Texas Interagency Interfaith Disaster Response
e-Buzz
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25 October 2007 |
Southern
California Fire Update #3
October 25, 2007
Thursday morning finds Southern California with 15
active fires. 1600 homes are now destroyed, and arson
is suspected for at least two of the fires where
multiple points of origin have been found. A $70,000
reward is being offered for information about arsonist/s.
As of today there are some 2000 left in Qualcom Stadium;
nearly one million folks have been evacuated and
over a half million acres have been charred. The
area has been described as a war zone.
Orange County officials have expressed concerns that
if they had had more air surface help that the fire
could have been lessened. However Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger says that heavy winds kept aircraft
from being deployed, and that was the reason that
some of the response was slower. Gov. Schwarzenegger
has stayed on the front line, stating, "You've got
to stay with the people." President Bush is
flying to Southern California today to offer his
support. Damages are estimated at more than
a billion dollars and are expected to rise.
Not unlike some of the great response in Texas following
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, in Southern California
volunteers have had to be turned away. Please
note some of the websites included in this newsletter
for information about volunteering.
Camp Pendleton lost power, heavily affected by smoke,
and offered a voluntary evacuation. Returned
military say the orange sky reminds them of war in
Iraq.
Lack of rain from Central California to Mexico is
playing an important role as high temperatures bake
the ground. It is, of course, "normal" for
that ecosystem to have burns, but with the drought
and number of homes in those areas, what may be a
normal part of nature has turned into a national
disaster such as we have never seen. As one
survivor put it, "The shock doesn't go away. I
knew, I was told, but I didn't believe it until I
saw it with my own eyes."
Although there appears some reprieve at this point,
this disaster is not finished.
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Central Texas American
Red Cross
Helps Support California Wildfire Victims
NINE LOCAL RED CROSS WORKERS, MOBILE
FEEDING VEHICLE, DEPLOY TO ASSIST WITH CALIFORNIA
WILDFIRES
More expected to leave
in Chapter's largest local deployment since 2005
AUSTIN, TEXAS October 23, 2007 - Nine American Red
Cross of Central Texas workers left for Southern
California Tuesday to provide comfort and care to
those affected by wildfires that have destroyed more
than 200 structures and forced thousands to evacuate
their homes. In addition, the Chapter's Emergency
Response Vehicle (ERV) was sent to San Diego.
Three Sun City residents are part of this mobilization
that is the largest local deployment outside of the
Chapter's jurisdiction since Hurricane Rita in 2005.
Some of the volunteers will work in the mass care
function, which consists of driving the ERV through
affected areas to provide food and water to those
affected as well as relief workers. Other volunteers
will help with sheltering, casework management and
damage assessment. Volunteers may be in the affected
area assisting victims for up to three weeks.
Here is a snapshot of Red Cross services as of midnight,
Tuesday:
·
The Red Cross and its partners have opened nearly
two dozen shelters across the region.
·
40 trucks full of supplies have arrived, bringing
thousands of cots, blankets, toiletry kits and other
needed items.
·
50 Mobile feeding vehicles have arrived with 25 more
en route.
·
Cleanup supplies are also en route. Supplies include
rakes, shovels and other useful equipment to help
with cleanup in the affected communities.
·
A large feeding kitchen will open today at Petco
Field to support the shelters, mobile feeding and
the feeding to the emergency workers.
·
The local chapters have trained more than 1500 local
volunteers to help with the effort.
·
The national Red Cross has moved nearly 2000 additional
workers to the area to help with feeding and sheltering
efforts.
All American Red Cross disaster assistance is free,
made possible by voluntary donations of time and
money from the American people. You can help the
victims of thousands of disasters across the country
each year by making a financial gift to the American
Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the
Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and
other assistance to victims of disaster. The American
Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate
your donation to a specific disaster, please do so
at the time of your donation. Call 1-800-REDCROSS
or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the
Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American
Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.
