Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

[yielddude]

Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - January 8, 2007 - Police shut down several blocks of businesses in the heart of downtown Austin early Monday after dozens birds were found dead in the street.

Experts were testing for any sort of environmental contaminant or gas or chlorine leaks that might of killed off the animals, police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said.
The carcasses were found overnight along Congress Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets. There were no reports of any humans harmed, but the main north-south route through downtown, several side streets and all buildings in the area were blocked off and expected to remain closed until about noon, Chovanetz said.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=nation_world&id=4914472

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Stories like these will snap you back to reality real quick.

Large Number Of Dead Birds Close Congress Avenue Near Capitol

Several blocks of Congress Avenue have been closed off to traffic because a large number of dead birds -- reportedly as many as several dozen -- have been found in the area. And if you work in the area, you're being asked to stay home from work until at least noon.

Congress Avenue and one block on either side of the street is shut down from Cesar Chavez to 11th Street until approximately noon. That's because an unusually large number of dead birds were found Monday morning, with most of them concentrated on 9th Street.

The birds are now being collected by workers in hazardous-materials suits and will be sent to another agency for further testing to try to find out why they died.

"What they are doing is going into the area where the birds are located and gathering additional samples, both from the birds and anything else they can find in that area," said Mike Frick with the Austin Fire Department.

The fire department was called out to the area around 3 a.m. on Monday to test if there had been a gas or chlorine leak, but nothing of that nature was found. However, further precautionary testing is ongoing, and fire officials are requesting that individuals that work in this area not to come in until further notice.

"What the police department has done at this time is shut down Congress [Avenue] at First/Cesar Chavez, as well as one block on either side. We are asking people that work in the area not to come in, because they are not allowed in the area," said Toni Chovanetz with the Austin Police Department.

Several different groups are on the scene, including APD, AFD and the 6th Civil Support Team. That team supports local first-responders and helps determine the nature of an emergency situation.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Dead birds shut down Congress Ave. for several hours
1/8/2007
Austin police have a troubling mystery on their hands.
They've closed off most of Congress Avenue for the morning downtown -- along with all side streets between Colorado and Brazos streets. That's after dozens of birds were found dead in the area.
The several dozen dead birds were found along Congress between Sixth and Eighth streets overnight. Congress Avenue is closed from Cesar Chavez on the south to Eleventh Street on the north in front of the Capitol. A police spokeswoman says the area is expected to remain closed until about noon.
People who work in the closed-off area have been advised to delay coming to work until after fire crews conduct precautionary testing of the area and declare an all-clear.

 

[HenryN]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Dead Birds Prompt Downtown Austin Shutdown

Last Update: 1/8/2007 10:20:35 AM

By JIM VERTUNO, Associated Press Writer


AUSTIN (AP) -- Police shut down a 10-block stretch of Congress Avenue in the heart of downtown early Monday after up to 60 dead birds were found, but a state health official said preliminary air-quality tests showed no dangerous chemicals and that the area should reopen soon.
The carcasses of the grackles, sparrows and pigeons were being tested locally and at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, but officials did not believe bird flu was involved or that people are in danger.
"We do not feel there is a threat to the public health," said Adolfo Valadez, the medical director for Austin and Travis County Health and Human Services.
The closure -- on the eve of the state's 80th legislative session -- came after 40 to 60 carcasses were found overnight along Congress between Sixth and Eighth streets. There were no reports of humans harmed.
Police closed the main north-south route through downtown and all side streets for a block to the east and west while crews tested for environmental contaminants or gas or chlorine leaks, Austin Police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said.
The closure extended from 11th Street, which runs in front of the Capitol, 10 blocks south to Cesar Chavez Street at the north end of the Congress Avenue bridge over Town Lake. The Capitol opened on schedule Monday.
A staging area was set up just south of the Capitol, with dozens of fire trucks, police cars and ambulances parked in an area cordoned off by yellow police tape. Some workers donned yellow hazardous-material suits. The staging area is about a block from the governor's mansion, which also remained open.
The entire area was expected to reopen by noon, Valadez said.
He said at least one carcass was being tested locally and others were being shipped to the CDC and Texas A&M University for testing. It could be days or even weeks before the test results come back, Valadez said.
Valadez said the tests will be looking for signs of poisoning or viral infections -- though he said officials do not think bird flu is involved.
Federal officials in Washington said they're monitoring the situation. "There is no credible intelligence to suggest an imminent threat to the homeland or the Austin at this time," said Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security.

