Wild weather

I have been worried about our drought here but West and North Texas, Oklahoma and parts of Arkansas are suffering much worse. Ranchers in these areas are losing their cattle to fast-moving fires started by lightning across a gated plain that offers little resistance. Homes and livelihoods are vanishing.

Meanwhile, a massive fire in the Mexican state of Coahuila is engulfing that part of Mexico, an area dominated by rugged wooded canons and dry vegetation. Mexican President Calderon, instead of using his own resources, is asking US and Canada for help. (I'm not sure if he is asking or demanding). The US has lent out at least two fire-fighting air tanker C-130s but I think we could use that very thing over parts of burning Texas. A squadron of 30 AirForce reservists from Peterson AFB in Colorado is also aiding Mexican officials. The fires amount to over 245,000 burning acres 60 miles from Texas.

The largest wildfire in Arizona history has been the human-caused June 2002 Rodeo Chediski Fire that ended up burning 730 square miles (467200 acres) and costing the state over $1 billion dollars to fight. Around 500 homes were destroyed and at one point 30,000 people were evacuated in the Apache-Sitgeaves National Forest area.

We are getting the hazy smoke from those fires; our sunsets toward Sonora are browner than usual. And during the day the visibility isn't as good as normal. People closer to these fires, however, must surely be suffering more.

And meanwhile, Texas is asking for federal assistance to help pay for their fires. With our deficit growing by the day, I can't see it shrinking any time soon with all these states asking for help after a natural disaster strikes. Texas is one of those states that will not be too thankful for the help as long as a Democrat is in the White House.

A Supercell of a tornado storm swept across the South on Saturday before ravishing North Carolina. One tornado touched down in Raleigh, NC, not too far from where a half sister of mine lives. Luckily she and her hubby were spared, but her neighborhood is shaken up. The death toll, originally set at 17, is rising. This morning I saw 45 dead across the South, with 22 dead in NC. North Carolina is not used to having 66 tornadoes in one day!

All these fires, earthquakes, tornadoes and floods across the US seem to be stronger, longer and deadlier than ever before. I'm watching the 3- and 4-level earthquakes around the Hawthorne,NV area. Two years ago Reno had a 5-level earthquake and a big one is still predicted to hit there, just like the US Geological Survey is predicting a massive one in the New Madrid fault line along the Mississippi River, with Memphis taking the brunt of the damage because that city has an antiquated infrastructure.

And here I am worried about the potential of raging wildfires, with our increased winds and single-digit humidity. Maybe we don't have it so bad after all.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/7524963.html
http://www.ntn24news.com/latinamericanews/41211-battling-wildfires-mexico
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0418/Why-North-Carolina-far-from-Tornado-Alley-took-brunt-of-big-outbreak