Thursday, March 24, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Japan Recovery â Support Operations

National IMAT Activations

• The National IMAT Support Cell IMAT-East remains activated supporting the EPA's air monitoring mission.
• IMAT Central de-activated on March 23, 2011, (FEMA HQ)

Significant National Weather

West:
A frontal system will produce widespread precipitation across the Great Basin and the Northern and Central Rockies.Â* The next system moving in off the Pacific will drop as much as 2 inches of rain along the California coast and as much as 3 feet of snow in the Sierras. The Pacific Northwest will receive lesser amounts of rain and snow.Â* Critical Fire weather and Red Flag warnings are forecast from western Colorado to southwestern Texas due to gusty winds and low humidity.
Midwest:
A large ridge of high pressure will keep the region generally dry with cold and gusty northeasterly winds across the Great lakes and Mississippi Valley.Â* The system moving out of the Rockies will bring rain to the Central Plains and snow to the Northern Plains later today.
South:
It will be dry across most of the region with a few showers in the Appalachians.Â* Gusty winds of 20 and 40 mph are forecast for the Southeast and Florida. The gusty winds and low humidity will result in Critical Fire weather and Red Flag warnings from northern Florida to eastern portions of South Carolina.Â*Â*Â*
Northeast:
A low pressure system will produce a few morning rain showers over the Mid-Atlantic. New York and New England will have snow throughout the day and some areas could pick up as much as 3 inches of new snow.Â* Northwesterly winds could gust as high as 40 mph in the Appalachians.(National Weather Service, Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, and various media sources)Â*
Spring Flood Preparation

• Rivers in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Wisconsin continue to rise due to recent snowmelt and ongoing precipitation.

Federal ActivityÂ*
FEMA NRCC

• Effective today, at 8:00 a.m. EDT the NRCC will transition to a Level IV (Enhanced Watch) Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., in support of the National Watch Center.

FEMA LogisticsÂ*Â*

• The Logistics Management Directorate (LMD), in concert with ORR Planning Division, continues joint planning with Regions V, VII, and VIII, in preparation for the 2011 Upper Midwest Flood Season.
• An Incident Staging Base (ISB) is established in Arden Hills, Minnesota with commodities on-hand; the ISB is located to support Regional Staging Areas with a maximum drive time of 8.5 hrs.
• The National ISB Blue Team has been sent to operate the site.
• The requested 2 trailers of water, 1 trailer of Shelf Stable Meals and 2 Infant and Toddler Kits have arrived at the Region VIII Staging Area (ARNG Mitchell, SD).

FEMA Region V

• The Region remains at Watch/Steady State.
• Warning Order # 1-3-23-2011 directs the following actions to take place on March 28, 2011:
  • The RRCC will activate to Level III with Command and General Staff.
  • The Field Operations Branch will deploy to the FEMA initial Operations Facility in Minnesota.
  • The Primary Liaison Officer for Minnesota will deploy to the Minnesota Emergency Operations Center.
  • Back up liaison officer for Minnesota will standby for deployment to the Minnesota EOC.

State/Local Activity

• The Minnesota State EOC is at Level III (Partial Activation).
  • The Cottonwood River at New Ulm in Brown County is at major flood stage and rising. Major flooding is occurring and is forecast to continue.
  • The Mississippi River at St. Paul is forecast to reach major flood levels this weekend.

FEMA Region VII

• The Region remains at Watch/Steady State.

FEMA Region VIII

• The RRCC activated to Level II on March 21, 2011 for Spring Flood preparations and has deployed IMAT teams to both North and South Dakota.
• Region Planning Staff are deployed to the Montana State EOC to assist in planning actions.
• One team is on standby for deployment to Montana. (NOAA, NWS, FEMA HQ, FEMA Regions V, VII and VIII)

Fire Management Assistance Grant

Oklahoma
On March 24, 2011, a FMAG (number to be assigned) was approved for the Osage County Complex fire in Osage County Oklahoma. The fire started on March 23, 2011, and has burned 58,000 acres and is 0% contained.Â* Mandatory evacuations are in place for 472 residents.Â* The fire has destroyed 4 homes and is threatening 360 homes in the vicinity of the cities of Prue, Skiatook, Bartlesville, and Hominy.Â* The fire is also threatening the Bartlesville airport and the water treatment facility.Â*(FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Preliminary Damage Assessments

Mississippi
IA PDAs were completed on March 23, 2011 for 1 county in the State of Mississippi as a result of severe weather that occurred March 8.Â*
California
PA PDAs for 4 counties in the State of California for the Pacific tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011,wereÂ* completed on March 23, 2011.
Hawaii
The State of Hawaii completed IA PDAs for 1 county and 2 PA PDAs for 1 county on March 23, 2011 for the Pacific tsunami that occurred on March 11, 2011. One IA PDA and one PA PDA are ongoing.Â*(FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

March 23, 2011:

• National Preparedness Level: 1
• Initial attack activity: Light (343 new fires)
• New Large Fires: 6
• Large Fires Contained: 7
• Uncontained Large Fires: 11
• Type 1/2 IMT Committed: 1(Type 1)
• States affected: KS, CO, AZ, KY, HI, AR, MO, OK & TXÂ*(NIFC)

Colorado - Indian Gulch Fire (Jefferson County)Â*

• A Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) was approved on March 21, 2011.
• The fire began on March 20, 2011, west of Denver in the city of Golden.
• The fire has consumed 1,502 acres and is 25% contained.
• 287 structures are threatened
• Evacuations have been lifted; all shelters are closed
• A Federal Type I IMT is on scene
• State of Emergency has been declared for Jefferson CountyÂ*(FEMA Region VIII)

South Carolina Wildfire â Horry CountyÂ*

• South Carolina SEOC activated to Level IV (Monitoring)
• 30 acres burned, containment unknown
• 30 homes evacuated but residents have been allowed to return home; return time unknown.
• No FEMA assistance requested (FEMA Region IV)Â*

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