SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Truck driver Louis Holst has never been scared of bees, but he's rethinking his next long-haul load a day after being swarmed by 25 million of the stinging insects.
Holst and his wife, Tammie, picked up 460 bee hives in South Dakota and were about 36 hours into their drive Sunday night when he hit a sharp bend in a construction zone on Interstate 15 in southern Utah. The twist in the road toppled his trailer and sent the bees into a frenzy.
"First responders came and drug me and my wife through the front window," Holst said Monday. "Then we panicked."
Swarmed by bees on the highway, Holst said he ripped off his shirt and began swatting the air. His wife ran.
"We just started swinging our clothes," he said. "They stung her all up and down her neck."
Authorities closed the southbound lanes of I-15 near St. George for several hours while area beekeepers headed to the scene to try to corral the insects. The road was reopened early Monday morning, and Holst said most of the bees were either dead or gone.
"Nobody was prepared for anything like that," he said.
At least two first responders also were stung at the scene, said Utah Highway Patrol Cpl. Todd Johnson.
Holst, 48, of Gig Harbor, Wash., said he got 10 stitches to close a gash on his forehead and was stung about a dozen times. His wife, too, suffered stings, bumps and bruises.
The 25 million bees were headed from Adee Honey Farms in Bruce, S.D., to near Bakersfield, Calif., where they stay for the winter before being used for pollination come spring, company co-owner Richard Adee said.
"It's pretty much a complete loss," Adee said of the $116,000 load.
Holst's trip was among the last of 160 truckloads of bees — roughly 4 billion of them — the farm had been sending south for winter, Adee said.
Asked whether he'd haul bees again anytime soon, Holst — who normally ferries lumber and construction materials — paused.
"Well," he said, "my wife's looking at me right now, so I'll say no."
Lunes, Oktubre 24, 2011
Rapidly Inflating Volcano Creates Growing Mystery
Should anyone ever decide to make a show called "CSI: Geology," a group of scientists studying a mysterious and rapidly inflating South American volcano have got the perfect storyline.
Researchers from several universities are essentially working as geological detectives, using a suite of tools to piece together the restive peak's past in order to understand what it is doing now, and better diagnose what may lie ahead.
It's a mystery they've yet to solve.
Uturuncu is a nearly 20,000-foot-high (6,000 meters) volcano in southwest Bolivia. Scientists recently discovered the volcano is inflating with astonishing speed.
"I call this 'volcano forensics,' because we're using so many different techniques to understand this phenomenon," said Oregon State University professor Shan de Silva, a volcanologist on the research team. [See images of the inflating volcano here.]
Researchers realized about five years ago that the area below and around Uturuncu is steadily rising — blowing up like a giant balloon under a wide disc of land some 43 miles (70 kilometers) across. Satellite data revealed the region was inflating by 1 to 2 centimeters (less than an inch) per year and had been doing so for at least 20 years, when satellite observations began.
"It's one of the fastest uplifting volcanic areas on Earth," de Silva told OurAmazingPlanet."What we're trying to do is understand why there is this rapid inflation, and from there we'll try to understand what it's going to lead to."
The peak is perched like a party hat at the center of the inflating area. "It's very circular. It's like a big bull's-eye," said Jonathan Perkins, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who recently presented work on the mountain at this year's Geological Society of America meeting in Minneapolis.
Scientists figured out from the inflation rate that the pocket of magma beneath the volcano was growing by about 27 cubic feet (1 cubic meter) per second.
"That's about 10 times faster than the standard rate of magma chamber growth you see for large volcanic systems," Perkins told OurAmazingPlanet.
However, no need to flee just yet, the scientists said.
"It's not a volcano that we think is going to erupt at any moment, but it certainly is interesting, because the area was thought to be essentially dead," de Silva said.
Uber-Uturuncu?
Uturuncu is surrounded by one of the most dense concentrations of supervolcanoes on the planet, all of which fell silent some 1 million years ago.