http://www.woai.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=b7a2bb04-25a1-4d1a-90b2-2906e617fd22

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Health Dept.: No Public Health Threat Despite Large Number Of Dead Birds

The health department doesn't believe that the dozens of dead birds found in Downtown Austin Monday morning are a threat to public health. But several blocks of Congress Avenue remain closed off to traffic, and if you work in the area, you're being asked to stay home from work until at least noon.

Congress Avenue and one block on either side of the street is shut down from Cesar Chavez to 11th Street until approximately noon. Most of the birds were concentrated around 9th Street.

They still don't know what killed the birds. However, one bird has been sent to a lab in Ames, Iowa, to be tested for avian flu. Another bird is being sent to College Station, Texas, to determine whether it might have been poisoned.

The dead birds included grackles, pigeons and sparrows.

The fire department was called out to the area around 3 a.m. on Monday to test if there had been a gas or chlorine leak, but nothing of that nature was found. However, further precautionary testing is ongoing, and fire officials are requesting that individuals that work in this area not to come in until further notice.

"What the police department has done at this time is shut down Congress [Avenue] at First/Cesar Chavez, as well as one block on either side. We are asking people that work in the area not to come in, because they are not allowed in the area," said Toni Chovanetz with the Austin Police Department.

Several different groups are on the scene, including APD, AFD and the 6th Civil Support Team. That team supports local first-responders and helps determine the nature of an emergency situation.

 

[Niko]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

When hearing of an outbreak such as this, the first thing I look for on a map is a body(ies) of water. See this map of Congress Ave. - Cesar Chavez St. is along a river with an area marked as "Town Lake"
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Map+Congress+Ave,+Austin,+TX&ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=30.263478,-97.744889&spn=0.024019,0.036736&om=1

 

[Niko]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

A staging area was set up just south of the Capitol, with dozens of fire trucks, police cars and ambulances parked in an area cordoned off by yellow police tape. Some workers donned yellow hazardous-material suits. The staging area is about a block from the governor's mansion, which also remained open.

http://www.woai.com/mostpopular/story.aspx?content_id=b7a2bb04-25a1-4d1a-90b2-2906e617fd22

Why ambulances if there is no threat to human health? Obundance of caution?

 

[sharon sanders]

Appears to be appropriate response...

Appears to be appropriate response...

"...He said at least one carcass was being tested locally and others were being shipped to the CDC and Texas A&M University for testing. It could be days or even weeks before the test results come back, Valadez said..."

"..They still don't know what killed the birds. However, one bird has been sent to a lab in Ames, Iowa, to be tested for avian flu. Another bird is being sent to College Station, Texas, to determine whether it might have been poisoned..."

"..Several different groups are on the scene, including APD, AFD and the 6th Civil Support Team. That team supports local first-responders and helps determine the nature of an emergency situation..."

"..."What the police department has done at this time is shut down Congress [Avenue] at First/Cesar Chavez, as well as one block on either side. We are asking people that work in the area not to come in, because they are not allowed in the area," said Toni Chovanetz with the Austin Police Department..."

"..Federal officials in Washington said they're monitoring the situation. "There is no credible intelligence to suggest an imminent threat to the homeland or the Austin at this time," said Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security..."

A very good and quick response. Local, state, federal officials all taking action to protect the public and determine the cause of death of the birds.

:applause:

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Why ambulances if there is no threat to human health? Obundance of caution?

This is standard protocol.

 

[sharon sanders]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

The State of Texas has a very developed program for Homeland Security Preparedness. The training is extensive, constant, and involves incident command for many kinds of emergencies: hurricanes, terrorism, hazardous materials, floods, earthquakes, etc.

http://preparingtexas.org/CourseList.aspx

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

I thought I heard on the radio that two officers were ill...anyone read/hear similar?

