks County Drought Emergency Task Force, complained Monday that with all the rain that's fallen this spring he's been having trouble convincing people there truly is a drought.

Dry, Windy Weather Fuels Fire Concerns (WESH NewsChannel2000.com) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wesh/20020523/lo/1204461_1.html
Strong, northeast winds are raising concerns about the danger of brush fires across Central Florida Thursday.

Survey of hunger paints grim picture of life in drought-ridden Afghanistan (AP) http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/wesh/20020523/lo/1204461_1.html
Despite large-scale international aid, a worsening drought is wreaking economic and social havoc on Afghanistan and forcing desperate villagers to buy food at almost any cost, according to a report by a famine expert.

(We've reported that CHEMTRAILS WERE USED ON AFGHANISTAN to create the drought THERE. This is why all the satellite photos have been bought up and you can't SEE over there now.

(Here is a repost of that story from 10-23-2001)
Hostile CWM operations produced Afghan drought before 9-11 http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LLNews/message/885
The drought in Afganistan is the result of U.S. clandestine weather modification operations and these hostile operations, considered a species of information-age warfare, were begun long before September 11. The tell-tale sign is the horizon-to-hoizon contrails layed out like venetian blinds, which then growing, create a solid sheet of highly heat-reflective cloud. All year long there have been heavy laying of so-called "chemtrails" over the India Ocean and over the Southwest Pacific. The only reason this kind of hostile action has not been outlawed is that the general public knows next to nothing of its existence and no head of any government- or foundation-funded organization will allow papers or discussion of this topic without severe career consequences. Clandestine weather modification or "weather-ops" are classified as "stealth terror" -- the targeted decision-makers are told what is happening and quickly give in and the people are too weak and distressed to do anything to protest.

posted 06-02-2002 07:47 PM               

Noooo. The owner of Moab, Utah-based Sheri Griffith Expeditions is having a good season. And so are her customers, signing on for trips on the Colorado and Green rivers. Lower flows, Griffith explains, mean white-water experiences rarely available on some of the West's big rivers.

Welcome to the flip side of the Western drought of 2002. It's a devastating year for ranchers and farmers, it's looking like the Dust Bowl days in parts of the Great Plains, cities and towns are imposing tough water-use restrictions, and wildfires are breaking out almost daily in the Southwest.

But the drought has an upside. Early season trout fishing, normally cut short by heavy, muddy runoff from the mountains, has been spectacular in places. Mountain bikers and hikers can reach the high country much sooner than usual because little snow is left. And low runoff is helping ease pollution problems and solve criminal cases.

In Westwater Canyon on the Colorado, Griffith is running small boats in which everyone can paddle instead of big boats with oars that must be managed by experienced guides. She's finding that low water actually improves some rapids. And the beaches for riverfront camping are bigger, with fewer mosquitoes than usual. "If people want to raft in some new ways they haven't thought of, what a fun year!" she says.

For Western fly fishermen, one of the high points of the year is the annual hatching of caddis flies, an aquatic insect, on the Arkansas River in south-central Colorado. The clouds of flies can be so thick that it's hard to breathe, and the brown and rainbow trout in the Arkansas feed in a frenzy. But the fishing bonanza normally is short-lived because when muddy runoff arrives, trout can't see flies presented by anglers.

Not this year.

"Most years, it gets cut off when we get the start of runoff," says Paul Fling, a guide at the Arkansas River Fly Shop in Salida, Colo. "But we had a stupendous caddis hatch this year."

The Arkansas normally is rushing at nearly 3,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) this time of year, and the turbid river is basically unfishable for four to six weeks. But it's only running at 200-500 cfs now, Fling says, and there's no break in the fishing season. "The river's doing us well," he says.

Farther north, on the upper Colorado River, fly fishermen are getting a rare crack at the stonefly hatch, because lower, clearer water means they can wade in areas that are normally inaccessible and because trout can see their flies."The drought is helping anglers access areas where the fish are," says Andrew Petersen, head guide at Cutthroat Anglers in Silverthorne, Colo. "And the clarity of the water is helping the fish feed on our imitations. "But, he adds, what is good news now means bad news later for fish.

Lower flows will raise water temperatures and reduce oxygen levels in streams and rivers, and in the full heat of summer, trout will die."Go early and go often," Petersen advises anglers.

