Volusia County Situation Report #56

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VOLUSIA COUNTY SITUATION REPORT # 56
(status changes made since last report shown in bold black type)

EVENT: WILDFIRES 1998

TIME/DATE: July 6, 1998 12:04 a.m.

EOC ACTIVATION LEVEL : 4

LOCAL STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARATION : ORIGINALLY ISSUED JUNE 22, 1998 AT 1 P.M. RETROACTIVE TO JUNE 20, 1998

DATE OF EXPIRATION : Extended an additional seven days. Revised date of expiration is now July 11, 1998.

CONTACT NUMBERS FOR COUNTY EOC AND PIO:
(904) 254-1500

COUNTY ESF-5 FAX : (904) 258-4096

SUMMARY OF FIRE ACTIVITY:

LOCATION(S) OF FIRES TO DATE :
FIRES LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE COUNTYDUE TO NUMBER OF FIRES AND FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE, THIS REPORT FOCUSES UPON NEW FIRE EVENTS ONLY AND WILL REFER TO THEM IN GENERAL TERMS OF LOCATION. Late afternoon thunderstorms (7/5) resulted in several small fires being started. All were contained. No structures were lost this date (7/5).

The major areas of utmost concern at this time are as follows:

Flagler County Fires - Firefighters in Volusia County are undertaking strategic actions in the event that a wind shift occurs and brings the Flagler fires back across the Volusia County line. Flagler County EOC is receiving mutual aid assistance in fighting these fires. Continued monitoring for additional impact for Volusia County resources, fire fighters and/or shelters.
Law Camp - Fire has broken out on the western side.
Quail Ridge- This fire has burned approximately 7,000 acres. This fire has advanced to the South. Portions of this fire are still hot.
Lafayette fire - This fire continues to threaten developed areas including Plantation Pines. Flare ups on the easterly flanks this afternoon (7/5) have been contained.
Ranchette Road - This fire is not currently hot.
Mary Farms fire - This is a flare up of previous fire activity in the area . This fire has consumed approximately, 3500 acres and has advanced southeast. However the fire has been contained.
Pierson - This fire is located on the north side of the Town of Pierson. A couple of flare-ups this afternoon (7/5) have been contained.
SR 40 - a new fire located generally located one (1) mile south of SR 40 and west of the power lines.
"Break Eight" fire started Saturday night (7/4) coming from Crane Swamp - contained.
I-95 milemarker 242, 2 miles south of 442 was started by lightning but is contained.

Other fires are under surveillance and are continuing to be assessed for further action:

Brevard County fire - This fire has advanced to the north and has crossed Maytown/Osteen Road west of I-95. However this fire poses no threat to developed areas.
Indian Lake Road area fire(s). Are presently contained.
County Road 3 area fire. Begun by lightning 30 Jun 98. Poses no threat to structures.
Shunz Road fire. Poses no threat to structures.
Lake Woodruff - presently contained
Lake Harney area - mop up activities continue on fires in this general area

ACREAGE OF FIRES CURRENTLY ACTIVE:
ESTIMATED TOTAL ACREAGE, APPROXIMATELY: 121,000 acres.

SUPPRESSION EFFORTS UNDERWAY : The policy is to protect life first. Protection of structures will be prioritized based on field conditions. A unified command consisting of Volusia County and municipalities has been coordinated with Division of Forestry. It has been determined that some fires may be suspicious in nature. Air reconnaissance flights are being flown to map fire locations by the U.S. Forest Service out of New Smyrna Beach and DeLand airports. Firefighters plan a controlled burn around the Indian Lake Road area fire(s). Several controlled burn operations were conducted.

MUTUAL AID:

State Fire Marshal’s Office: 8 people on duty.
National Guard: 130 individuals from the First of the 265th ADA Battalion have arrived for firefighting duty and have been reassigned to other counties. A large tent is available just west of I-95 on State Road 40 to provide rest and food for guardsmen, firefighters and any other support personnel. 56 individuals and heavy equipment from the 3rd of the 116th FA Battalion (Arcadia, Florida) and have arrived in Volusia County at 1400 hrs July 4, 1998. This is to include 10 HummVs, 4 (2 ½ ton trucks), 2 (5- ton trucks), 4 Hemmits (heavy duty utility truck).
Federal Incident Command (Blue Team): 38 person overhead team arrived on Saturday (6/27). They brought 5 "hot shot" teams which consist of 20 personnel per team, and included a Type I helicopter equipped with a 2000 gal water tank, 2 Type II helicopters and 1 tactical aircraft for aerial spotting. The U.S. Forest Service/DOF have sent 268 firefighters. They have provided 16 tractor plow units and 30 engines.
Public Information Office: PIO’s from across the state are sending individuals to provide assistance. The latest news and information on fires and evacuations in Volusia County is currently available on Volusia County’s World Wide Web page at http://www.volusia.org .
Salvation Army: Responsible for all field food as of Monday, 6/29/98. A warehouse for storage & distribution has been established at the Daytona Mall (Nova Road).
US Marine Corps: Personnel from Camp Lejuene remain with the reinstalled temporary bridge on Rima Ridge Road. The intent of the bridge is to facilitate heavy equipment traffic between US 92 and State Road 40 in the event I-95 and other north-south arteries are congested or closed to traffic.
RAPID RESPONSE TEAM (RRT) MEMBERS: David Saniter from Lee County is serving in the EOC and David Donnolly from Alachua County is working with the Fire Command Planning.
AMERICAN RED CROSS: Coordinate sheltering efforts and meeting the needs of victims and workers.

