A disaster victim can apply for federal assistance right from their phone
Maps of Disaster Recovery Centers and shelters (the maps are a little buggy)
A frequently updated blog that contains the latest news about current disasters.
Pre-disaster information about being prepared.
The name of the app is “FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)”. Do not confuse it with a similar looking app called “FEMA Mobile”, which is being distributed by a private individual, has advertisements, and merely links to the FEMA web site.
The app is free. FEMA is working on versions for Blackberry version 6 devices and iPhones, which should be available in a matter of weeks.
A P3 air tanker on the Las Conchas fire in New Mexico, July 15, 2011. All contracts for P3's were cancelled by the USFS in late July and the company, Aero Union, has been forced out of business. Photo by Kari Greer for the USFS
Responding perhaps to the U. S. Forest Service’s reduction of the large air tanker fleet from 44 in 2002 to the 14 that are on exclusive use contracts today, CAL FIRE has distributed a memo laying out in no uncertain terms a policy stating that their agency will put strict limits on the use of the state’s air tankers on federal fires.
If a federal incident requires “load and return” of CAL FIRE airtankers or additional CAL FIRE air tankers are ordered for the incident, the Federal GACC will order federal air tankers(s) from the other California GACC or through NICC as appropriate to replace CAL FIRE IA air tankers. CAL FIRE airtankers should NOT be considered as a replacement for federal aircraft on extended attack or major Federal incidents in California.
and:
The Region Duty Chief shall revisit the use of CAL FIRE air tankers on federal incidents with his/her federal Duty Chief counterpart at least every hour throughout the incident.
CAL FIRE seems to have understandably lost their patience with the lack of initiative and heads in the sand approach the USFS and the other federal land management agencies have adopted in managing the federal air tanker fleet for the last nine years. The federal land management agencies have been irresponsible and have mismanaged the federal fleet. They have taken advantage of CAL FIRE’s resources, while not pulling their own weight, at least in California.
Since the wings fell off two very old military surplus air tankers in 2002 requiring the grounding of over half the fleet, the U. S. Forest Service has commissioned several studies of how to reconstitute the air tanker program.
The USFS has been studying the issue of replacing the fleet of large air tankers since the “Blue Ribbon Panel”, chaired by former NTSB Chairman James E. Hall, evaluated the air tanker program following the two crashes in 2002 in which the wings fell off very old military surplus aircraft, killing five people. Those crashes resulted in the permanent grounding of about 60 percent of the large air tankers, from 44 in 2002 to the 18 or so we have today.
Now there is still another study going on, this time by the Rand Corporation. It was due in January, 2011, but even Senator Dianne Feinstein, D-California, has had difficulty finding out anything about it. Last week, according to a newspaper article, Tom Vilsack, the Secretary of Agriculture, responding three months after her inquiry, said the report would not be completed until August. Will this report simply sit on a shelf next to the last one, or will the USFS actually do something this time?
In the next 10 years more than half of our large air tankers will need to be replaced and we are studying the options and will be making a recommendation to you by the end of the summer.
Well, the latest study is already eight months overdue, but we have been told now it will show up by “August” and by “summer”. Really. They want us to believe them this time. Really. Both August and summer are almost over. These decisions about managing the air tanker fleet should have been made eight years ago. Eight years ago.
We don’t have an adequate number of air tankers for average wildfire conditions. If the predictions for dry lightning across the northwest through this weekend are accurate, that will become even more obvious.
While the overdue study still has not been released, the USFS issued a Request for Information (RFI) on August 3 asking about vendors’ potential interest in supplying “two to eight fixed wing water scooper aircraft”. This may or may not result in any contracts for air tankers:
This RFI is for planning purposes only and shall not be construed as an RFP or as a decision or obligation on the part of the Government to acquire any products or services.
Making decisions is hard, huh?
On June 5, 2011 the U. S. Forest Service awarded a Call When Needed contract for 10 Tanker Air Carrier’s DC-10 Very Large Air Tanker, with no guarantee of flight hours or daily availability. CAL FIRE also has a CWN contract for the DC-10’s.
Large areas of the northwest and northern Rockies are currently under Red Flag Warnings at 5:00 p.m. MT, August 25, 2011. NOAA
On Wednesday, lightning, much of it without rain, began moving across the northwestern portion of the United States. It began in Washington and Oregon and by late afternoon moved into Idaho and northwest Wyoming.
Map showing lightning strikes for the 24-hour period ending at 6:30 pm 8-25-2011. Credit Astrogenic
At least 9,400 strikes were recorded in Oregon in a 24-hour period, and as of Thursday afternoon 180 fires have been detected in the state. More lightning is forecast for eastern Oregon over the next three or four days. Western South Dakota is expected to receive some dry lightning Thursday evening, causing a Red Flag Warning to be issued. The forecast for northeastern Wyoming and western South Dakota calls for erratic winds with gust up to 50 mph in the vicinity of thunderstorms.
Missoula has a Red Flag Warning in effect until midnight for thunderstorms with little rain. Billings has also issued a Red Flag Warning for wet and dry thunderstorms with erratic winds up to 45 mph. Pendleton, Oregon has a Red Flag Warning in effect for this afternoon and evening for “abundant lighting” with less than 0.10″ of precipitation.
It will be interesting to see if this develops into a large-scale lightning fire bust, like the ones in 1987 and 2008. If so, you can expect the National Preparedness Level to rise much higher than what it is now, two. And with only 14 large air tankers under exclusive use contracts, compared to 44 in 2002, there would be many, many unfilled orders for air tankers.
Click to enlarge. Map showing heat detected by satellites on fires in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana. 11:40 a.m. MT 8-25-2011. MODIS
The national Incident Management Situation Report for this morning only lists 14 uncontained large fires in the United States, but the map above which shows (in red) heat on fires detected by satellites, appears to show more than 14 in just the states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
Some areas of Idaho and northwest Wyoming experienced some dry lightning Wednesday afternoon and there is a chance that scattered thunderstorms will produce more of those dry strikes across the west through this weekend.
Hole In The Wall Fire. Photo by Dewey Vanderhoff
Below is an excerpt from InciWeb about the Hole in the Wall fire which straddles the Wyoming/Montana border about 10 miles south of Red Lodge, MT.
The Hole in the Wall Fire grew to 4491 acres yesterday and is at 10% containment. Downdrafts from an unanticipated thunder-cell fanned areas of firing operation that was completed earlier in the afternoon. The fire has crossed into Montana and is burning in North Line Creek, in steep and rugged terrain. A fire weather watch is in effect today, from this afternoon through this evening; thunderstorms will move north of the fire area and may produce gusty winds from the northwest and north.
A Type 2 Incident Management Team, Rocky Mountain Team C [Incident Commander Joe Lowe], has assumed command.
A reporter for the Billings Gazette interviewed a resident of Lame Deer, MT about the Waterhole fire. She told the reporter that she knew the fire was getting close after hundreds of grasshoppers and birds started moving south ahead of the flames.
Hole In The Wall Fire. Highway 120 at WY 294 junction. Photo by Dewey Vanderhoff
Just in time for hurricane Irene, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has released an application for Android mobile phones. Just put in the Android Market a couple of days ago, it has been downloaded less than 100 times. I tried it out and can see a couple of things that I would change, but generally it works pretty well.