For hikers and bikers, it's also a year to go early."We're living the good life right now," says Jon Alegranti, who directs a 450-member mountain bike club in Boulder, Colo. "There's very little snowpack, there's very little mud, so many of the high country trails that are not open till much later in the summer are now open."

Hikers and climbers normally have a relatively brief window to scale Colorado's 54 peaks over 14,000 feet."It's hiking season a month earlier, rather than snowshoe or ski mountaineering season," notes Bruce Morrow, outreach coordinator for the Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, a group that works to protect the state's most popular peaks.

For thousands of people who live in the mountainous West because of the region's recreational opportunities, the attitude this year seems to be: take what nature throws at you.Jerry Strauss, a high school librarian and hopelessly addicted white-water enthusiast, says he'll probably relinquish a permit to raft Desolation Canyon on the Green River in Utah this summer. Low water would make it "a float and bake, with flies," he says.But he was happy on a trip in April on the Yampa River through Dinosaur National Monument. Low runoff gave his teenage daughter Anya the opportunity to row the whole way without handing the oars to her father on sections that are more difficult in high water.

On a more serious note, the drought is making it easier to clean up water polluted with heavy metals that annually cascade into the Alamosa River from the Summitville Mine Superfund site in Colorado's San Juan Mountains.

Normally, spring runoff from the abandoned mine is so heavy that much of it cannot be treated, and millions of gallons of acidic water flow into the Alamosa. This year, workers, engaged in the cleanup that is expected to continue for another century, treated all the runoff, giving the river and its fish at least a temporary boost.

A few hundred miles to the southwest, the drought is exposing sandy beaches at the Lake Mead Recreation Area on the Nevada-Arizona border — and weapons and cars ditched there.

"We're finding guns from crimes because the lake's going down," says Dale Antonich, chief ranger at Lake Mead."If it keeps going down," Antonich adds, "we're going to find some people we've been looking for, too."

posted 06-03-2002 06:07 PM               

From the National Desk
Published 6/3/2002 3:10 PM

CANON CITY, Colo., June 3 (UPI) -- More air tankers and firefighting crews were moved in Monday to battle a 7,000-acre wildfire that burned 20 homes and a grocery store in southern Colorado.

The blaze near Canon City was one of 28 large wildfires in 12 states from Hawaii to New Jersey, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Wildfire activity increased across the country during the weekend.

Colorado has been one of the hardest-hit states this fire season because of the worst drought in more than 50 years.

The Iron Mountain fire west of Canon City was the most destructive of three major fires burning in the state. Since breaking out Sunday afternoon, it has escalated to 7,000 acres and burned 20 homes, a grocery store and 10 outbuildings.

Samantha McCullough, a spokeswoman for the Fremont County Sheriff, said about 200 homes were evacuated Sunday when the fire made a dangerous run. There are about 600 to 700 homes in the valley west of Canon City.

"We expect the fire to get up and run again later in the day," she said, depending on the wind and heating conditions.

The largest of the Colorado fires, the 12,000-acre Springer blaze, was threatening 300 methane wells near the Colorado-New Mexico state line and the community of Lorencito. One home and several outbuildings were burned in a third, smaller Colorado fire.

Weather conditions in Colorado were expected to improve with cloud cover and scattered showers, although winds were forecast at 15-30 mph. Arizona and New Mexico also expected winds, as well as isolated dry thunderstorms in New Mexico and low humidity throughout the area.

Southern California was expected to be hot and dry with offshore winds from 10 to 30 mph. The Arrowhead fire north of San Bernadino was reported 80 percent contained. One home, two commercial buildings, and four outbuildings were destroyed by the fire that burned more than 2,688 acres.

In Arizona, the Bullock fire in the Coronado National Forest 15 miles northeast of Tucson, Ariz., was reported 70 percent contained after burning more than 30,000. It was still burning actively with no estimate of full containment.

In New Jersey, the 500-acre Jacks Branch fire was reported 40 percent contained in Berkeley and Beachwood Townships near Pinewald. Some neighborhoods near Pinewald were evacuated and one home was lost. Full containment was expected soon.

posted 06-12-2002 06:35 PM               

The city's glorious eucalyptus, ravaged by a predatory bug, now face another foe: the driest year on record.

City parks stand to lose half their eucalyptus trees in the next few years, park officials say. Other varieties are also stressed by lack of rain.

