By Dan Joling, Associated Press
AUGUST 17, 2015
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) –
The federal government on Monday gave Royal Dutch Shell the final permit it needs to drill for oil in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska's northwest coast for the first time in more than two decades.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement announced that it approved the permit to drill below the ocean floor after the oil giant brought in a required piece of equipment to stop a possible well blowout.
The agency previously allowed Shell to begin drilling only the top sections of two wells in the Chukchi Sea because the key equipment, called a capping stack, was stuck on a vessel that needed repair in Portland, Oregon.
Because the vessel arrived last week, Shell is free to drill into oil-bearing rock, estimated at 8,000 feet below the ocean floor, for the first time since its last exploratory well was drilled in 1991.
"Activities conducted offshore Alaska are being held to the highest safety, environmental protection, and emergency response standards," agency Director Brian Salerno said in a statement Monday. "We will continue to monitor their work around the clock to ensure the utmost safety and environmental stewardship."
The Polar Pioneer, a semi-submersible drilling unit that Shell leases from Transocean Ltd., began work July 30 at Shell's Burger J site. It completed what's called a mud-line cellar, a 20-by-40-foot hole at the top of the well that will hold a blowout preventer, and continued drilling into rock above the petroleum-bearing zone.
"It's possible we will complete a well this summer but we're not attaching a timeline to the number of feet drilled," Smith said.
Safe operations will determine progress, he said.
Environmental groups oppose Arctic offshore drilling, saying industrial activity will harm polar bears, Pacific walrus, ice seals and threatened whales already vulnerable from climate warming and shrinking summer sea ice. They say oil companies have not demonstrated that they can clean up a spill in water choked by ice.
Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune said in a statement that President Obama's decision to grant Shell the final drilling permits goes against science, the will of the people and common sense.
"Granting Shell the permit to drill in the Arctic was the wrong decision, and this fight is far from over," he said. "The people will continue to call on President Obama to protect the Arctic and our environment."
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that U.S. Arctic waters hold 26 billion barrels of recoverable oil, and Shell is eager to explore in a basin that company officials say could be a game-changer for domestic production.
Shell bid $2.1 billion on Chukchi Sea leases in 2008 and has spent upward of $7 billion on exploration there and in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast.
Shell hopes to drill two exploration wells during the short 2015 open-water season. It has until late September, when all work must stop. It has two drill vessels and about 28 support vessels in the Chukchi Sea.
The permit to drill deep into the ocean hinged on the arrival of a capping stack, which is a roughly 30-foot device that can be lowered over a wellhead to act like a spigot to stop a blowout. The government requires Shell to have the device ready to use within 24 hours of a blowout.
The capping stack sits on a 380-foot icebreaker that suffered hull damage July 3 as it left Dutch Harbor, a port in the Aleutian Islands. The vessel named the Fennica was repaired in Portland, Oregon, and briefly delayed from leaving July 30 by Greenpeace protesters in climbing gear hanging from a bridge over the Willamette River.
The Fennica reached the drill site 70 miles off Alaska's northwest coast on Aug. 11.
Sunday, August 16, 2015
Reports this morning are that 85 Firefighters in China are still missing after those explosions that hit Tianjin, near Beijing.
This is IN ADDITION to the 21 bodies of Firefighters killed in the Line of Duty that have been recovered.
The latest death toll has risen to 112 today (Sunday) while 95 others including 85 Firefighters were still missing. There were 56 explosion hit patients in critical conditions besides nearly 700 others with less injuries.
PROTESTS:
Tianjin saw several protests from people affected by the blasts. Relatives of dead and missing people are protesting against what they consider the government's refusal to disclose what chemicals were stored and how the accident took place.
The site was also witness to demonstrators demanding that the government should buy new homes for them because the explosions had destroyed their apartments. Questions are being asked why residential buildings were allowed to be built just 1000-2000 meters from the chemical warehouse where the explosions occurred.
Videos emerging from the affected site showed vehicles traveling over a bridge and nearby roads at the time of the accident were smashed and charred. This has raised questions about the fate of the people in the vehicles with many residents speculating that the number of death might be a lot more.
HERE ARE SOME RELATED VIDEOS INCLUDING THIS UNIQUE COMPLILATION:
http://youtu.be/dgurTdK0PTA
http://youtu.be/DDgZ5RkivEg
KTIYP's.
Monday, August 17, 2015
We regret to pass on to you that Fire Chief JD Robinson of the Brasstown Volunteer Fire Department, Clay County, North Carolina, has died while on duty.
Chief Robinson had a medical emergency during standby at a dirt track car race.
Chief Robinson was a Fire Chief, Fire Instructor at Tri County Community, a wildland fire fighter for North Carolina Forest Service and an accomplished musician.
Chief Robinson had a 30 plus year career with the fire service and was deeply loved.
More details to follow HERE: http://www.ncfff.org
Our condolences to all affected.
CHIEF ROBINSON SHOWN AT THE WHITEHOUSE
SEVERAL YEARS AGO
(Photo: National Guard)
The Associated Press 3:12 p.m. EDT August 16, 2015
CHELAN, Wash. —
Fire officials are hoping calmer winds Sunday will aid fire crews using air tankers, helicopters and bulldozers to attack several large fires burning in the Chelan area that have destroyed more than 50 structures.
Fire incident spokesman Wayne Patterson said Sunday that more fire crews, including from the Washington National Guard, are being mobilized to fight six fires burning in the area.
Together, the Reach, Wolverine and other blazes in the area have scorched more than 155 square miles, forced about 1,500 residents to flee their homes and caused power outages.
Dave Helvey of the Chelan County Sheriff's Office told The Seattle Times that more than 50 structures had been destroyed. The number is likely to be higher as officials get a more accurate count. Patterson said several businesses have been lost.
Patterson said air tankers have established lines to keep the flames from reaching downtown Chelan, a popular central Washington resort town. Helicopters have been dipping into Lake Chelan to pull up water to battle blazes north of the lake.
"There were literally people on the beaches near that lake in their swim wear out on the lake right near it," Patterson told The Associated Press.
Lighter winds Sunday will help the more than 700 people battling the complex of fires.
"We're able to start taking the battle to the fire rather than playing defense," Patterson said.
The Chelan Public Utility District said more than 9,000 customers were without power Saturday after the fire destroyed more than 30 poles supporting transmission lines. Crews were working to replace them in areas where it was safe to do so, the utility said.
The hospital in Chelan evacuated some of its patients to a hospital in Wenatchee, 50 miles south, but the emergency room remained open, Chelan County Emergency Management officials said. Several nursing homes and assisted-living centers also chose to evacuate, officials said.
As crews hoped to make progress Sunday, people dealt with the scope of the damage.
Terri Raffetto was at a community center that had been converted into a shelter in Entiat, about 20 miles south of Chelan.
She said she fled her trailer Sunday with her two dogs as flames approached.
"Completely destroyed," Raffetto said.
National Guard Blackhawk helicopters arrived in Washington over the weekend.
Posted: AugUST 16, 2015
KHQ.com -
As the season’s worst fire conditions continue in eastern Washington , the Washington State Department of Natural Resources has requested assistance from the Washington National Guard.
Two National Guard Blackhawk helicopters arrived Saturday, and five 20-person hand crews are set to arrive Sunday evening to join 350 firefighters battling one of the state’s most active fires, Cougar Creek, on the southeastern slopes of Mount Adams. The Guard crews recently completed wildland fire training in Yakima.
“The Guard’s help now is vital,” said Mary Verner, DNR’s deputy for wildfire said in a release. “This partnership is essential to our ability to fight wildfire aggressively and effectively under very challenging conditions.”