Supervolcanoes get their name because they erupt with such power that they typically spew out 1,000 times more material, in sheer volume, than a volcano like Mount St. Helens. Modern human civilization has never witnessed such an event. The planet's most recent supervolcanic eruption happened about 74,000 years ago in Indonesia.
"These eruptions are thought to have not only a local and regional impact, but potentially a global impact," de Silva said.
Uturuncu itself is in the same class as Mount St. Helens in Washington state, but its aggressive rise could indicate that a new supervolcano is on the way. Or not.
De Silva said it appears that local volcanoes hoard magma for about 300,000 years before they blow — and Uturuncu last erupted about 300,000 years ago.
"So that's why it's important to know how long this has been going on," he said.
To find an answer, scientists needed data that stretch back thousands of years — but they had only 20 years of satellite data.
Volcano rap sheet
"So that's where we come in as geomorphologists — to look for clues in the landscape to learn about the long-term topographic evolution of the volcano," Perkins said.
Perkins and colleagues used ancient lakes, now largely dry, along the volcano's flanks to hunt for signs of rising action.
"Lakes are great, because waves from lakes will carve shorelines into bedrock, which make lines," Perkins said.
If the angle of those lines shifted over thousands of years — if the summit of the mountain rose, it would gradually lift one side of the lake — it would indicate the peak had been rising for quite some time, or at least provide a better idea of when the movement began.
The local conditions, largely untouched by erosion or the reach of lush plant and animal life, lend themselves to geological detective work, Perkins noted.
"It's a really sparse, otherworldly landscape," Perkins said. "Everything is so well preserved. There's no biology to get in the way of your observations."
Perkins said that surveys conducted on the lakes last autumn didn't indicate long-term inflation. However, tilting lakes are only one indicator of volcano growth, he said.
De Silva said the geological detective team is working to combine data from a number of sources — seismic data, GPS data, even minute variations in gravity — to pin down when and why the mountain awoke from its 300,000-year-long slumber, and better predict its next big move.
Researchers from several universities are essentially working as geological detectives, using a suite of tools to piece together the restive peak's past in order to understand what it is doing now, and better diagnose what may lie ahead.
It's a mystery they've yet to solve.
Uturuncu is a nearly 20,000-foot-high (6,000 meters) volcano in southwest Bolivia. Scientists recently discovered the volcano is inflating with astonishing speed.
"I call this 'volcano forensics,' because we're using so many different techniques to understand this phenomenon," said Oregon State University professor Shan de Silva, a volcanologist on the research team. [See images of the inflating volcano here.]
Researchers realized about five years ago that the area below and around Uturuncu is steadily rising — blowing up like a giant balloon under a wide disc of land some 43 miles (70 kilometers) across. Satellite data revealed the region was inflating by 1 to 2 centimeters (less than an inch) per year and had been doing so for at least 20 years, when satellite observations began.
"It's one of the fastest uplifting volcanic areas on Earth," de Silva told OurAmazingPlanet."What we're trying to do is understand why there is this rapid inflation, and from there we'll try to understand what it's going to lead to."
The peak is perched like a party hat at the center of the inflating area. "It's very circular. It's like a big bull's-eye," said Jonathan Perkins, a graduate student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who recently presented work on the mountain at this year's Geological Society of America meeting in Minneapolis.
Scientists figured out from the inflation rate that the pocket of magma beneath the volcano was growing by about 27 cubic feet (1 cubic meter) per second.
"That's about 10 times faster than the standard rate of magma chamber growth you see for large volcanic systems," Perkins told OurAmazingPlanet.
However, no need to flee just yet, the scientists said.
"It's not a volcano that we think is going to erupt at any moment, but it certainly is interesting, because the area was thought to be essentially dead," de Silva said.
Uber-Uturuncu?
Uturuncu is surrounded by one of the most dense concentrations of supervolcanoes on the planet, all of which fell silent some 1 million years ago.
Supervolcanoes get their name because they erupt with such power that they typically spew out 1,000 times more material, in sheer volume, than a volcano like Mount St. Helens. Modern human civilization has never witnessed such an event. The planet's most recent supervolcanic eruption happened about 74,000 years ago in Indonesia.
