July 2013 Blue Duck Weather News

July 2013 Weather News!



The Wind! April is the wind month for Arizona. But I have noticed the afternoons have been windy for months. Ten, fifteen and twenty mph wind gusts in the afternoons straight out of the west. Not winds that have anything to do with storms or the monsoon that is upon us but just gradients between low and high pressure systems moving through. I wish in my weather recordings I kept a closer eye on this so there would be a baseline to compare to but I haven’t. And it wouldn’t have mattered. Wind just doesn’t seem that important until it advances storms or causes damage when it becomes to strong or mixes with fire to cause death and destruction.

On June 29th I walked out of the nest in the late afternoon. The temperature was 115 degrees and the wind was blowing at about 20mph. It was like walking into a blast furnace. I immediately went to the east side of our house to get out of the wind. Doing that did no good in making me any cooler but the wind was just oppressive! Walking out of the nest in February when it is forty degrees with a 20 mph wind is cold, but being bundled up, getting out of the wind is more comfortable if not comforting. When I compare the two I would rather be able to get out of a cold wind than a hot one, especially for prolonged periods of time. But given the right conditions and too much time in the elements both can kill you.

The Winds! The next day I am sure it was the winds, first the hot dry winds from the west and then unexpected outflow of monsoon winds from the north and east colliding, and a fire that blew up in a matter of minutes that killed nineteen of the finest battling the fire on Yarnell Hill. The last text photo of one of the firefighters to his wife that afternoon showed part of the team to be in a safe distance and location from the fire. What happened in the following hours must have been a fire tornado that no math, education, training, radio contact, weather reports or safety protocol could have prevented. The fire became a living breathing monster with its own uncontrollable intentions.

That day, June 30th disaster struck after 4:00 p.m. for the nineteen men battling the Yarnell Fire. Between 4:00p.m. and 5:00 p.m. the winds shifted 180 degrees and nearly doubled in strength to 40 mph. The fire’s huge mushroom cloud collapsed on itself, sending smoke and heat into the canyon.

At 4:47 p.m. the Granite Mountain Hotshots deployed their emergency fire shelters received from a calm two way radio communication to a fire commander. These shelters look like large sleeping bags. Simply put they are placed on the ground cleared of immediate fire or hot embers and are opened partially away from the flames and heat. There is an air intake for cooler air near the ground. The shelters are built to deflect the heat and can withstand temperatures of 300 degrees. At 500 degrees they begin to melt. They have been mandatory personal protective equipment since 1977. One veteran firefighter later said “When you deploy these you either make it or you don’t.”

Some firefighters believe that a fire is a living, breathing animal. One firefighter said after the fire had taken these men it got what it wanted and would probably lay down. All of the men and women battling urban, forest or desert firefighters are soldiers. They have a bond and a brotherhood that cannot be comprehended for those of us who simply don’t understand what they go through on a “routine” basis. One of the fallen in the Yarnell fire had posted a prayer that Sunday morning before he went into the field. He simply asked God to protect them as they went into battle.

The men lost that day are the most first responders lost at one time since 9-11. They fought a good fight and deserve to rest in peace. Sleep peacefully soldiers.

For this month your staff at Blue Duck Weather will place the usual boring weather stats at the end of this weather journal. Let’s get right to the weather as it unfolds for the month of July and hope it ends not nearly as sadly as June.

7-1- At times yesterday the Yarnell Hill Fire was moving 22’ per second. It has blown up from 400 acres to over 8,000 acres in twenty four hours. It has been classified as a Type 1 fire and now the federal government is involved with fighting the fire. There is no estimate yet on the amount of homes and structures damaged or lost.

The Dean Peak Fire near Kingman has burned 1000 acres.

Death Valley, California reaches 129 degrees, an all time record for this date.

7-2- The Yarnell Hill Fire is 0 percent contained and fifty homes have been damaged or destroyed.

The Dean Park Fire has grown to 2500 acres with no containment.

.02” of rain at The Land. It doesn’t sound like much but we haven’t had a drop since April!

7-3- Estimate of homes damaged or destroyed in the Yarnell Hill Fire is 127. Folks will not be allowed to return to their homes for at least a week. Heavy rains have helped the cause and the fire is at 49% containment.