Why ambulances if there is no threat to human health? Obundance of caution?

 

[HenryN]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Congress Avenue should open soon
Updated: 1/8/2007 10:47 AM
By: News 8 Austin Staff
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Congress Avenue from Cesar Chavez to 11th Street as well as one block on either side of Congress are closed until further notice.
Authorities are trying to figure how several dozen dead birds were found along Congress between Sixth and Eighth Streets overnight.
A state health official said the 10-block stretch of downtown Austin should reopen soon, however.
Preliminary air-quality tests showed no dangerous chemicals.

Police closed down the area Monday morning after up to 60 birds
were found dead. The carcasses of the birds are being tested, but
officials do not believe bird flu is involved or that people are in
danger.
There have been no reports of humans harmed.
A Homeland Security spokesman says there is "no credible
intelligence'' that suggests a threat against Austin.
The Austin Fire Department suggests that if you work in the affected area, you wait until they've given the "all clear" before going in.
All Congress Avenue Capital Metro routes are being detoured to San Jacinto and Brazos.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=177444

 

[HenryN]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Downtown dead birds to be tested

[SIZE=+1]Official: 'Bird flu' unlikely cause[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]11:51 AM CST on Monday, January 8, 2007

[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Associated Press and KVUE News[/SIZE]

<!-- sidebar starts here -->KVUE Online Video

KVUE's Quita Culpepper reports


<!-- sidebar ends here -->AUSTIN ? Police shut down 10 blocks of businesses in the heart of downtown Austin early Monday after dozens of birds were found dead.
Experts tested for environmental contaminants, gas or chlorine leaks that might have killed off the animals, police spokeswoman Toni Chovanetz said, but those tests revealed no hazardous chemicals.

KVUE News
Ten blocks of Congress Ave. were closed Monday morning.

There were no reports of any human casualties, but a 10-block stretch of the main north-south route through downtown, several side streets and all buildings in the area were blocked off, Chovanetz said.
Federal Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said there is "no credible evidence" to suggest any imminent threat from terrorism.
The bird carcasses were found overnight along Congress Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets.
Adolfo Valadez, medical director for Austin and Travis County Health and Human Services, said air-quality testing found no chemicals. He expected the shut down sections of downtown to reopen at noon.
Valadez said some of the 40 to 60 dead birds will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta and Texas A&M University for further testing.
Valadez said the tests will look for signs of poisoning or viral infections?although he discounted the possibility of "bird flu" as a factor.
"What we're asking citizens to do, if they do find a dead bird in their yard or several dead birds, they can call 3-1-1. We will take the information, and then our animal control authorities will follow up on that call," Valdez said.
Bird die-offs can happen during hail storms or other severe weather. No bad weather was reported overnight.

KVUE News
Workers in protective suits collected the bird carcasses Monday.

The dead birds consisted of grackles, sparrows and pigeons.
The closure extended from 11th Street, which runs in front of the Capitol, 10 blocks south to Cesar Chavez Street at the north end of the Congress Avenue bridge over Town Lake.
Downtown exployees tried to reach their workplaces Monday morning, but many were unable. Most of the people who work along Congress did not know what was going on until they were informed by police officers when they arrived. A few businesses were open, but only those that face away from Congress Avenue.
The Capitol opened on schedule Monday, the day before the 80th legislative session was to begin. The area and all buildings and offices within it were expected to remain off-limits until about noon Monday, Chovanetz said.

http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/010807kvueaustinbirds-eh.1d7bfa2a.html

 

