WILDFIRES BURNING IN THE WESTERN USA

42,933 WILDFIRES HAVE OCCURRED DURING 2012

AUGUST 16, 2012

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University

of North Carolina, USA

BACKGROUND

Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters

Planet Earth’s atmospheric-lithospheric interactions cause:

Wildfires

WILDFIRES are conflagrations caused by

lightning discharges (or acts of man) in wilderness areas close enough to one or more urban

interfaces that they threaten people, property, infrastructure, and

business enterprise.

WILDFIRES are conflagrations caused by

lightning discharges (or acts of man) in wilderness areas close enough to one or more urban

interfaces that they threaten people, property, infrastructure, and

business enterprise.

SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES

THE WILDERNESS AREAS typically contain national forests, national parks, or resorts and the adjacent urban areas typically contain large, expensive homes.

THE WILDERNESS AREAS typically contain national forests, national parks, or resorts and the adjacent urban areas typically contain large, expensive homes.

WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• FIRE

• HOT GASES AND SMOKE

• HOT SPOTS

• BURNED OUT SLOPES (with increased susceptibility to insect infestation, erosion, and landslides)

WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• SUNDOWNER WINDS

• SANTA ANNA WINDS

• LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR QUALITY

• LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER

EVACUATION IS TYPICAL FOR WILDFIRESEVACUATION IS TYPICAL FOR WILDFIRESEVACUATION IS TYPICAL FOR WILDFIRESEVACUATION IS TYPICAL FOR WILDFIRES

WILDFIRES

HURRICANES

TYPHOONS

TSUNAMIS

VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS

FLOODS

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY

HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY

GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAYOF HARM’S WAY

GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAYOF HARM’S WAY

WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO EVACUATE, THE MEASURE OF LAST RESORT, THE WILDFIRE

IS TOO CLOSE AND HAS BECOME A THREAT TO

PEOPLE, PROPERTY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE

THE BIG PICTURE

LOCATION OF 2012’S WESTERN WILDFIRES

So far during 2012, 42,933 wildfires have burned 6.47

million acres, surpassing the 6.36 million acres burned by

this date during 2011, according to the National Interagency Fire Center

According to center statistics, in 2006,1,801 fires burned 9.87

million acres.

WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012

AUGUST’S HIGH TEMPERATURES CONTINUE “FIRE SEASON” IN THE WEST

At least 70 large fires are burning across 13 states west of the Mississippi River, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.

California has the most with 13, followed by Nevada with 12 and Idaho with 10

In California, 8,000 firefighters are fighting a

dozen fires

The Marines joined the fight on Wednesday (Aug 15), with

helicopter units from California joining U.S. Air Force Reserve and

Air National Guard units from Colorado, Wyoming, North

Carolina and California, to fight the fires by air.

In Northern California, the Rush Fire has torched

101,000 acres

The lightning-sparked Barry Point fire near the border

between Oregon and California has torched

59,000 acres of land in the two states

In Oregon and Nevada, more than 800 firefighters and support

personnel are working to corral the 436,600-acre Holloway Fire,

the largest of the Western wildfires

In Featherville, Idaho, more than 800 firefighters are fighting the Trinity Ridge

fire, which has burned more than 68,000 acres

In central Washington state, the Taylor Bridge Fire has

scorched some 22,600 acres and destroyed at least 60

homes

CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDFIRE: AUG 15, 2012

BAD NEWS: Blistering hot temperatures will blast the

normally tepid Pacific Northwest again Thursday

(Aug. 16)