California moves to cut off water to thousands of farmers, as drought dries up rivers [Sacramento Bee]
Forced to reckon with a worsening drought, California’s water regulators are preparing to forbid thousands of farmers from tapping into the state’s major rivers and streams. It’s an extraordinary step — and one that regulators didn’t take during the last drought, which was considered one of the worst on record. The State Water Resources Control Board on Friday released an “emergency curtailment” order that would cut thousands off from rivers and streams in the Sacramento and San Joaquin river watersheds. The five-person board still has to vote on the order Aug. 3, and it would take effect about two weeks later. Eileen Sobeck, the board’s executive director, said the proposed order shows the dire conditions of California’s water supply. There “is just not enough to meet all of the legitimate demands,” she said. “We don’t take this action lightly; we know that it’s going to impose hardships on folks,” she said. Exceptions will be made for drinking water and other human needs.
CA drought prompts water cutoff threat to Valley farmers | The Sacramento Bee (sacbee.com)
Warming rivers in US West killing fish, imperiling industry [Associated Press]
Baby salmon are dying by the thousands in one California river, and an entire run of endangered salmon could be wiped out in another. Fishermen who make their living off adult salmon, once they enter the Pacific Ocean, are sounding the alarm as blistering heat waves and extended drought in the U.S. West raise water temperatures and imperil fish from Idaho to California. Hundreds of thousands of young salmon are dying in Northern California’s Klamath River as low water levels brought about by drought allow a parasite to thrive, devastating a Native American tribe whose diet and traditions are tied to the fish. And wildlife officials said the Sacramento River is facing a “near-complete loss” of young Chinook salmon due to abnormally warm water….The plummeting catch already has led to skyrocketing retail prices for salmon, hurting customers who say they can no longer afford the $35 per pound of fish, said Mike Hudson, who has spent the last 25 years catching and selling salmon at farmers markets in Berkeley.
As cargo waits and costs climb, Port of Oakland seeks shipping solutions [Bay Area News Group]
As the morning sun climbs over the Port of Oakland, a hive of workers are hustling to move tens of thousands of shipping containers and unclog a lifeline of California commerce. Thousands more containers await them tomorrow, and the day after, in the largest, longest and most expensive backlog in the history of the port, delaying global shipments of everything from Adidas to Zinfandel. While impatient vessels float on the San Francisco Bay horizon, waiting a week to enter, “we’ve got to work harder. We get ships in, we get ships out,” said Michael Adams, a muscular Oakland native with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union’s Local 10, who drives the tractors that stack the fully loaded 20 or 25-ton steel boxes. “If that ship needs to leave at 7 o’clock, we’ve got to get it out of here,” said Adams, 50. “It’s got to be fully loaded.”
As cargo waits and costs climb, Port of Oakland seeks shipping solutions (mercurynews.com)
Extreme fire behavior pushes Dixie Fire to 190,625 acres: What we know Sunday [Redding Record Searchlight]
Pushed by extreme fire behavior, firefighters were forced into defensive positions to protect homes and businesses as the Dixie Fire burned more than 9,000 acres in one day. The fire, burning mainly in Plumas County, has torched 190,625 acres and was 21% contained as of Sunday. “Yesterday the Dixie Fire experienced significant growth and very challenging fire conditions. Extreme fire behavior is expected again today,” fire managers posted on Inciweb. The fire merged with the 4,300-acre Fly Fire burning on the eastern flank of the fire, officials said. More erratic fire behavior was expected Sunday, with large clouds developing over the blaze and increasing the “potential for spot fires and rapid fire growth,” officials said.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra visits farmworker vaccination clinic in Salinas [Salinas Californian]
…Recognizing the vulnerability of farmworkers in Monterey County, Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas (CSVS) and the Grower-Shipper Association of Central California (GSA) decided to vaccinate as many farmworkers as possible with mass vaccination clinics. “It sends the message that you can vaccinate hard-to-get groups of people, and you have to continue that effort to get out there,” said Dr. Max Cuevas, chief director at Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas. “Once people started seeing that, it made those people that were sitting on the fence say, ‘I’m going to get vaccinated too.’ It’s going to be that kind of messaging to assure people that it’s safe, it’s available, and it protects you. But more importantly, it protects others in our society.” On Friday, U.S. Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Xavier Becerra visited a farmworker vaccination clinic at the Rodeo Grounds in Salinas hosted by GSA and Clinica de Salud del Valle de Salinas. “My dad was a farmworker,” Becerra said. “I know what that work was like. I know what they go through. They are essential workers. The work that Chris and his team at the Grower- Shipper Association do is essential work. They have essential products. And they understand their workers are essential.”
Palm Springs sees wettest day in more than 15 months; storms cause power outages across Coachella Valley [Palm Springs Desert Sun]
Monsoonal thunderstorms drenched the Coachella Valley early Monday, bringing flooded roadways, power outages and the wettest day for Palm Springs in more than 15 months. By 7 a.m., the Palm Springs International Airport had collected more than one-third of an inch of rain (0.45). Monday’s heavy rain is the biggest single-day accumulation in Palm Springs since 0.46 fell on April 8, 2020. The heavy rain also impacted Monday’s morning commute as intersections saw minor flooding. In Palm Springs, Indian Canyon Drive was closed early Monday between Sunrise Parkway and Garnet due to water washing over the roadway. Near Mecca, Box Canyon Road was closed because of debris and flooding.
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