WILDFIRES BURNING IN THE WESTERN USA 42,933 WILDFIRES HAVE OCCURRED DURING 2012 AUGUST 16, 2012...
-
Upload
christina-marshall -
Category
Documents
-
view
219 -
download
2
Transcript of WILDFIRES BURNING IN THE WESTERN USA 42,933 WILDFIRES HAVE OCCURRED DURING 2012 AUGUST 16, 2012...
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
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.
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
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
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
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.
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