O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users
can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
THE AMERICAN RED CROSS IS MOBILIZING SHELTER WORKERS, MOBILE
FEEDING VANS AND SUPPLIES TO PROVIDE RELIEF TO THOSE
AFFECTED BY THE FIRES.
Shilpika Das, Staff Writer, RedCross.org
Tuesday, October 23, 2007 - Raging wildfires continued
to threaten thousands of Southern California residents
for the third straight day as fierce desert winds
fueled the inferno.
Blazing fires forced an estimated 320,000 people
to evacuate their homes as firefighters struggled
to keep pace with shifting winds and advancing flames.
According to media reports, at least 16 wildfires
have combined to scorch more than 425 square miles
of scrubland and residential property. Low humidity
and high temperatures are expected to further intensify
the damage caused by the rapidly spreading fires.
More than 500 Red Cross employees and volunteers
have been on the ground helping with relief efforts
since the fires began on Sunday. More than 3,000
evacuees took refuge in Red Cross shelters-which
were set up in areas outside the threatened neighborhoods-and
were comforted with hot meals and a safe place to
sleep. Red Cross mental health workers were available
to provide emotional support and help those uprooted
from their homes deal with their fears and anxieties.
"
People are still on edge, knowing that the fire can
change direction at any time," says Nick Samaniego,
public information officer for the Greater Los Angeles
Chapter of the Red Cross. "They have been here for
two days now, waiting for news that it's safe to
return. They're ready to go home."
Samaniego says that despite the gravity and uncertainty
of the situation, people have been helpful.
"I've helped with a lot of operations
before, but one thing that really stands out here
is the positive atmosphere," he says. "At one point,
we were stretched thin and the local residents were
the first to jump in and help out. It's great to
see that even in their time of need, they're helping
us."
HELP ON THE
WAY
As volatile desert winds and intense fires continue
to torch the drought-hit region, the American Red
Cross is sending 2,000 shelter workers and volunteers
into the area to help with relief and recovery efforts.
In addition, hundreds of "spontaneous" volunteers
are arriving and being put to work. More than 75
mobile feeding vehicles have already been dispatched,
along with thousands of comfort kits, blankets, and
cots and more than 50,000 prepackaged meals.
Red Cross workers are also distributing water and
food to firefighters and emergency workers in the
affected areas. The Red Cross continues to work with
its partners and local authorities to respond to
the needs of those affected by the fires.
People affected by the wildfires are encouraged to
register themselves on the Red Cross Safe and Well Website. Family members and friends can log on and search for registered
individuals to learn of their whereabouts and status.
AMERICAN RED CROSS:
SAFE AND WELL INFORMATION
This is a place where evacuees/Southern Californians
can list themselves as "safe and well." In
turn, concerned family and friends can go to the
same website to find loved one's. Go to: Safe and Well Website Over 766 persons registered yesterday; an additional
429 have registered in the last 24 hours.
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TEXAS FOREST SERVICE
MONITORS TEXAS FIRE WEATHER
Sends aviation and other support personnel
to California
Oct. 24, 2007
-- COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Texas Forest Service
(TFS), through the Texas Interagency Coordination
Center (TICC)
in Lufkin, has filled one order from California for
an area command aviation coordinator and another
for a base camp manager. These TFS employees
will deploy to California to assist in fighting the
devastating fires that began Sunday. In addition,
TICC has filled one request from California with
a US Forest Service employee.
With yesterday's Red Flag Warnings in North
and South Central Texas, Texas Forest Service is
continuing to monitor fire weather conditions for
Texas, with two concerns: an abundance of fuel
(grasses, etc.) across the state due to the above-normal
rainfall seen in the spring and summer, and a development
of a La Niņa system in the eastern Pacific.
"Historically, the
La Niņa conditions give Texas warmer temperatures
and below normal precipitation during the winter," said
Tom Spencer, fire risk assessment coordinator for
TFS. "These two concerns, overlaid with the
strong winds and low RH seen with the cold frontal
passages, may lead to wildland fires that exceed
local resources, whereby state resources may be called
in to get them through this period"
The large fires seen
in Texas in 1996, 2000 and 2005-2006 occurred during
a La Niņa. While the spring and summer rains
have helped in more problematic fuels such as timber,
should the rain stop, those types of vegetation could
also be at risk.