"Too many things are happening at the same time," said Teresa Proscewicz, chief forester for the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department. "They are attacked by psyllids, then other bugs.

"But this drought is really a disaster."

Weather watchers say Los Angeles is on course for its driest year in history. With no more rain by the end of month, downtown will get 4.41 inches -- 29 percent of normal and 0.44 of an inch less than the 1960-61 record.

While unirrigated trees, especially those in city parks, are struggling, those along most sidewalks get enough to drink.

"I would say that, in general, they're doing pretty good because they're irrigated," said Ronald Lorenzen, assistant chief forester for the Los Angeles Public Works Street Services Department. "With an extended drought, you'd probably see some stress."

Trees in Griffith, Elysian, Balboa and other parks, however, are dropping fast, parks officials said. Of the park system's roughly 30,000 eucalyptus trees, 2,000 sick ones have been removed from picnic areas and park entrances.

Nearly half the remainder are dying or dead.

"We were hoping some of the trees would recover, but they're not pulling out of it," Proscewicz said. "You can see it's almost a dead forest -- it's sad."

For the stately Australian imports planted nearly a century ago, the chief culprit is the redgum lerp psyllid, an aphidlike bug blamed for the death of thousands of eucalyptus throughout California since 1991.

The psyllid damages the leaves by drawing sap, which defoliates the trees and can lead to its death. Lack of rain compounds stress and can speed its demise.

For other trees, the scant rainfall is also taking its toll.

"It's the drought," said Arthur Flores, a parks tree surgeon whose crew cut down a 50-foot eucalyptus at Balboa Sports Center in Encino on Tuesday. "It stresses out the root system, the scaffolding branches die back, and the tree dies."

To replace their lost canopy, park officials are looking to plant 5,000 sycamores, oaks, ashes and cottonwoods by 2005, paid for through various grants.

It will cost about $100,000 in equipment and an additional $200,000 in labor to sow the 15-gallon trees, Proscewicz said, an expense yet to be approved by the city.

Jennifer Scott-Lisland, an arborist for the Beverly Hills-based Tree People, said trees need love, too.

"All the trees I know need some help these days," she said. "Urban trees in concrete indents are malnourished and underwatered."

Scott-Lisland, who offers summer class on tree care -- for more information, call (818) 623-4841 -- recommends watering trees with a slow hose for about an hour each week.

posted 06-13-2002 01:13 AM               

DENVER (Reuters) - The biggest wildfire in Colorado history, its smoke visible from outer space, defied all attempts to contain it on Wednesday as gusting winds pushed it into new territory full of fresh fuel.

The 90,000 acre Hayman fire, named for the spot where it is believed to have started on Saturday, has already destroyed 21 homes and sent thousands of residents packing with their valuables even before mandatory evacuation orders were issued.

The fire, raging about 55 miles southwest of Denver, was moving in a southwesterly to westerly direction, veering away from Denver but toward new terrain full of dry and diseased trees, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Trish Aspland said.

Besides the buildings already destroyed, 3,000 structures were still threatened, 2,500 homes had been evacuated and as many as 40,000 residents could be asked to leave within the next couple of days if the fire continues to burn out of control, Aspland said.

The fire is raging in parts of four counties -- Jefferson, Douglas, Teller and Park -- a scenic area that has seen major development in the past decade. Houses have been erected in places where wildlife once roamed.

Firefighters from around the United States are being sent to Colorado to battle the blaze believed to have been caused by an illegal campfire.

"The Hayman fire is the No. 1 fire in the nation," Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh said. "You know this is a serious fire when astronauts in the space shuttle are watching this."

The American Red Cross has set up shelters and the Salvation Army was asking for volunteers and donations of energy bars and gloves suitable for rugged work.

The Douglas County sheriff's office asked for donations of hay for horses from fire-threatened areas that have been sent to the county fairgrounds for safety.

$20 MILLION BILL

Like much of the U.S. West, semi-arid Colorado is in the grip of severe drought, leaving trees bone dry and vulnerable to fire.

So far 140,000 acres have burned statewide in several fires and 65 structures have been destroyed. The federal government is picking up 75 percent of the cost of fighting the fires, which has come to $20 million for the Hayman fire alone.