Mandatory evacuations as the Dean Peak Fire near Kingman has burned 4400 acres. It grew 1000 acres overnight.

There are three new wildfires burning in Oregon started by lightning. One fire has burned 30,000 acres. Campers at the Owyhee Dam were evacuated when the fire jumped the river below the dam.

The NWS has confirmed a tornado hit New Jersey two days ago. Extensive damage in Berkeley Heights.

7-4- With average dew points 55 degrees or higher for the third day the monsoon season began at The Land on July 2nd.

The Yarnell Hill Fire may be 85% contained by tonight.

The Dean Park Fire has blown up to 5400 acres.

Nearly one foot of hail falls in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, enough to bring out snow plows.

Ripcurrents in Florida and Georgia are so strong beaches are closed.

Twelve to twenty inches of rain falls in the Florida Pan Handle.

The Statue of Liberty is reopened today after being closed for repairs from Hurricane Sandy last October.

7-5- The Yarnell Hill Fire is 80% contained.

7-6- The Yarnell Hill Fire is 90% contained.

The Dean Park Fire is Fire is 37% contained at 5500 acres and 550 homes under mandatory evacuations.

7-7- Hopefully some of the Yarnell Hill Fire evacuees will return home tomorrow.

Dean Park Fire evacuation order lifted and the fire is 65% contained.

Storm damage last night in San Tan Valley, Arizona and a microburst has been confirmed.

1300 treated for heat related problems at a country music relief concert at the University of Oklahoma Stadium in Norman. 60,000 attended and when the concert began it 93 degrees.

What is defined as a Heat Wave in the East? Three consecutive days with temperatures in the 90s or higher. The NWS issues a heat advisory of parts of New York and Massachusetts with the heat and humidity index causing temperatures as high as 105 degrees.

7-8- Record high low of 91 degrees in Phoenix this morning.

7-9- The Shipman Fire near Kearney, Arizona started yesterday with two structures burned and evacuations. It started by the San Pedro River and has burned 500 acres.

A new out of control wildfire is burning in Southern California and has burned 8 structures.

7-10- 100 mountain cabins destroyed and 120 homes in peril in San Diego County from a masive wildfire.

Wildfire update for Arizona: The Doce Fire, human caused started on June 18th is 96% contained at 6,732 acres. The Yarnell Hill Fire, started on June 28th has burned 8400 acres and 90% contained. The Dean Park Fire, lightning caused began on June 29th is 90% contained at 5200 acres.

A Mesa, Arizona woman is dead after being struck in the head by a tree branch in high winds. She was sitting near a camp table playing cards with friends at the bottom of Supai Canyon, Grand Canyon.

Two major fires are raging in Nevada. One north of Las Vegas is within a quarter mile of homes. In northern Nevada 25,700 acres have burned in the Pine Nut Mountains south west of Reno.

Tropical Storm Chantal threatens Puerto Rico.

3.5’’ of rain in Toronto, Canada in as many hours. 1500 stranded in a commuter train. A month’s worth of rain in a matter of a few hours and 300,000 without power!

Worst flooding in westerrn China in 50 years. Landslide buries 40 people. A bridge collapses sending five vehicles into floow waters with twelve missing.

The hottest temperature on the planet was recorded 100 years ago in Death Valley, California at 134 degrees.

7-11- Death Valley Park rangers tell tourists to quit trying to fry eggs on the pavement and sidewalks. They are leaving sticky gooey messes that are difficult to cleanup and stink. (Who the fuck would want to go to Death Valley in July, or anytime for that matter?)

The fire near Vegas (I haven’t heard a name yet) destroys six structures at a desert ranch. Crews are trying to protect homes in Rainbow, Echo and Old Town areas.

Two and a half inches of rain causes a huge mudslide today that swept a car away and stranded 21 vehicles west of Manitou Springs in Colorado. U.S. Highway 24 closed for three hours. Thankfully there were no injuries. Flooding and erosion a result of the Waldo Canyon Fire last year and the Black Forest Fire this year.

Flooding in western China has destroyed a memorial to the 2008 Sichuan province that left 90,000 dead or missing from an earthquake.
An iceberg larger than Chicago broke free from Antarctica’s Pine Island Glacier two days ago and is now floating freely in the Amundsen Sea. It covers 278 square miles!

