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WILDFIRES IN COLORADO (USA) March 20-31 – JULY 13, 2012

WILDFIRES IN COLORADO (USA) March 20-31 – JULY 13, 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. WILDFIRE HAZARDS

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WILDFIRES IN COLORADO (USA) March 20-31 – JULY 13, 2012

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  1. WILDFIRES IN COLORADO (USA)March 20-31 – JULY 13, 2012 Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

  2. BACKGROUND

  3. Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters Planet Earth’s atmospheric-lithospheric interactions cause: • Wildfires

  4. WILDFIRE HAZARDS • INVENTORY • VULNERABILITY • LOCATION • PREVENTION/MITIGATION • PREPAREDNESS • EMERGENCY RESPONSE • RECOVERY and • RECONSTRUCTION • EDUCATIONAL SURGE RISK ASSESSMENT POLICY OPTIONS ACCEPTABLE RISK RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK RISK REDUCTION FOR WILDFIRES YOUR COMMUNITY DATA BASES AND INFORMATION HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

  5. SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES

  6. 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.

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

  8. 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)

  9. WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • SUNDOWNER WINDS • SANTA ANNA WINDS • REDUCED AIR QUALITY • LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER

  10. CAUSES OF DAMAGE LIGHTNING STRIKES MANMADE FIRES PROXIMITY OF URBAN AREA TO THE WILDLAND FIRE WIND SPEED AND DIRECTION (DAY/NIGHT CHANGES) WILDFIRES DRYNESS DISASTER LABORATORIES HIGH TEMPERATURES LOCAL FUEL SUPPLY

  11. FORECASTS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., REMOTE SENSING, TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, WINDS) WARNING SYSTEMS DATABASES FOR EACH WILDFIRE COMPUTER MODELS OF WILDFIRES EVACUATION FIRE RETARDANTS EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR FIGHTING WILDFIRES

  12. NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH EVACUATION IS TYPICAL FLOODS GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAY HURRICANES TYPHOONS HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY TSUNAMIS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS WILDFIRES

  13. THE 2012 SEASON

  14. WILDFIRE WARNING: SPRING 2012 WAS PREDICTED TO BE DRIER THAN NORMAL FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TO THE SOUTHWEST

  15. DURING MARCH, PARTS OF TEXAS, OKLAHOMA, NEW MEXICO, KANSAS AND COLORADO WERE UNDER A HIGH WILDFIRE ALERT AS A RESULT OF HIGH TEMPERATURES, HIGH WINDS, LOW HUMIDITY, AND DRY VEGETATION

  16. THE WILDFIRE SEASON BEGINS: MARCH 2012

  17. LOWER NORTH FORK WILDFIRE, SW OF DENVER; MARCH 27

  18. LOWER NORTH FORK WILDFIRE: MARCH 27

  19. SLURRY FIRE RETARDENT: LOWER NORTH FORK WILDFIRE; MARCH 27

  20. BELLVUE, CO: HIGH PARK FIRE;JUNE 30

  21. INITIAL REPORTS • Mandatory evacuation was ordered for residents of 7,400 homes • 28 homes destroyed. • 4,500 acres burned near Conifer, a foothills community 33 km (20 miles) southwest of Denver • High winds hindered slurry flights • Two deaths reported

  22. NATIONAL RESPONSE • Firefighters from across the country were dispatched to Colorado to increase the number of firefighters on the ground from 100 to 450.

  23. COLORADO SPRINGS, CO • Waldo Canyon fire started June 25th. • More than 32,000 evacuated, but more than 21,000 evacuation messages were NOT delivered. • Air Force Academy threatened • 350 homes burned. • President Obama visited: June 29.

  24. WALDO CANYON FIRE: 21,000 EVACUATION MESSAGES UN-DELIVERED; JUNE 27

  25. WALDO CANYON FIRE BURNED 15,000 ACRES NEAR AIR FORCE ACADEMY

  26. PRESIDENT OBAMA VIEWS DAMAGE: COLORADO SPRINGS; JUNE 29

  27. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS; JUNE 30

  28. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS; JUNE 30

  29. A SURVIVOR OF WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS; JUNE 30

  30. BURNED HOMES: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 1

  31. BURNED OUT HOMES: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 1

  32. BURNED CARS AND HOMES: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 1

  33. 32,000 EVACUATED FROM COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 2

  34. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 2

  35. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 2

  36. EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF WALDO CANYON FIRE STOPPED: JULY 5

  37. WE WILL REBUILD: COLORADO SPRINGS; JULY 5

  38. STATUS OF COLORADO FIRES JULY 8, 2012

  39. A NEW THREAT:FLASH FLOODS AND MUDFLOWS JULY 7

  40. MUDSLIDE BLOCKS HIGHWAY: HIGH PARK BURN AREA; JULY 8

  41. MUDSLIDE BLOCKS HIGHWAY: HIGH PARK BURN AREA; JULY 8

  42. WALDO CANYON FIRE EXPECTED TO BE CONTAINED JULY 13 The blaze will have consumed 18,247 acres as of Friday morning and will have cost approximately $15.3 million to fight.

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