Other areas in the U.S. West are also dry and fires are up this year, said Denny Truesdale, Deputy Coordinator for the National Fire Plan for the Forest Service. About 176,000 acres more land has burned so far this year than at the same time in 2000, the benchmark for bad fires, he said.

Officials in Washington complained on Wednesday they spent too much time dealing with environmental studies and procedural red tape which distracted them from firefighting.

"If our processes were more simplified and we're able to make more decisions more timely, and be able to get a larger percentage of the dollars that are appropriated to us on the ground and less in the office doing analysis, then I believe we'd have many situations where fire doesn't burn the area in a catastrophic way like it does," U.S. Forest Service Chief Dale Bosworth told a House subcommittee.

Householders have been going through the heartbreaking effort of figuring out what to take with them.

"I grabbed legal papers, my family photos, some clothes, three cats and a dog, and got out," Lorrie Ciceri, of Pine, Colorado, said. She was staying at a shelter, awaiting word on whether her mountain home survived.

U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Kathy Hardy said another 30 homes in the Turkey Rock subdivision in Teller County had been destroyed, but Jenny Bryant at the sheriff's office said local fire crews reported no homes lost in the subdivision.

posted 06-19-2002 08:10 PM               

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Story Filed: Wednesday, June 19, 2002 11:22 AM EDT

Hundreds more people were forced to flee wildfires that have charred nearly a half-million acres across the West as the owner of an air tanker that suddenly broke up and plunged to the ground said the plane had been repaired four years ago for cracks on one wing.

Investigators on Tuesday tried to learn what caused the air tanker's wings to snap off before the fuselage spiraled into the ground in the Sierra Nevada town of Walker, Calif.

All three crew members were killed in the fiery explosion, a signal of how dangerous the fire season might be this year.

The crash resulted in the grounding of all C-130A firefighting aircraft in the United States.

``At the start of the drop, everything appeared normal,'' said George Petterson, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, who added that he'd never heard of such a double wing failure happening to a C-130A before.

The crash occurred as air tankers and helicopters were helping more than 700 firefighters on the ground battle a Sierra foothills fire that by Wednesday had blackened at least 15,000 acres and threatened the rustic mountain hamlet of Walker.

The blaze was one of many fires burning in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming and Utah that have charred nearly a half-million acres of paper-dry forest and brush. Thousands of people have been forced to flee and more than 60 homes have been destroyed, most of them in Colorado.

Federal forest officials say more than 1.5 million acres have burned across the country in 2002 -- nearly twice the 10-year average for this time of year.

In Colorado, about 2,000 people were forced to evacuate Tuesday as a fire southwest of Denver grew to more than 120,000 acres. With the new evacuations, 7,500 people remained away from their homes. Because the fire grew by about 7,000 acres, the percentage of containment was lowered from 47 percent to 40 percent.

The fire, the largest of three major Colorado fires that burned more than 175,000 acres of forest and brush, was allegedly set by Forest Service worker Terry Barton, who faces charges in federal court. Her claim that she started the fire while burning a letter from her estranged husband has raised suspicion among prosecutors.

As in other parts of the country, unpredictable winds and hot weather were hampering firefighters in Colorad.

``This fire is so powerful it dictates the wind. First it sucks it in, and then pushes it out,'' firefighter Mat Wood said.

The windy weather sent smoke pouring into Denver, where authorities warned the young, elderly and those with respiratory ailments to stay inside.

In southwestern Colorado, a 44,300-acre blaze prompted the evacuation of more than 1,700 homes in the Durango area and destroyed at least 10.

Other fires burning around the country included a 100,000-acre blaze in Alaska's interior. It was started May 22 by firecracker shotgun shells fired by a biologist to scare off a charging moose.

A few hours before fiery air tanker crash, three firefighters in Southern California were injured when flames leaped over their fire truck in the Cajon Pass, 50 miles east of Los Angeles. They were hospitalized with first-degree burns.

``For a few seconds, I thought it was over,'' firefighter Thomas Lotko, 45, said from his hospital bed where he was hooked to an IV and had his hands and elbows swathed in bandages.

Still another fire broke out 40 miles north of Los Angeles on Tuesday and quickly spread across 1,000 acres and caused two power lines to overheat and shut down. That in turn prompted a call for power conservation in Southern California.

The owner of the plane that crashed in Walker said company officials notified the Federal Aviation Administration in April 1998 that an inspection discovered two 1-inch cracks in the surface of one of the aircraft's wings.