7-12- The wildfire near Vegas is the top priority fire in the United States as this is written.

THE YARNELL HILL FIRE IS 100 PERCENT CONTAINED!

A pregnant New Mexico woman and her husband watching fireworks on their front porch were struck by lightning in Albuquerque. She was just weeks from her due date. She was rushed to the hospital, an emergency Cesarian section was performed and mom, dad and baby are doing fine.

7-13- Charallete, North Carolina has had rain for twenty days in a row. (Why don’t you send some our way?)

There has been a rise in bear sightings that has closed Forest Road 171 just south of Arizona 260 in the Apache Sitgrieves National Forest. No road access allowed or “dispersed” camping until the area is cleared of bears. There have been no reports of bear attacks.

7-14- The 34th annual Calgary Folk Music Festival on July 25th-28th remains at its historical home, Prince’s Island Park after weeks of uncertainty due to significant damage from the great flood…..the island has been repaired and is ready.

7-15- Three inches of rain near Gila Bend, Arizona last night!

Pea sized hail near 30th St. and Chandler Blvd. Large trees are down, one inch of rain in a brief amount of time, new homes being built in the framing stage blown over with 45-55mph winds.

Just south of there, on the Gila Indian Reservation Rawhide will be shut down for repairs until August. Old wagons flipped over and the 150,000 square foot pavillion is blown apart.

Rare, high elevation tornado touched down near Pike’s Peak, Colorado at the 14,140’ summit. The highest elevation on record was photographed by a hiker in Sequoia National Park, California on July 7th, 2004 at 12,000’

7-16- A Heat Emergency is declared for 140 million people in the East. There are 90 degree sustained temperatures in 43 states. Low temps in some North East cities that won’t drop below 80 degrees. A huge heat dome is contributing to the misery and the heat/ humidity index will feel like 105 degrees in many places.

The NWS has confirmed winds that hit the Ahwautee area in Phoenix two nights ago exceeded 90mph.

Almost all of the buildings in the Yarnell Hill burn zone that had been adequately cleared with a “defensible space” survived the fire. Of 63, 60 were unscathed.

The Yarnell Hill Fire was more intense in speed than ever witnessed by Arizona firefighters. 22’ per second or 15 miles per hour.

14,200 monster of a fire in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California began two days ago. It blew up 50% overnight and is 10% contained. Six homes destroyed and mandatory evacuations for Camp Ronald McDonald, a camp for children with cancer. This fire is now a top priority blaze.

7-18- 6,000 forced to evacuate when the winds changed fire direction in Idyllwild, California. Residents, tourists, 22,000 homes and condos. The Mountain Fire has grown to 19,600 acres with almost 3,000 firefighters. Thirty miles of the Pacific Coast Trail that runs from Mexico to Canada destroyed. It is raining ash in Palm Springs. The cause of this fire is not known. (In 2006 five firefighters lost their lives fighting a blaze in Idyllwild.)

New heat records being set and emergency rooms are filling up in 24 states. One hundred degrees a new record in New York City. 50% of rescue calls in the Bronx are due to heat.

A man is found dead near Parker Canyon Lake in south eastern Arizona with two state protected rattlesnakes in his backpack. The two ridge nose rattlers were dead when the man was found. “It’s a very coveted rattlesnake on the Black Market. People are always trying to poach them out here. Autopsy reports are pending as to the cause of death. ( Yours truly has in the past had rattlesnakes in his backpack although they were not protected and I was not poaching. I was rabbit or bird hunting and had the “opportunity” to kill a few for skins. Even with the heads cut off it is a very uncomfortable feeling to have snakes squirming against my back.)

7-19- Three charged in heat death of migrant found in U-Haul truck with eight others at a gas station near Picacho Peak and Interstate 10 in Arizona. Charges include second degree murder in a human smuggling operation.

Flames from the Mountain Fire are within sight of Palm Springs, California. The air attack is going on twenty four hours a deay and the fire is 15% contained.

With the heat/humidity index it is 110 degrees in Washington, D.C.