OTHER:

CEOC currently has personnel from State Division of Emergency Management; State Division of Forestry; National Guard; Florida Dept. Of Law Enforcement; Florida Highway Patrol; and Florida Department of Transportation.
Representatives from SBA and FEMA are in the County to conduct damage assessment.

INJURIES / CASUALTIES:

INJURIES (MINOR) TO DATE: 10 (firefighters) + 1 fire contractor. A U. S. Forest Service fire fighter was injured late Saturday (7/4). This individual remains hospitalized.

FATALITIES TO DATE : 0

MISSING PERSONS TO DATE : 0

STATUS OF MISSING PERSONS : N/A

PROPERTY / INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACTED:

HOMES THREATENED: Cumulatively, approximately 29,000 homes threatened in various areas around Volusia County (including 20,000 homes in the Daytona Beach and Ormond Beach area).

*HOMES DESTROYED/DAMAGED: 2 homes destroyed and 10 mobile homes damaged in Ormond Beach.

*BUSINESSES THREATENED: 5

*BUSINESSES DAMAGED/DESTROYED: 4 businesses in the Ormond Beach area were destroyed.

*OTHER STRUCTURES THREATENED: Unknown

*OTHER STRUCTURES DAMAGED: Unknown

*OTHER STRUCTURES DESTROYED: 15 (miscellaneous hunting camp structures)

*VEHICLES DAMAGED: 3 (two automobiles and a boat)

*VEHICLES DESTROYED: Unknown

* Data is preliminary and is subject to revision base upon continuing field evaluations.

INFRASTRUCTURE IMPACTED:

Communications: Fire breaks have been installed around a Bellsouth telecommunications tower in the Ormond Beach area. Additional telephone lines at the CEOC are now installed. Radio communications continues to be very heavy.

Power: FPL and Clay Electric continue to work on power restoration. FPL has requested that the FDOT remove trees adjacent to their power lines on the south side of US 92 to prevent interruptions of service. Power outages, of unknown extent, have been reported in the general area adjacent to U.S. 17, between the communities of Barberville and Pierson. Power line/poles going west on US 92 are intermittently down and FPL is aware of the situation. Report only those wires/poles in the roadway.

Transportation: City of Ormond Beach Airport remains closed.

UTILITIES: Those residents returning to homes in Hunters Ridge are advised to monitor water pressure and follow ‘boil water’ procedures if in doubt.

ROAD CLOSURES:

All roads entering Flagler County are closed at the county line.
Interstate 95 from Brevard County (Beeline Expressway) to St. Augustine.
State Road 40, between Tymber Creek Road and State Road 11
Northbound SR 11, north of SR 40

Interstate 95 "may" be opened sometime on Monday. US Highway 1 from Brevard County north to Ormond Beach is now open.

EVACUATIONS / SHELTERS:

AREA(S) EVACUATED:

Voluntary Evacuation Areas:

(A) City of Daytona Beach

Derbyshire Road/Jimmy Ann Drive area

Indigo Lakes Subdivision

Jimmy Ann Drive area, from Mason Ave. To LPGA Blvd.

LPGA residential community

Mason Avenue, north side only Bill France Boulevard to Williamson Boulevard

North Tomoka Farms Road, north of US 92

West of Derbyshire, North of LPGA

(B)City of Edgewater

Florida Shores Subdivision, South of SR 442, from Hibiscus west to City Limits

(C) City of Ormond Beach

Aberdeen Subdivision

Airport Road

Airport Road north to Durrance Lane excluding Bear Creek Subdivision

Bear Creek Subdivision

Breakaway Trails Subdivision

Broadwater Subdivision

Coquina Point Subdivision

Hunters Ridge Subdivision

North of Ormond Beach airport including Pineland Trails, Hope/Timothy Streets

Ormond Greens Subdivision

Ormond Lakes Subdivision (Ormond Beach)

Pine Trails Subdivision

Spring Meadows Subdivision (Ormond Beach)

The Falls Subdivision (Ormond Beach)

Tymber Creek Subdivision, west of powerline

U.S. 1 North of Airport Road (within Ormond Beach city limits)

West of I-95 within Ormond Beach City Limits

(D) Town of Pierson

East Washington Avenue from Pine St. to the Flagler County line

(E) Unincorporated Region

Cone Road & Appaloosa Lane Area (west of Ormond Beach)