The damage was repaired and no problems had been reported since, a company employee said Tuesday night. The 46-year-old air tanker passed its last major inspection last fall.

National Interagency Fire Center spokeswoman Nancy Lull said the agency's five remaining C-130As would be grounded for at least two days while their safety is evaluated. They make up only a fraction of the center's fleet of 43 contract planes but are highly valued for their ability to drop large amounts of fire retardant quickly.

Petterson, the NTSB investigator, said he was not aware of the report on the plane's 1998 wing problem, but added it would be reviewed during his agency's investigation.

A preliminary report on the probe should be available next week and a final one a year from now.
http://library.northernlight.com/EB20020619100000017.html?dx=1006&rq=0#doc

posted 06-19-2002 08:12 PM               

Crews Pray for Rain As Fires Grow
ASSOCIATED PRESS

Crews desperately looked for an edge over two huge wildfires burning out of control in Colorado on Wednesday, taking some hope from slightly lower temperatures and weaker winds.

Conditions were still bad, with humidity low and temperatures in the high 80s. But that was better than the day before, when the two largest fires in state history gobbled up thousands of new acres and put crews on the defensive.

One of the fires ballooned by 22,000 acres on Tuesday and was burning across 135,000 acres just 35 miles southwest of Denver. It has forced thousands of people from their homes, and it sent a yellow haze over parts of the metropolitan area again Wednesday.

"We're hoping it doesn't make the big gains today it made yesterday," fire information officer Bobby Kitchens said. "Because the humidity is higher, our crews should make good progress in containment."

Cooler weather also favored California firefighters battling a half-dozen major blazes. Winds had also died down near Yosemite National Park, where nearly 15,000 acres have burned and three firefighters were killed in an air tanker crash Monday.

Federal investigators were at the scene Wednesday hoping to determine why the wings of the C-130A snapped off before the crash.

The National Interagency Fire Center said there were 16 large fires burning on 411,000 acres in 11 states Wednesday. That does not include a 100,000-acre fire in a remote part of Alaska.

Overall, federal officials say, wildfires have scorched 1.75 million acres so far this year, more than double the 10-year average on this date.

There were fresh evacuation orders Wednesday, this time in New Mexico. Authorities went door-to-door in Pecos, 20 miles southeast of Santa Fe, to clear up to 25 families from their homes in advance of a 2,200-acre wildfire.

In Colorado, authorities warned that a 44,320-acre fire in the state's southwestern corner could grow to more than 100,000 acres.

Smoke and haze drifted over the Durango area as the fire burned in forests around two reservoirs. It has destroyed at least 10 homes and six buildings, and more than 2,400 people have been evacuated.

Crews were more focused on saving homes than battling the fire itself because it was spreading so quickly.

"We're a long way from having a handle on the fire," information officer Mark Morrow said. "We don't want to lose homes that have already been saved once."

The fire near Denver has destroyed at least 25 houses and about 7,500 people have been forced from their homes since June 8. A Forest Service employee, Terry Barton, faces a court appearance Thursday on charges that she started the fire.

The situation with the two Colorado fires was so drastic that President Bush declared the fires a major disaster and ordered federal aid to help state and local efforts in areas hit by wildfires since April 23. Federal funding will include disaster housing, grants, and other programs.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nat-gen/2002/jun/19/061908262.html

posted 06-20-2002 06:33 PM               

Ariz. Wildfire Grows to 60,000 Acres
ASSOCIATED PRESS

SHOW LOW, Ariz.- A huge fire in the tinder-dry forests of eastern Arizona raced through a hastily abandoned town Thursday, chasing firefighters off the line and prompting an evacuation warning for thousands of nearby residents.

"This is a monster," said Jim Paxon, a U.S. Forest Service fire information officer.

The fire roared through the community of Pinedale, but the extent of the damage wasn't immediately known. Virtually all 390 residents had fled a day earlier and fire crews had pulled back because it was too dangerous.

"We're at the mercy of Mother Nature right now. There's not a whole lot we can do with it," said Larry Humphreys, the incident fire commander.

The so-called Rodeo fire has charred 60,000 acres since it began Tuesday about 110 miles northeast of Phoenix and it was nowhere close to being contained. It has forced more than 4,000 people to flee their homes in Pinedale, Linden and Clay Springs.

