What We Know

November 23, 2020

Everything you need to know right now about the climate fires raging in several states and Hurricane Iota.

The Big Picture

Climate disasters are real. Since Trump was elected, major disasters linked to climate change like hurricanes, floods, and wildfires have taken at least 3,649 lives and cost more than $478 billion in damages.

In May of 2020, the NOAA predicted an “above normal” Atlantic hurricane season, expecting 13-19 named storms, including 3-6 major hurricanes. By the middle of September, those predictions had already been exceeded with Hurricane Sally flooding the Alabama and Florida gulf coast only a month after Louisiana and Texas were struck by Category 4 Hurricane Laura, which set off a chemical fire near Lake Charles, LA.

This year’s western wildfire season has been particularly devastating with over 7 million acres burned and dramatic scenes of smoke-filled skies that seemed out of a sci-fi movie. The amount of smoke in the atmosphere has been so severe that it caused an upsurge in fatal heart attacks and hospitalizations for people with asthma — and it might also make people more vulnerable to COVID-19.

In the midwest, heavy rains in Michigan caused two dams to burst earlier this spring, forcing evacuations for thousands of Midland County residents. In a region still recovering from devastating floods in 2019 that left 19.4 million acres unplanted, a derecho swept across Iowa in August, wiping out crops.

Key Facts Of the Day

Last updated: Monday, November 23 at 9 AM EST.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the U.S. was providing $17 million in aid for Central American nations hit by Iota and Eta.
In Choloma, the Honduran Air Force rescued residents stranded in a tree as the Chameleon River flooded below.
Shelters in Honduras are facing overcrowding from those impacted by Hurricanes Eta and Iota. Some victims are now taking refuge under highway overpasses or bridges.
The northern Honduras city of San Pedro Sula, where some parts remain underwater, saw the largest number of evacuees.
Some areas of Honduras saw a year’s worth of rainfall in two weeks due to Eta and Iota.
Honduras’s Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport will remain closed until mid-December after being inundated by floodwaters. Officials said that the passenger terminal had severe damage and would take more than a month to repair.
Over 335,000 people in Guatemala have been affected by Iota.
Rural Indigenous communities are among the hardest hit in Guatemala, with many communities not receiving warnings before the storm and being cut off from access to aid in post-recovery efforts.
The U.S. military and El Salvador sent helicopters to Guatemala to assist in aid distribution.
Central America is among the regions of the world most susceptible to the impacts of human-caused climate change, with Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala sitting in the top ten.
A group of congressional Democrats proposed a bill to introduce Temporary Protected Status for those affected by the storms on Thursday.
A study by the Desert Research Institute, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Merced, found climate change and a ‘thirsty atmosphere’ will bring more extreme wildfire danger and multi-year droughts to Nevada and California by the end of the century.
As of Sunday, the Mountain View Fire was 65% contained and had burned through 20,385 acres.
A 69-year-old woman was found dead in her home from the fire. There were also three civilian injuries and one firefighter had a minor injury.
At least 88 homes and outbuildings were destroyed by the fire.
The Cameron Peak Fire reached its 101-day mark on Saturday. The fire is 92% contained and has burned through 208,913 acres.
There are currently 18 large wildfires burning across CA, OR, WA, and CO. Nationally, 8,750,197 acres have burned.

WESTERN WILDFIRES

Last updated: Monday, November 23 at 9 AM EST.

National: 8,750,197

A study by the Desert Research Institute, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, and the University of California, Merced, found climate change and a ‘thirsty atmosphere’ will bring more extreme wildfire danger and multi-year droughts to Nevada and California by the end of the century.

CALIFORNIA
Number of active fires: 11

As of Sunday, the Mountain View Fire was 65% contained and had burned through 20,385 acres.
A 69-year-old woman was found dead in her home from the fire. There were also three civilian injuries and one firefighter had a minor injury.
At least 88 homes and outbuildings were destroyed by the fire.

OREGON
Number of active fires: 2

WASHINGTON
Number of active fires: 1

COLORADO
Number of active fires: 4

The Cameron Peak Fire reached its 101-day mark on Saturday. The fire is 92% contained and has burned through 208,913 acres.

HURRICANE IOTA

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the U.S. was providing $17 million in aid for Central American nations hit by Iota and Eta.
In Choloma, the Honduran Air Force rescued residents stranded in a tree as the Chameleon River flooded below.
Shelters in Honduras are facing overcrowding from those impacted by Hurricanes Eta and Iota. Some victims are now taking refuge under highway overpasses or bridges.
The northern Honduras city of San Pedro Sula, where some parts remain underwater, saw the largest number of evacuees.
Some areas of Honduras saw a year’s worth of rainfall in two weeks due to Eta and Iota.
Honduras’s Ramón Villeda Morales International Airport will remain closed until mid-December after being inundated by floodwaters. Officials said that the passenger terminal had severe damage and would take more than a month to repair.
Over 335,000 people in Guatemala have been affected by Iota.
Rural Indigenous communities are among the hardest hit in Guatemala, with many communities not receiving warnings before the storm and being cut off from access to aid in post-recovery efforts.
The U.S. military and El Salvador sent helicopters to Guatemala to assist in aid distribution.
Central America is among the regions of the world most susceptible to the impacts of human-caused climate change, with Nicaragua, Honduras, and Guatemala sitting in the top ten.
A group of congressional Democrats proposed a bill to introduce Temporary Protected Status for those affected by the storms on Thursday.