[HenryN]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

<TABLE id=common_center_content cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 12pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; LINE-HEIGHT: 19px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" align=left>Mass of Dead Birds Raises Fears Over Air-Quality, Shuts Down Congress Ave. </TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 0px; FONT-SIZE: 9pt; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px; MARGIN: 0px; PADDING-TOP: 0px" align=left></TD></TR><TR><TD class=story_date_label style="PADDING-TOP: 5px">Last Edited: Monday, 08 Jan 2007, 10:06 AM CST</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story_date_label>Created: Sunday, 07 Jan 2007, 6:01 PM CST</TD></TR><TR><TD style="PADDING-TOP: 5px"><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=1 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD><SCRIPT type=text/javascript> var hasRightVersion = DetectFlashVer(requiredMajorVersion, requiredMinorVersion, requiredRevision); if( hasRightVersion) { var embed = new FlashTag("/myfox/flash/videoPlayer.swf", 336, 295, "8,0,0,0"); embed.setFlashvars("videoDisplayType=embedded&lcId=" + lcId + "&cookie=" + document.cookie + "&consistentPath=/myfox&servletUrl=/myfox/video_servlet&version=8&locale=EN-US&contentId=1994901&pageId=1.1.1&pos=4&tile=4&ord=584960385&dartVideo=tsg.ktbc/homepage"); embed.setId("videoPlayer"); embed.write(document); identifyFlash(); } else { // flash is too old or we can't detect the plugin var alternateContent = '

' + ''; document.write(alternateContent); // insert non-flash content }</SCRIPT><OBJECT class=inlineimg id=videoPlayer title="Big Grin" codeBase=http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=7,0,14,0 height=295 alt="" width=336 data=data:application/x-oleobject;base64,IGkzJfkDzxGP0ACqAGhvEzwhRE9DVFlQRSBIVE1MIFBVQkxJQyAiLS8vVzNDLy9EVEQgSFRNTCA0LjAgVHJhbnNpdGlvbmFsLy9FTiI+DQo8SFRNTD48SEVBRD4NCjxNRVRBIGh0dHAtZXF1aXY9Q29udGVudC1UeXBlIGNvbnRlbnQ9InRleHQvaHRtbDsgY2hhcnNldD13aW5kb3dzLTEyNTIiPg0KPE1FVEEgY29udGVudD0iTVNIVE1MIDYuMDAuNTczMC4xMSIgbmFtZT1HRU5FUkFUT1I+PC9IRUFEPg0KPEJPRFk+DQo8UD4mbmJzcDs8L1A+PC9CT0RZPjwvSFRNTD4NCg== border=0 classid="clsid</OBJECT>


</TD></TR><TR><TD class=story_image_caption>Bird Update </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Authorities have closed-off Congress Avenue, from Town Lake to the capitol building, as tests are being done to audit the air-quality in the area. The closure came after dozens of birds were found dead, raising concerns that something unusual is in the air. Get more information from health officials who just held a press conference on the shut-down</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

http://www.myfoxaustin.com/myfox/pages/Home/Detail?contentId=1994901&version=8&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=VSTY&pageId=1.1.1

Video at above link.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Now that is an image to remember.

 

[HenryN]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

I thought I heard on the radio that two officers were ill...anyone read/hear similar?

Link from Fox has extensive news conference. Officers have recovered.

 

[HenryN]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Not avian infleunza because there has not been any reports of avian influenza in North America, according to CNN live interview.

i.e. They know VERY little.

 

[hawkeye]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

And pitbulls don't bite anymore. [hattip ice-t]

Not avian infleunza because there has not been any reports of avian influenza in North America, according to CNN live interview.

i.e. They know VERY little.

 

[Treyfish]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

(CBS 42) AUSTIN Congress Avenue has been reopened after city officials said there is no threat from the dead birds found along Congress Ave. in Downtown Austin.

Austin police shut down Congress Ave. from Cesar Chavez St. to 11th St. after finding 63 dead birds around 3 a.m. along Congress Ave. between 6th and 8th Streets. The area reopened to traffic around 1 p.m.

http://tinyurl.com/txyf7

 

[dwells57]

Re: Dead Birds Close Downtown Austin (TX)

Just FYI on Austin...I lived there for 10 years up till 95, and continue to visit there. Austin is one of the most environmentally conscious and proactive cities you might ever run across. They not only monitor Town Lake, but regulate and rigorously control any activities on the entire Edwards Aquifer that Austin, the surrounding county and several surrounding cities rest on. I think it would be a vanishingly small chance of anything other than deliberate chemical release or H5N1 or other disease to be the culprit here.