"Our serious problem is in the grasses,
as we have already had freezing temperatures in the
Panhandle and West Texas this week. Once you
get the abundance of grass frost-cured, wind-driven
wildfire events such as those in Ringgold and Cross
Plains in 2005-2006 are more likely to occur," said
Spencer.
Texas Forest Service
is working on an in-depth analysis of predicted fire
weather and conditions that will be released in the
near future.
"We will take the
information from the analysis, work with cooperating
agencies and pre-position any Texas Forest Service
resources accordingly as we go through the winter
fire season months of December through March," said
Mark Stanford, chief of fire operations for Texas
Forest Service.
Texas Forest Service
is mandated by the state to respond to all wildland
fires that exceed the capacity of local jurisdictions.
For more information,
please visit the Texas Forest Service.
Central Texas - Fire threat is currently
considered Moderate.
Only eight Texas counties are currently
under burn bans: Dimmit, Hidalgo, Milam, Terry,
Upton, Ward, Wheeler, Winkler.
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OCTOBER IS BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
IT'S NOT TOO LATE TO BE AN ADVOCATE
DURING BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
TIDR is encouraging all readers to
support the prevention of Breast Cancer as well as
early detection. The following is a way each
of us can HELP!
Please tell ten friends to tell ten today! The Breast
Cancer site is having trouble getting enough people
to click on their site daily to meet their quota
of donating at least one free mammogram a day to
an underprivileged woman. It takes less than a minute
to go to their site and click on "donating a mammogram" for
free (pink window in the middle). This doesn't cost
you a thing. Their corporate sponsors/advertisers
use the number of daily visits to donate mammogram
in exchange for advertising. Here's the web site!
Pass it along to people you know. The Breast Cancer Site
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UPDATED INFORMATION FROM THE CDC
In an effort to assist you with injury prevention and protection
needs, the following links provide information on how to protect
yourself and others during wildfires.
General
Public:
How to get help for
those affected by the Southern California fires: http://www.redcross.org/news/ds/profiles/disaster_profile_CAWildfires.html
Health threats from smoke:
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/smoke/Smoke2003final.pdf
Coping with Traumatic
Events:
http://mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/TraumaticEvents/tips.asp
Health Threat
from Wildfire Smoke:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/wildfires/facts.asp
Coping with
a Disaster or Traumatic Event/Trauma and Disaster
Mental Health
http://emergency.cdc.gov/mentalhealth
Protect Yourself
and Others: http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/wildfires/
Emergency Responders:
Safety, supervision,
and issues related to wildfires (power outages, etc):
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/wildfires/responders.asp
Focusing
on injury prevention:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/emres/responders.html
Traumatic
Incident stress:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/unp-trinstrs.html
Wildfire
Smoke: A Guide for Public Health Officials:
http://www.arb.ca.gov/smp/progdev/pubeduc/wfgv8.pdf
Key resources
for first responders in fighting wildfires:
http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/firefighting/
Power Outages:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/poweroutage/workersafety.asp
Carbon Monoxide Poisoning:
During a power-outage
carbon monoxide (an odorless, colorless gas) kills
more than 500 Americans each year. See links below
on how to protect yourself and others from Carbon
Monoxide Poisoning.
Flyers and
Educational material:
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/co-materials.asp
Carbon Monoxide
fact sheet: http://www.cdc.gov/co/faqs.htm
These and other documents
are available in Spanish and are also located on
the CDC Multilingual Services Homepage at http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/
As always, CDC is
supportive in assisting state, local and community
health agencies in their communication, education
and outreach needs.
If you have
any additional questions or concerns that are not
addressed in this information you may call the CDC
Hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO (toll free) for calls originating
in the United States. If you have questions for CDC's
Emergency Communication System please call Dr. Marsha
Vanderford at 404-423-2134.
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