Another 13,900 residents in the region were put on alert that they may have to leave on an hour's notice because of the Rodeo fire and a second blaze that began nearby on Thursday. Fire information officer Dorman McGann said the new, 150-acre fire was started by a woman lost in the woods, but other details were not immediately provided.

Marilyn Price, the fire chief in Linden, said her department had to pull crews out of Pinedale because the Rodeo fire was "so fast and so hot."

At an evacuation center 60 miles away, Pinedale residents wept as they were told the bad news. Also sobbing was Lana Rexroat, a mother of four who is expecting another child in six weeks, after learning the blaze was within three miles of her home in Clay Springs.

"I want to have a home to take my baby to in six weeks," she said.

Authorities warned more than 11,000 people in the Show Low area east of Pinedale and nearly 3,000 in two communities west of Pinedale to be ready to flee.

The Rodeo fire was one of 19 major blazes burning across the nation Thursday, according to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. Wildfires have scorched 1.84 million acres so far this year - far ahead of the 10-year average of 888,000 acres.

In Colorado, crews took advantage of rain and cooler weather to attack a 136,000-acre blaze that has burned at least 25 homes and forced 8,900 evacuations since June 8. In federal court in Denver on Thursday, Forest Service employee Terry Barton pleaded innocent to charges accusing her of setting the fire.

In southwestern Colorado, two large fires continued to rage out of control after forcing hundreds of people out of their homes.

Crews near Durango, Colo., tried to protect a trio of communications towers from a 54,000-acre fire that jumped containment lines Wednesday to threaten 400 more homes; it has already destroyed 33. A blaze 70 miles away grew to 6,000 acres Thursday and had destroyed eight homes near the community of South Fork.

In Arizona, authorities said they didn't know how the Rodeo fire started but noted that without lightning in the area it had to be caused by man. More than 200 firefighters were frantically trying to contain the fire's eastern and western flanks, but crews were kept away from the northern edge because of the danger.

Troy Hvidsten, a spokesman for the Linden Fire Department, said firefighters wouldn't be able to save a 500-home neighborhood because the houses are made of wood and there was too much surrounding fuel

Evacuees were directed to school gymnasiums in Springerville and Eagar, both an hour's drive east of the fire.

"It makes me a little nervous to know it's coming and there's nothing we can do about it," said Show Low resident Ben Butler, who stayed up all night with his wife preparing to flee.

posted 06-21-2002 02:39 AM               

Texas Drought Takes Toll on Farmers

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PAWNEE, Texas- Jimmy Krause knows a lot of ways to make money off his land. He grows 300-plus acres of corn and wheat, and grazes some 250 head of cattle. He also does commercial crop spraying, runs a small hay-baling operation, and lets his neighbors in Karnes County hire his bulldozer to keep their fence lines clear. But most of his operations have the same drawback: they depend on rainfall, and South Texas like much of the nation isn't getting much this year. "When nature stops working, it stops me all around," said Krause, a second-generation farmer with 2,500 acres of rolling terrain about 60 miles south of San Antonio. There's not much hope that things will improve this year.

In western and southern Texas, drought conditions are already severe heading into July and August, typically the hottest and driest months of the year. The National Weather Service is forecasting that July and September will be hotter and drier than normal. Drought conditions are severe across much of the country. Coupled with years of meager winter snowfall and spring rains, Western states from Arizona to Montana are declaring drought emergencies as reservoirs decline and wildlife dwindle.

John E. Jones Jr., deputy director of the National Weather Service, predicted that states in the West, including the Southwest and southern Texas, are likely to experience above-normal temperatures through September. Texas officials have said the state's economic losses could be similar to the $2 billion hit in 1998, when drought conditions prevailed in much of the state.

Wheat and cotton harvests have been far below normal, and throughout South Texas, corn stalks are stunted and baked brown by the sun. A shortage of irrigation water has devastated citrus and grain in the Rio Grande Valley. Pecan farmers are expected to lose much of their crop.

Some city dwellers are also feeling the heat. Water officials in San Antonio have said water-use limits may be imposed as early as next week. This spring El Paso went a record 109 days without any rain before a few drops fell in late May.

The high-desert city is in the midst of a string of days over 100 degrees that is sapping what little moisture is left. The West Texas drought stretches back to 1994, with 11