DEADLY WILDFIRE EXPERIENCE IN SOUTHERN
CALIFORNIAJuly 17, 2015
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Walter Hays, Global Alliance for
Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA Virginia, USA
Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters
Planet Earth’s atmospheric-lithospheric interactions cause:
• WILDFIRESWildfires
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.
SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES
LOCATIONS OF MAJOR WILDFIRES
• Four locations: 1) Australia, 2) California, 3) Europe, and 4) Yellowstone Park (USA), have wilderness-urban interfaces that have been repeatedly impacted over the years by wildfires.
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE IN CALIFORNIA
THE JULY 17TH WILDFIRE EXPERIENCE WAS NOTABLE
BECAUSE IT JUMPED INTERSTATE 15 AND TRAPPED
HUNDREDS OF CARS AND TRUCKS BETWEEN LOS
ANGELES AND LAS VEGAS
THE JULY 17th WILDFIRE IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
CREDIT THE ASSOCOATED PRESS FOR THE PHOTOGRAPHS, WHICH
ARE USED SOLELY FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES WITH NO
FINANCIAL GAIN
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
JULY 17TH 2015 WILDFIRE
PLANET EARTH HAS THOUSANDS OF “WILDFIRE
LABORATORIES”
EACH WILDFIRE PROVIDES VALUABLE LESSONS ON
DISASTER RISK REDUCTION
WILDFIRES CAN CAUSE HIGH-RISK SITUATIONS
Any wildfire can be devastating to people, property, infrastructure, business enterprise, and the environment.
WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)
• SUNDOWNER WINDS• SANTA ANNA WINDS• LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR
QUALITY• LOCAL CHANGES IN
WEATHER
WILDFIRE HAZARDS
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)
DISASTER RISK ASSESSMENT FOR WILDFIRES
TWO EXAMPLES OF THE BASIC CONCEPTS:
CALIFORNIA AND AUSTRALIA
HAZARDSHAZARDS
ELEMENTS OF RISKELEMENTS OF RISK
EXPOSUREEXPOSURE
VULNERABILITYVULNERABILITY LOCATIONLOCATION
RISKRISK
LIGHTNING STRIKES
WILDFIRES
MANMADE FIRES
PROXIMITY OF URBAN AREA TO THE WILDLAND FIRE
WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION (DAY/NIGHT)
DRYNESS
HIGH TEMPERATURES
LOCAL FUEL SUPPLY
CAUSES OF DAMAGE
DISASTER LABORATORIES
COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION
HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS
•HAZARD MAPS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION
RISK ASSESSMENTRISK ASSESSMENT
RISK
ACCEPTABLE RISK
UNACCEPTABLE RISK
WILDFIRE DISASTER RISK WILDFIRE DISASTER RISK REDUCTIONREDUCTION
•PREVENTION/MITIGATION•PREPAREDNESS•EMERGENCY RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION
POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR WILDFIRES
• FORECASTS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS
• MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., REMOTE SENSING, TEMPER-ATURE, HUMIDITY, WINDS)
• WARNING SYSTEMS
• DATABASES FOR EACH WILDFIRE
• COMPUTER MODELS OF WILDFIRES
• MAPS; ZONING • DISASTER
SCENARIOS• HAZARD
ASSESSMENTS • RISK ASSESSMENTS
THE PEOPLE ABANDONED THEIR CARS, CAMPERS, AND
TRUCKS AND FLED FOR THEIR LIVES