7-20- Powerful thunderstorms beat up Los Vegas last night snapping trees and utility poles flooding part of the famous Strip. Peak wind gusts of 70mph and a new daily rainfall record of .22”. ( If this is a daily record one can certainly tell Vegas doesn’t get much rain. After all it is barren outside of the city, more like a bomb was dropped fifty years ago.)

Twenty three of New Jersey firefighters overcome with heat wave and heat exhaustion battling a huge structure fire. Heat is suspected in 13 deaths across the country.

The Heat Wave in the N.E. is in it’s 7th day from D.C. to Boston. 100,000 without power in Detroit to add to the misery. Thankfully the wind pattern is beginning to shift from east to west and cool air drops temps in Minnestota into the forties.

The Mountain Fire in California has gulped up 27,000 acres with 2,000 still evacuated in Idyllwild. The monster is 25% contained.

7-21- Drenching monsoon rain closes U.S. 60 in Tempe, Arizona in both directions at the Mill Avenue underpass. Water rescues for two men in Apache Junction and some areas report up to 2’’ of rain. And at The Land we received .48’’ of land with a tropical high of only 85 degrees.

The Carpenter Fire on Mount Charleston, Nevada ia 95% contained at 28,000 staggering acres.

7-22- Flash Flood Warning issued for Eloy, Arizona and they received 3’’ of rain! Yours truly was driving west of Eloy when rain came in from the west. It was raining so hard visibility dropped to a few feet, just as bad as dust or fog. I had to pull over when it was safe and wait about thirty minutes for the brunt of the storm to blow over. There was even a brief period of hail pounding the roof of my truck.

Idyllwild evacuations lifted as heavy rain helps fire conditions mercifully. Forty two fucking square miles have burned!

A farmer is suing the City of Chandler, Arizona claiming that an abundance of rabbits are eating his crops. He wants a fence built around a park. According to him four acres of his forty acres was damaged causing him about four thousand dollars. ( You know, air rifles don’t make any sound, I’m just saying.)

7-24- Baseball size hail in several counties in Kansas breaks out windshields.

7-25- And from the It’s your time file: A husband and his wife were killed by lightning at a highway scenic overlook along Arizona 89 A, eight miles south of Jacob’s Lake. A boy with them was struck but not killed.
A pregnant Maine woman and her friend got lost hiking in the woods and were rescued. But they died later that evening when they drove their car into the ocean in fog. They presumabley drowned when their car went down a boat ramp at the end of a dead end road.

A third hiker, this one from Arizona, dies at The Wave while exploring near the Arizona-Utah border. The three have died because of brutal heat in open arid country with no marked trails showing the way. Only twenty permits are issued per day. It seems to be okay until on the way out when people get lost and run out of water.

Tropical Storm Dorian gathering strenght in the Atlantic.

7-26- How hot is it? The Lovely Mrs. Blue Duck told me she had a bag of potatoes in her car. The potatoes in the sun were half baked when she took them out. (That beats the fucking frying an egg on the sidewalk worn out story all to hell.)

The incredibly massive wildfire still burning in the San Jacinto Mountains in California was sparked by failed electrical equipment on private property. According to the utility company it happened on the “customer’s side of the meter.” ( What this means is they take no responsibility at all.) The fire has burned 42 square miles and is 92% contained.

Tropical Storm Flossie may hit Hawaii.

7-27- Sate of Emergency declared in North Carolina after six to ten inches of rain has fallen.

Flood Alerts issued for Hawaii as Flossie is tracking to make a direct hit on the island.

7-28- 89mph winds and flash flooding in southern Utah.

5’’ of rain in Philadelphia. And the temps are coming down, get on your sweaters! Stanley, Iowa, 34 degrees. 41 degrees in Heron, South Dakota. It was warmer in Alaska yesterday than Chicago.

Flash Flood Warnings in northern Arizona. 7.15 inches of rain in Flagstaff this month. Six feet of rushing water in washes in Supai Village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon.

Tropical Storm Warning issued for Hawaii County and Maui County as Flossie gets ready for a greeting.

A swarm of about 30,000 bees attacks a Texas couple exercising their miniature horses. The woman was stung over 200 times ,the boyfriend 50 times, and the horses were stung so badly they died.

