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Worst
recorded years for U.S. wildfires are 2005, 2006, 2007, 2011 and 2012.
This year has already joined that list, and wildfire season is still
going strong.
The
2015 wildfire season in the United States has already broken records.
So far this year, more acres of land have burned as of mid-September
than the total annual amount in 2011, which was the 4th worst year for
wildfires at least since the 1960s. So will this year be the new fourth
worst, third worst, second worst, or worst wildfire year since then?
Read on, and take a guess.
The National Interagency Fire Center
in Boise, Idaho, publishes a ton of useful statistics on wildfires that
are critical for helping state and federal agencies manage the flames.
These records date back to the 1960s.
The chart below, created
with the National Interagency Fire Center data, shows that the worst
years for wildfires in the U.S., since these records began being kept,
were 2006 (9,873,745 acres burned), 2007 (9,328,045 acres burned), 2012
(9,326,238 acres burned), 2011 (8,711,367 acres burned), and 2005
(8,689,389 acres burned).
Already as of September 18, 2015,
8,821,040 acres of land have burned across the U.S., and this number
exceeds the total number of acres burned for 2011. Hence, 2015 has
already earned a spot as the 4th worst year on record, and the 2015
wildfire season is still going strong.
A)
Greater mouse-eared bat (Myotis myotis) with white fungal growth around
its muzzle, ears, and wing membranes (photograph provided by Tamás
Görföl). B) Scanning electron micrograph of a bat hair colonized by
Geomyces destructans. Scale bar = 10 µm. http://www.cdc.gov/eid/content/16/8/1237-F1.htm
Authors
: Gudrun Wibbelt, Andreas Kurth, David Hellmann, Manfred Weishaar,
Alex Barlow, Michael Veith, Julia Prüger, Tamás Görföl, Lena Grosche,
Fabio Bontadina, Ulrich Zöphel, Hans-Peter Seidl, Paul M. Cryan, and
David S. Blehert
.....
Biological Hazard
USA
State of North Carolina, [Rutherford and Henderson counties]
.....
RSOE EDIS
Biological Hazard in USA on Thursday, 10 April, 2014 at 10:38 (10:38 AM) UTC.
Description
A
fungal disease of unknown origin that is killing hibernating bats in
eastern North America appears to be spreading in Western North Carolina,
according to biologists monitoring the epidemic. White-nose syndrome
has been confirmed in at least seven mountain counties, but Biologist
Gabrielle Graeter of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission said this
week, "I think it's all over Western North Carolina at this point." Last
year, the fungal disease - named for the white growths covering the
muzzles of affected bats - was found to have killed a tri-colored bat at
the Nature Conservancy's 186-acre Bat Cave Preserve in Rutherford and
Henderson counties. But Graeter said the fungus that causes the disease
is now more widespread than those seven counties that had confirmed
cases as of 2013 - Avery, Buncombe, McDowell, Haywood, Yancey,
Transylvania and Rutherford. "To confirm that it's in a county, we have
to find the fungus has invaded the skin tissue of a bat," she said.
"We're largely depending on someone in the public finding a freshly dead
bat and they have to know to call us and submit it for testing. So we
have gaps on our maps just because of the testing methodology." The
Wildlife Resources Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have
been monitoring caves and mines throughout the state that are known as
bat hibernating sites. Last winter, the partners found bat numbers in
some hibernacula had declined by 95 percent. In North Carolina, the
fungal disease has taken its biggest toll on species such as the little
brown bat, northern long-eared bat (which has been proposed for
endangered species status) and the tri-colored bat, Graeter said.
"Before white-nose syndrome, tri-colored and little brown bats were
considered the most abundant species we have and now we're seeing these
really precipitous declines," she said. To slow the spread of the
disease, wildlife officials have been working with the caving community
to restrict spelunking during the bat's winter hibernation, and to
decontaminate their clothing and equipment to prevent transmitting the
fungus between sites. "The professional cavers have been very
cooperative and willing to take measures to minimize disturbance to
bats," Graeter said. "It's more a problem on the recreational side of
things. I think people just aren't aware of the situation." The
occurrence of the same fungus in healthy bats in Europe suggests it may
have originated in Europe, and was accidently transmitted to bats in
North America that lack immunity. In the U.S., white-nose syndrome was
first documented in New York in 2006 and has spread throughout the East
and as far west at Oklahoma. Bats affected with white-nose syndrome
don't always have obvious fungal growth, but they may display abnormal
behavior within and outside of their hibernacula. Scientists speculate
the fungus may awaken the bats from their winter slumber, burning
precious fat reserves. Although the outlook for cave-hibernating bats is
dire, Graeter said there are some hopeful signs. The fungus has been
detected on two species of big-eared bats, she said, "but we do not have
any evidence of these two species getting the disease or any kind of
die-off from this." Biologists are also studying a variety of biological
controls to see if the bat species that are faring better might have
oils, bacteria or other fungi on their bodies that may be inhibiting the
white-nose fungus.
Biohazard name:
White-noise Syndrome (bat)
Biohazard level:
2/4 Medium
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that cause only mild disease to humans, or are difficult to contract via aerosol in a lab setting, such as hepatitis A, B, and C, influenza A, Lyme disease, salmonella, mumps, measles, scrapie, dengue fever, and HIV.
"Routine diagnostic work with clinical specimens can be done safely at
Biosafety Level 2, using Biosafety Level 2 practices and procedures.
