Environmental Glance
Local offices at the National Weather Service had staffing shortages that might have led to a harder time forecasting Central Texas's severe rain and deadly floods, according to The New York Times.
Former officials told the Times the staffing shortages meant there were less experienced workers who could have helped communicate with local authorities after the flash flood warnings were issued.
Along with the staffing shortages, it seems local communities weren't properly prepared.
Rob Kelly, the Kerr County judge, told the Times that the county did not have a warning system because residents are hesitant to spending money on something so expensive.
“Taxpayers won’t pay for it,” Kelly said.
He added that he doesn't know if residents might reconsider getting them after this deadly flood.
Vacant National Weather Service Positions May Have Hurt Flood Coordination: NYT
EPA places staffers who signed ‘dissent’ letter on leave
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is placing staffers who signed a letter of dissent against the Trump administration’s actions and policies on leave.
The EPA says it has placed 144 staffers on administrative leave as it investigates the letter. It’s not entirely clear whether they will face further punishment after the probe.
“The Environmental Protection Agency has a zero-tolerance policy for career bureaucrats unlawfully undermining, sabotaging, and undercutting the administration’s agenda as voted for by the great people of this country last November,” EPA spokesperson Brigit Hirsch said in a written statement.
In a letter made public on Monday, current and former EPA staffers said that the administration’s policies “undermine the EPA mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
They expressed concerns about five issues in particular, saying that the administration is undermining public trust, ignoring scientific consensus to benefit polluters, reversing EPA’s progress in America’s most vulnerable communities, dismantling the Office of Research and Development and promoting a culture of fear.
“Your decisions and actions will reverberate for generations to come. EPA under your leadership will not protect communities from hazardous chemicals and unsafe drinking water, but instead will increase risks to public health and safety,” the staffers wrote to Administrator Lee Zeldin.
In response, the EPA said Monday that it would “continue to work with states, tribes, and communities to advance the agency’s core mission of protecting human health and the environment.”
New Jersey wildfire burns over 5,000 acres in Wharton State Forest
Emergency officials in New Jersey confirmed that firefighters have contained 60% of the state's wildfire in the Wharton State Forest on Saturday.
The Mines Spung Wildfire, first reported by a private pilot on June 13, has burned more than 5,000 acres, according to the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.
Firefighters were "making progress" in containing the blaze in Shamong Township, New Jersey, deploying fire engines, helicopters, bulldozers and ground, according to the state service. The cause of the fire, which has threatened five structures, is under investigation.
"The fire has got some serious burning going on right now and with that, we're having a hard time to control it," the state fire service's Chief Bill Donnelly told reporters during a press conference.
The smell of smoke was reported in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware Friday evening, going into the weekend, according to CBS station KYW-TV.
Oregon wildfire destroys homes and raises fears for looming fire season
A growing wildfire in Oregon has destroyed multiple homes and prompted evacuation orders in the Columbia River Gorge area, in what officials are calling an early warning of the fire season ahead.
The so-called Rowena fire had grown on Thursday to 3,500 acres (1,400 hectares) and remained 0% contained, prompting officials to issue evacuation orders for hundreds of homes and to temporarily close a section of an interstate highway.
The state’s governor, Tina Kotek, invoked the Emergency Conflagration Act for the Rowena Fire, allowing the state’s fire marshal agency to mobilize resources, it said in a statement.
The agency said it was mobilizing an incident management team and six structural taskforces, with three responding on Wednesday night and the other three arriving early on Thursday. The fire has already destroyed about 20 homes, according to local news reports, and is threatening nearly 2,200 structures.
Major US climate website likely to be shut down after almost all staff fired
A major US government website supporting public education on climate science looks likely to be shuttered after almost all of its staff were fired, the Guardian has learned.
Climate.gov, the gateway website for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa)’s Climate Program Office, will imminently no longer publish new content, according to multiple former staff responsible for the site’s content whose contracts were recently terminated.
“The entire content production staff at climate.gov (including me) were let go from our government contract on 31 May,” said a former government contractor who wished to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. “We were told that our positions within the contract were being eliminated.”
Rebecca Lindsey, the website’s former program manager, who was fired in February as part of the government’s purge of probationary employees, described a months-long situation within Noaa where political appointees and career staff argued over the fate of the website.
Severe thunderstorms threaten millions with wicked weather
Severe thunderstorms across the southern and eastern U.S. threatened a barrage of dangerous weather conditions from flooding rains and destructive winds to "very large hail" and possible tornadoes, forecasters said.
Tens of millions of people were at risk Monday, June 9 of severe thunderstorms from northern Texas and New Orleans to western New York, with forecasters warning of damaging winds, hail, some tornadoes and flash flooding as areas receive 1 to 3 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service.
Over 12 counties in southeastern Texas and parts of western Louisiana were under severe thunderstorm watches. Flood warnings, which indicates that flooding is imminent or has been reported, were active throughout the central and southern U.S., especially along major rivers following rounds of heavy rain late last week and over the weekend.
Canadian wildfires prompt air-quality alerts across five US states
Smoke from wildfires in Canada is spreading across multiple states in the US including the eastern seaboard, prompting multiple states to issue air-quality alerts.
The poor air quality stretching across the US came as a result of dozens of wildfires burning across Canada as the country’s annual wildfire season roars into destructive action.
The fires, which have been sparked by both humans and natural causes, have prompted at least 25,000 residents in three Canadian provinces to evacuate in recent days.
On Wednesday afternoon, a map from the US Environmental Protection Agency’s AirNow forecast showed large swaths of moderate to unhealthy air quality across the east, midwest and southern parts of the US, featuring smoke and dust.
Also on Wednesday, the New York state department of environmental conservation issued an air-quality advisory from 11am to 11pm for multiple counties including parts of New York City.
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