7-29- A tour bus on the way to Vegas yesterday swept by flooding as deep as eight feet and rolls on its side. The driver is credited for helping 33 passengers crawl out of windows with no injuries. The bus driver was suddenly hit by a wall of water crossing a paved wash, the bus stalled and floated three hundred yards before it rolled over. He may be a hero to the passengers but he may be charged with the “Stupid Motorist Law” for crossing a flooded wash.

An out of control wildfire is burning in Mallocra, Spain. It is a popular tourist destination. Seven hundred are evacuated.

Record all time daily rain of 8.26’’ in Philadelphia . Seven inches fell in four hours and all American Flights are cancelled.

7-30- Flossie is downgraded to a Tropical Depression but the Big Island is still expecting six inches of rain. This is the first Tropical Storm to make direct contact with Hawaii since 1958!

Tropical Storm Gil forms in the Mexican Baja.

Farms in the South East are receiving too much rain. In Fort Valley, Georgia crops are drowning. The largest peach crop in the nation has lost one thire of its peaches. The ground is too wet to cut wheat. Corn, tomatoes and peas are drowned.

An eleven year old boy hiking with his family fell down a 200’ sliding rock fall in Utah in Provo Canyon. He is recovering and will be released from a local hospital.

7-31- Anchorage broke a record for hitting highs above 70 degrees for the 14th straight day.

Before we give our final observation about the Tragedy on Yarnell Hill on June 30th that unfolded in details throughout the month of July please join me in my misery of a full blown summary of the monsoon moisture on the Land (and other boring stats.)

The average temperature on the Land for July was 91.60 degrees. (No wonder fucking electric bills are three hundred dollars a month!) The average humidity was 43.84 percent. The average dew point was 62.84 degrees, well into monsoon territory the entire month. The Land received some much needed rainfall to the tune of .74’’ bringing the total to 2.81’’ of rain for the year. There were four days it was over 110 degrees, eight days over 105, and eleven over 100.

Talking Trees and Antelope Hills in New Mexico usually runs about twenty degrees cooler than the Land but this month it was almost thirty degreees cooler with an average temperature of 64.48 degrees.

And what is Blue Duck weather without a mud puddle report for the lakes that effect Arizona and the “great” South West? Lake Mead is 47% full, Powell 47%, Pleasant 55% and Roosevelt 46%.

Almost every day this month there has been some kind of published report about the Yarnell Hill Fire, causes and speculations of the 19 brave young men that died. There was a beautiful and moving ceremonial and buriel for the crew. There have been relief concerts, donations and the kindness of Arizona and the world has shown through such a tragic time. The community of Yarnell has pulled together and will rebuild. The unity is incredible and even the most hard and untouched person has to have been touched.

Out of respect to the firefighters and the families, your fine staff at Blue Duck Weather did not give you day by day accounts of speculation by people or the media as to what happened or why. There are at least two major national and local investigations going on and the results will probably be posted in September. But does it matter for the boys, the families and the community? They will never get them back. I only hope the investigations help fire science, protcol and training to help future firefighters out of a terrible situation with no way out. The most basic conclusion is nature killed these men and no amount of science will ever tame her.

The most important long lasting tribute to these men was a proposal I read earlier this month. “The land where the firefighters died may be set aside for a permanent memorial. The State Land Comission has ordered 320 acres closed to public access. A fence has also been built around the site where the men died.” The only exception for access is for families of the fallen and other firefighters.

As I looked at photos of the American and Arizona flag on a pole at the site the ground is barren, the boulders surreal, the vegetation burnt away and I realized what would look like normally an easy hike became a boxed in inferno with no way out. But the thing that struck me the most profoundly, is it appears not to be that far off the road. Preserve that site for all to remember and feel for generations. It would be an honor to all soldiers of fire fighting.

I came across the following quote by total accident. It was unrelated to anything about the fire and tragedy I had read. But I thought how true and symbolic it was. “I can think of no more stirring symbol of man’s humanity to man than a fire engine.” Kurt Vonnegut.

As I conclude this month’s edition of Blue Duck Weather there are rain drops on my office window, there is no smell of wood smoke outside and there is no wind.



MR Blue Duck