"These eruptions are thought to have not only a local and regional impact, but potentially a global impact," de Silva said.
Uturuncu itself is in the same class as Mount St. Helens in Washington state, but its aggressive rise could indicate that a new supervolcano is on the way. Or not.
De Silva said it appears that local volcanoes hoard magma for about 300,000 years before they blow — and Uturuncu last erupted about 300,000 years ago.
"So that's why it's important to know how long this has been going on," he said.
To find an answer, scientists needed data that stretch back thousands of years — but they had only 20 years of satellite data.
Volcano rap sheet
"So that's where we come in as geomorphologists — to look for clues in the landscape to learn about the long-term topographic evolution of the volcano," Perkins said.
Perkins and colleagues used ancient lakes, now largely dry, along the volcano's flanks to hunt for signs of rising action.
"Lakes are great, because waves from lakes will carve shorelines into bedrock, which make lines," Perkins said.
If the angle of those lines shifted over thousands of years — if the summit of the mountain rose, it would gradually lift one side of the lake — it would indicate the peak had been rising for quite some time, or at least provide a better idea of when the movement began.
The local conditions, largely untouched by erosion or the reach of lush plant and animal life, lend themselves to geological detective work, Perkins noted.
"It's a really sparse, otherworldly landscape," Perkins said. "Everything is so well preserved. There's no biology to get in the way of your observations."
Perkins said that surveys conducted on the lakes last autumn didn't indicate long-term inflation. However, tilting lakes are only one indicator of volcano growth, he said.
De Silva said the geological detective team is working to combine data from a number of sources — seismic data, GPS data, even minute variations in gravity — to pin down when and why the mountain awoke from its 300,000-year-long slumber, and better predict its next big move.
Police seek ID of body found in Maine storage unit
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — A man who died this month at age 80 took a secret to his grave — a secret that was discovered only after his family went through his belongings in a storage unit.
Inside an unplugged freezer, they found a set of human remains that investigators believe may be those of his girlfriend, who disappeared in 1983, when she was 29. Now investigators are trying to confirm the identity of the body, the cause of death and who may have been involved.
State police were awaiting results of an autopsy on Monday. DNA tests were under way to determine whether the body was that of Kitty Wardwell, who was last seen with boyfriend Frank Julian.
The gruesome discovery came as a shock to Lewiston residents including Jane Child, who knew Julian as a kind shop owner who'd allow customers to put items on layaway when they were short on money. It's difficult to reconcile that image with a potential killer who stashed a body in a freezer, she said.
"It just gives me the creeps," Child said Monday while shopping at Blackie's Fruit Stand, near the store where Julian worked with one of his sons.
The storage unit was rented in 1992 by Julian, who died on Oct. 1. Back in 1983, Julian occasionally lived with Wardwell 100 miles away in Holden.
Julian told police in New Hampshire that he last saw Wardwell after an argument that June, when he dropped her off at a motel in Salem, N.H., before returning to Maine, police said. She was reported missing the following month by a close friend.
A state police investigation indicated she was likely a victim of foul play in Maine. Because of that, the investigation officially remained open.
The freezer was inside a 10-by-10-foot storage unit at a Moore Self Storage Facility in Lewiston, where Julian dutifully paid in advance for the unit, coming around every three months to pay in person, owner Gary Boilard said. The last payment was made on Sept. 6, so the unit was rented through November, he said.
The storage company's previous owner kept good records, indicating Julian rented the unit 19 years ago on Oct. 6, Boilard said.
Boilard described the situation as "bizarre."
"How do you keep a secret that long?" he said.
The family was going through boxes inside the storage unit when the remains were discovered Friday, and half the unit was still filled with boxes when state police alerted Boilard.
"There were boxes on tops of boxes. From front to back, from top to bottom, it was full of boxes," he said.