Research work (including co-cultivation, virus replication studies, or
manipulations involving concentrated virus) can be done in a BSL-2 (P2)
facility, using BSL-3 practices and procedures. Virus production
activities, including virus concentrations, require a BSL-3 (P3)
facility and use of BSL-3 practices and procedures", see Recommended
Biosafety Levels for Infectious Agents.
The devastating bat-killing disease
that has already killed more than 7 million bats across the Eastern
U.S. has spread to Wisconsin and Michigan, state wildlife officials
announced this week. During routine surveys of bat hibernating areas
late this winter, biologists discovered signs of the malady known as white-nose syndrome that
was first documented in upstate New York in 2006. Subsequent lab
testing confirmed the presence of the disease in the two upper Midwest
states, bringing to 25 the total number of states where the disease is
present. White-nose syndrome has also spread to five Canadian provinces.
“White-nose
syndrome has now reached the last strongholds of the once-abundant
little brown bat and several other species,” said Mollie Matteson, a
senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity.
“Given the rapid spread and devastating consequences of this disease,
it’s incredibly urgent that we put more resources into finding a cure
and saving our bats.”
White-nose syndrome is the worst wildlife
health crisis in recent memory, killing up to 100 percent of bats in
affected caves. There is no known cure for the disease, which has
afflicted seven bat species so far and has pushed several to the brink
of regional extinction. Last year the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
proposed Endangered Species Act protection for the northern long-eared
bat, one of the species hardest hit by the disease. The other bat
species hit by the disease are the little brown bat, tricolored bat,
eastern small-footed bat, federally endangered Indiana bat, federally
endangered gray bat and the big brown bat.
Officials said the coal ash is burying aquatic animals and their food. Photograph: Gerry Broome/AP
Federal officials said Tuesday that toxic coal ash has coated the
bottom of a North Carolina river as many as 70 miles downstream of a
Duke Energy dump where a massive spill occurred two weeks ago.
The
US Fish and Wildlife Service advised that a massive pile of coal ash
about 75ft long and as much as 5ft deep has been detected on the bottom
of the Dan river near the site of the February 2 spill. Deposits varying
from 5in deep to less than 1in coated the river bottom across the state
line into Virginia and to Kerr Lake, a major reservoir.
Federal
authorities expressed concern for what long-term effect the contaminants
will have on fish, mussels and other aquatic life. Public health
officials have advised people to avoid contact with the water and not
eat the fish.
“The deposits vary with the river characteristics,
but the short- and long-term physical and chemical impacts from the ash
will need to be investigated more thoroughly, especially with regard to
mussels and fish associated with the stream bottom and wildlife that
feed on benthic invertebrates,” said Tom Augspurger, a contaminants
specialist at the federal wildlife agency. Benthic invertebrates are
small animals that live in the sediments of rivers and lakes, such as
clams, worms and crustaceans.
RALEIGH,
N.C. (AP) — North Carolina officials said Tuesday that groundwater
containing unsafe levels of arsenic apparently leaching from a Duke Energy coal ash dump is still pouring into the Dan River, which is already contaminated from a massive Feb. 2 spill.
The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources
ordered Duke to stop the flow of contaminated water coming out a pipe
that runs under a huge coal ash dump at its Eden power plant. A nearby
pipe at the same dump collapsed without warning two weeks ago, coating
the bottom of the Dan River with toxic ash as far as 70
miles downstream.
State
regulators expressed concern five days ago that the second pipe could
fail, triggering a new spill. The water coming out of that pipe contains
poisonous arsenic at 14 times the level considered safe for human
contact, according to test results released by the state on Tuesday.
"We are ordering Duke Energy to eliminate this unauthorized discharge immediately," said Tom Reeder, director of the N.C. Division of Water Resources.
Video
taken last week by a robot sent inside the 36-inch-wide concrete pipe
showed wide gaps between seams through which groundwater is gushing in,
likely from the toxic dump above.
Tests
on water from the pipe before it goes under the dump showed none of the
dangerous contamination detected at the other end. The concrete inside
the pipe is heavily stained around the numerous leaks, suggesting the
contamination is likely not new.
A
state inspector received the video recorded by Duke during a Feb. 11
visit to the site, but did not review it until Thursday. On Friday
night, the state agency went public with concerns about the pipe's
structural integrity.
Duke spokeswoman Paige Sheehan quickly issued a statement, downplaying the risk.
"After reviewing the videotape, we determined that no immediate action was necessary," it said.
In
the wake of the initial spill, public health officials issued
advisories telling people to avoid contact with the river water and not
eat the fish.
Authorities
said public drinking water in Danville, Va., and other communities
downstream of the Duke plant remain safe. Heavy metals detected in the
river at levels exceeding state and federal safety standards — including
arsenic, lead and selenium — are being successfully filtered out of
water drawn from the river at municipal treatment plants, they said.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
said Tuesday a massive pile of coal ash about 75 feet long and as much
as 5 feet deep has been detected in the river by the site of the Feb. 2
spill. Deposits varying from 5 inches deep to less than 1 inch coated
the river bottom across the state line into Virginia and to Kerr Lake, a
major reservoir.
Federal
authorities expressed concern for what long-term effect the
contaminants will have on fish, mussels and other aquatic life.
"The
deposits vary with the river characteristics, but the short- and
long-term physical and chemical impacts from the ash will need to be
investigated more thoroughly, especially with regard to mussels and fish
associated with the stream bottom and wildlife that feed on benthic
invertebrates," said Tom Augspurger, a contaminants specialist at the federal wildlife agency.
