In the bitter battle over the future of the California WaterFix Project, opponents recently scored a victory in their effort to stop the construction of Delta Tunnels. The development occurred when the Delta Stewardship Council (DSC) staff issued a preliminary finding stating that WaterFix, as it exists today, is inconsistent with the Delta Plan. Without a certificate of consistency, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) cannot move WaterFix forward.
A major weather pattern change has arrived on the West Coast, bringing relief for California’s wildfires and choking smoke, but it may also unleash enough rain to trigger dangerous debris flows in recently burned areas of the state. Northern California’s Camp Fire, the deadliest and most destructive wildfire on record in state history, is still not fully contained. Smoke from the fires has hung over millions, fouling air quality since last week in the Central Valley and Bay Area. Air quality has begun to improve but remains unhealthy for sensitive groups on Wednesday in the Central Valley of California.
Small water and sewer utilities in California will struggle to recover after wildfires, especially if they’re near wilderness areas or far from large cities, according to a new report from S&P Global Ratings. After major natural disasters in the state, utilities are typically required to front the costs of repairs and are only reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and state government afterward. Utilities in towns that are small or poor, on the edge of flammable wilderness, or far from a major city will have particular trouble in paying for those costs upfront or reestablishing service quickly so they can resume collecting revenue, according to the report by credit analyst Tim Tung.
In the not-too-distant future, disasters won’t come one at a time. Instead, according to new research, we can expect a cascade of catastrophes, some gradual, others abrupt, all compounding as climate change takes a greater toll. While all regions of the globe face compounding threats, the study cited California and Florida as two prime examples close to home. “Facing these climatic changes will be like getting into a fight with Mike Tyson, Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Jackie Chan — all at the same time.”
The rain that’s forecasted for later this week may give California some much-needed relief from the deadly and destructive wildfires plaguing the state. But too much sudden rainfall may pose its own dangers for land that has been burned. The National Weather Service has issued a flash flood watch for the Butte County area, which is fighting the Camp Fire, for Wednesday afternoon through Friday morning. The warning states that there’s a chance of heavy rain which could trigger “flash floods, rockslides and/or debris flows” in a areas near the fire.
As the Civil War raged, William Brewer, a young botanist from upstate New York, spent five years cataloging California’s natural attributes for its Legislature. As he and his crew traversed the state by mule in their annual sojourns, living off the land, Brewer found much to commend. But in letters to his brother, decades later assembled into a must-read book, “Up and Down California,” Brewer also wondered whether its climate would impede its development.
As rain moves closer to fire-ravaged communities in Northern California, federal search-and-rescue team member Brian Ferreira said the pressure was on to find remains of victims of the Camp Fire. Almost 700 people were reported missing, and at least 79 people are dead. “The material that we’re dealing with it’s heavily, you know, ash and soot, and when the water touches that, it kinda turns to sediment, almost like soil again,” Ferreira said. “It is kinda urgent, yeah, that we get through this as quick as we can.”
Experts debunked a message shared thousands of times on social media that warned of the threat of “extremely toxic” rain as a consequence of the Camp Fire in California. The Facebook post told people not to let animals or pets out into the “toxic” rain, to wash them thoroughly if they do get out, and to keep a set of “outside” clothes and to change out of them immediately upon arriving home.
A pattern change is expected to take place this week that will bring long-awaited rainfall to the West, including California, and relief from the blasts of cold air in the central United States. For much of November, a southward dip in the jet stream has been in place over the central and eastern U.S. This has brought rounds of cold air, along with periods of rain and snow. In the West, the dominant pattern has been dry and mild conditions due to an upper-level ridge of high pressure near the West Coast.
The federal government and the state of California seem to love suing each other, and have done so dozens of times in the past two years without causing anyone much damage. But President Donald Trump is now threatening to sue the state over control of water. This could harm a lot of people, because water is the source of the most contentious and enduring battles in America’s largest state.