Cow Creek Road from SR 442 South to Volco Road (West of the City of Edgewater)

Daytona Pines, West end of Fleming Avenue (West of Ormond Beach)

Hunting Camp/Rasley Road/Archie Road (Lake Ashby Area)

Quail Ranch Road (Lake Ashby Area)

Ranchette Road, South of SR 44 west of New Smyrna Beach

Rima Ridge (west of Ormond Beach)

River Bend, (South of SR 40/Booth Road)

Rodeo Road, West of Ormond Beach

Town and Country Trailer Park southwest corner of US 92 and Tomoka Farms Road, adjacent to Daytona Beach

Mandatory Evacuations: NONE

NUMBER OF HOUSEHOLDS EVACUATED:
Cumulative 29,000.

NUMBER OF EVACUEES: Unknown; however, estimated at several thousand.

SHELTERS (coordinated by the American Red Cross)

SHELTERS OPEN:

NSB Parks & Recreation
Atlantic High School
DeLand YMCA
Seabreeze High
First United Methodist (Pet Shelter)
Babe James Youth Center (Pet Shelter)
County Fairgrounds, DeLand (Pet Shelter)
Daytona International Speedway

SHELTER POPULATION: 508 (of which 269 are Flagler County evacuees) as of 20:00 - July 5

SPECIAL NEEDS POPULATION: 26

SHELTERS ON STANDBY:

Spruce Creek Elementary
Spruce Creek High
Mt. Bethel Baptist
First Baptist Church of Oak Hill
Temple Israel
First Baptist Church of Pierson
Sweetwater Elementary
Mainland High
First United Methodist Church, Ormond Beach
Sugar Mill Elementary (PSN only)
New Smyrna Beach High School

BILLETING FOR SUPPORT CREWS:

FEDERAL BLUE TEAM

1. DELAND HIGH SCHOOL - 200 CREW MEMBERS
2. DELAND MIDDLE SCHOOL - 104 CREW MEMBERS
3. VOLUSIA COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS-FEDERAL OVERHEAD SOUTHERN BLUE TEAM

MUTUAL AID

1. ERAU - 140 CREW MEMBERS
2. STETSON - @ CAPACITY 300+ CREW MEMBERS

MISCELLANEOUS:

STATUS OF FIREWORKS BAN AND OTHER BURN CONTROLS: Volusia County passed an ordinance on Thursday, June 25, 1998, banning the sale and use of fireworks in unincorporated and incorporated areas. All vendors including those who sell fireworks in tent sales have voluntarily agreed not to sell any fireworks to individuals in Volusia County. Firework shows have been voluntarily canceled in the cities of DeLand, DeBary, Deltona, Port Orange, Edgewater, Ormond Beach. Holly Hill has issued an emergency order banning fireworks. Pierson has also passed an ordinance to ban fireworks. The Governor has issued a statewide ban on fireworks.

FINANCIAL: Daily costs are estimated at $155,000 per day excluding state-wide mutual aid and additional expenditures from municipalities. The Federal Government has declared Volusia County a disaster area and has pledged to cover 75% of local municipal firefighting cost. All First Union Banks are taking monetary donations for the Volusia County Fire Relief Fund. Cash donations will be put directly into a special account specifically for firefighting efforts.

FEDERAL OVERHEAD SOUTHERN BLUE TEAM: Incident Command Post has been established at the Volusia County Fairgrounds on SR 44, east of I-4 and the City of DeLand.

FEEDING: The Salvation Army has continuing responsibility for feeding firefighters and evacuees.

SPECIAL EVENTS: The PEPSI 400 NASCAR event scheduled for July 4th at Daytona International Speedway has been postponed until October 17th.

WEATHER REPORT: Light south/southeasterly winds overnight with minimal rainfall. Monday (July 6) --- continued south/southeasterly winds with a 50% chance of rainfall, mainly in the afternoon. The dryness index for Volusia County remains at over 700.

SUPPORT: There will be a communications facility set up for the Volusia County Fairgrounds on 4 July 1998. The Speedway has been established as a logistical staging area for incoming federal and state resources to support Volusia and surrounding counties. State Division of Emergency Management contact is Eric Gentry at (850) 509-9047.

DONATIONS: There is not a shortage of any supplies reported at this point in time. All First Union Banks are taking monetary donations for the Volusia County Fire Relief Fund. Cash donations will be put directly into a special account specifically for firefighting efforts. Number of volunteers (not including fire fighters or military) has been estimated at 1,650 volunteers with 39,600 hours to date. Votran/School Board has sent twelve (12) bus operators and 2 mechanics to assist Flagler County.

ESTIMATED LOSS: Estimated value of loss structures (residential and commercial) to date is $2 million dollars. Preliminary estimated value of timber loss is $60 - $70 million.

FEDERAL ASSISTANCE: Amendment to the notice for the State of Florida (FEMA-1223-DR) dated June 18, 1998, makes available Category B Public Assistance program funds to Volusia County.

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