REMEMBERING 2O10’S WILDFIRES. Part II

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

The original fires spread quickly due to dry conditions exacerbated

by drought and high winds, the latter carrying smoldering embers

through the air and caused additional blazes.

Soon, there were 25,000 heat sources from fires of various sizes,

burning mostly in the east near Brazil in the departments of

Cochabamba, Beni, Santa Cruz and Pando.

PRESIDENT EVO MORALES DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

Bolivia’s President Morales said that his country was not

properly equipped with planes, helicopters, and enough firefighters to handle the wildfires, and asked for help from neighbors Brazil and

Argentina.

THE FIRST LARGE WILDFIRE IN 50 YEARS RAVAGES BOULDER,

COLORADOAN EXAMPLE OF NOT HAVING THE CAPACITY WHEN AN INFREQUENT

HAZARDOUS EVENT HAPPENS

SEPTEMBER 6-9, 2010

The largest wildfire in Boulder county in 50 years was started by

an automobile accidentally hitting a propane tank.

3,500 residents were forced to flee their homes to escape the fast

moving fire that burned more than 7,120 acres of very dry trees and

brush.

WILDFIRE IN FOUR MILE CANYON NEAR BOULDER

WILDFIRE NEAR BOULDER, COLORADO

A DISTANT VIEW OF THE RAPIDLY MOVING WILDFIRE

BUSES BURNED

ONLY A FEW FIRE FIGHTING HELICOPTERS

FILLING UP WITH WATER AT BOULDER RESERVOIR

MANY TRIPS WERE NEEDED

GOVERNOR BILL RITTER ANNOUNCED SUPPORT

The wildfire destroyed nearly 100 structures in just 2 days..

WILDFIRES

HERRIMAN, UTAH

September 19, 2010.

10,000 ACRES BURNED

ISRAEL’S 2010 WILDFIRE REVEALED LACK OF

PREPARATION, BUT INTERNATIONAL

COOPERATION SAVED THE DAY

DECEMBER 1-8, 2010

THE WILDFIRE NEAR HAIFA, THE 3RD LARGEST CITY

Israel’s summer of 2010 had been one of the hottest and driest on

record, creating conditions that are favorable for wildfires.

The reported cause: A 14-year-old-boy says he had been smoking, using a hookah pipe, in a forest,

and the fire got out of control within minutes and swept across 10,000

acres in 24 hours..

ISRAEL’S WORST WILDFIRE IN HISTORY FINDS ISRAEL UNPREPARED

The emergency showed that Israel had neglected to invest in the equipment and personnel needed to effectively combat wildfires that have become pervasive in recent years amid unseasonably high temperatures and periods of drought

FIREFIGHTERS ON THE GROUND

AN INTENSE FIRE EXACERBATED BY WIND AND DRYNESS

FIREFIGHTERS ON THE GROUND

The flames, fanned by high winds, were like a giant wave at

sea, traveling at times with leaps of 500 meters.

After only two days, the fire killed 42 people and consumed more than

10,000 acres, destroying a large part of the Carmel Forest, one of

Israel's natural crown jewels and a popular tourist and vacation

destination that is known as “Little Switzerland” because of its beauty.

.

The fire, exacerbated by high winds, was too demanding for Israel’s 1,500 firefighters to contain, so

Israel issued a rare call for HELP.

Thirteen nations of the international community

responded immediately with material assets and pledges

of financial resources.

PLANES FROM FOUR COUNTRIES FOUGHT THE FIRE

NOVEMBER 6: Although the fire still has many hot spots

located in hard to reach areas, the fire was expected to be under control within

about 2 days.

DECEMBER 5: Israel was finally close to dousing the

Carmel wildfire that had devastated thousands of

acres of land in the north.

DECEMBER 16: While nearly all of Israel’s firefighters were battling the Carmel blaze, at least 25 fires were purposely

set in other forested areas ranging from the northern

town of Kiryat Shemonah to Jerusalem.

The acts of arson were purposely kept quiet “so as not to prompt into action more potential terrorists” who might try to take advantage of the Carmel fire to overwhelm the country’s security and rescue forces

Fortunately, the heavy rains that followed the fires made arson ineffective.