Other than the freezer, there was little else of interest stashed in the unit — mostly household items, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Before Julian's death, he was working at a variety store with his son after closing his own store on Main Street. Before that, from 2001 to 2007, he'd run the One Stop Shop in a space he rented from Hubert Nadeau, selling T-shirts, Christmas decorations, knives and "just about anything," Nadeau said.
Nadeau said he was surprised by the news of the body's discovery.
"He was a very nice guy," Nadeau said Monday. "I had no idea what it was all about."
Both Wardwell's and Julian's families are being kept in the loop on the investigation, and both families are cooperating, McCausland said. Dwight Collins, Wardwell's brother, said the family was awaiting further word on the body but declined to comment further. Other family members either couldn't be reached or declined to comment.
The process of determining the victim's identity could be time-consuming because of the condition of the body. Wardwell's family members have donated DNA samples that will be compared against DNA from the body, McCausland said.
Julian was 52 when Wardwell disappeared. An obituary in the Bangor Daily News described him as a former restaurateur and novelty salesman who played on John Bapst High School's 1948 championship football team.
Inside an unplugged freezer, they found a set of human remains that investigators believe may be those of his girlfriend, who disappeared in 1983, when she was 29. Now investigators are trying to confirm the identity of the body, the cause of death and who may have been involved.
State police were awaiting results of an autopsy on Monday. DNA tests were under way to determine whether the body was that of Kitty Wardwell, who was last seen with boyfriend Frank Julian.
The gruesome discovery came as a shock to Lewiston residents including Jane Child, who knew Julian as a kind shop owner who'd allow customers to put items on layaway when they were short on money. It's difficult to reconcile that image with a potential killer who stashed a body in a freezer, she said.
"It just gives me the creeps," Child said Monday while shopping at Blackie's Fruit Stand, near the store where Julian worked with one of his sons.
The storage unit was rented in 1992 by Julian, who died on Oct. 1. Back in 1983, Julian occasionally lived with Wardwell 100 miles away in Holden.
Julian told police in New Hampshire that he last saw Wardwell after an argument that June, when he dropped her off at a motel in Salem, N.H., before returning to Maine, police said. She was reported missing the following month by a close friend.
A state police investigation indicated she was likely a victim of foul play in Maine. Because of that, the investigation officially remained open.
The freezer was inside a 10-by-10-foot storage unit at a Moore Self Storage Facility in Lewiston, where Julian dutifully paid in advance for the unit, coming around every three months to pay in person, owner Gary Boilard said. The last payment was made on Sept. 6, so the unit was rented through November, he said.
The storage company's previous owner kept good records, indicating Julian rented the unit 19 years ago on Oct. 6, Boilard said.
Boilard described the situation as "bizarre."
"How do you keep a secret that long?" he said.
The family was going through boxes inside the storage unit when the remains were discovered Friday, and half the unit was still filled with boxes when state police alerted Boilard.
"There were boxes on tops of boxes. From front to back, from top to bottom, it was full of boxes," he said.
Other than the freezer, there was little else of interest stashed in the unit — mostly household items, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.
Before Julian's death, he was working at a variety store with his son after closing his own store on Main Street. Before that, from 2001 to 2007, he'd run the One Stop Shop in a space he rented from Hubert Nadeau, selling T-shirts, Christmas decorations, knives and "just about anything," Nadeau said.
Nadeau said he was surprised by the news of the body's discovery.
"He was a very nice guy," Nadeau said Monday. "I had no idea what it was all about."
Both Wardwell's and Julian's families are being kept in the loop on the investigation, and both families are cooperating, McCausland said. Dwight Collins, Wardwell's brother, said the family was awaiting further word on the body but declined to comment further. Other family members either couldn't be reached or declined to comment.
The process of determining the victim's identity could be time-consuming because of the condition of the body. Wardwell's family members have donated DNA samples that will be compared against DNA from the body, McCausland said.
Julian was 52 when Wardwell disappeared. An obituary in the Bangor Daily News described him as a former restaurateur and novelty salesman who played on John Bapst High School's 1948 championship football team.
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