WILDFIRES IN COLORADO (USA) March 20-31

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WILDFIRES IN COLORADO (USA)March 20-31 JULY
13, 2012
Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster
Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA
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BACKGROUND
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Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters

• Planet Earths atmospheric-lithospheric
  interactions cause
• Wildfires

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YOUR COMMUNITY
DATA BASES AND INFORMATION
HAZARDS GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE
SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN
UP AFTERSHOCKS
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SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES
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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.
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THE WILDERNESS AREAS prone to wildfires
typically contain national forests, national
parks, or resorts, and the adjacent urban areas
typically contain large, expensive homes.
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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)

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WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• SUNDOWNER WINDS
• SANTA ANNA WINDS
• REDUCED AIR QUALITY
• LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER

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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
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EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR FIGHTING WILDFIRES

• DATABASES FOR EACH WILDFIRE
• COMPUTER MODELS OF WILDFIRES
• EVACUATION
• FIRE RETARDANTS

• FORECASTS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS
• MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., REMOTE SENSING,
  TEMPERATURE, HUMIDITY, WINDS)
• WARNING SYSTEMS

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NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH EVACUATION IS TYPICAL
FLOODS
GOAL MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARMS WAY
HURRICANES
TYPHOONS
HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW
BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY
TSUNAMIS
VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS
WILDFIRES
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THE 2012 SEASON
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WILDFIRE WARNING SPRING 2012 WAS PREDICTED TO
BE DRIER THAN NORMAL FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TO
THE SOUTHWEST
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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
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THE WILDFIRE SEASON BEGINS MARCH 2012
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LOWER NORTH FORK WILDFIRE, SW OF DENVER MARCH
27
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LOWER NORTH FORK WILDFIRE MARCH 27
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SLURRY FIRE RETARDENT LOWER NORTH FORK WILDFIRE
MARCH 27
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BELLVUE, CO HIGH PARK FIREJUNE 30
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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

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NATIONAL RESPONSE

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

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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.

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WALDO CANYON FIRE 21,000 EVACUATION MESSAGES
UN-DELIVERED JUNE 27
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WALDO CANYON FIRE BURNED 15,000 ACRES NEAR AIR
FORCE ACADEMY
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PRESIDENT OBAMA VIEWS DAMAGE COLORADO SPRINGS
JUNE 29
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WALDO CANYON FIRE COLORADO SPRINGS JUNE 30
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WALDO CANYON FIRE COLORADO SPRINGS JUNE 30
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A SURVIVOR OF WALDO CANYON FIRE COLORADO
SPRINGS JUNE 30
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BURNED HOMES COLORADO SPRINGS JULY 1
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BURNED OUT HOMES COLORADO SPRINGS JULY 1
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BURNED CARS AND HOMES COLORADO SPRINGS JULY 1
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32,000 EVACUATED FROM COLORADO SPRINGS JULY 2
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WALDO CANYON FIRE COLORADO SPRINGS JULY 2
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WALDO CANYON FIRE COLORADO SPRINGS JULY 2
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EASTWARD MOVEMENT OF WALDO CANYON FIRE STOPPED
JULY 5
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WE WILL REBUILD COLORADO SPRINGS JULY 5
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STATUS OF COLORADO FIRES JULY 8, 2012
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A NEW THREATFLASH FLOODS AND MUDFLOWS JULY 7
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MUDSLIDE BLOCKS HIGHWAY HIGH PARK BURN AREA
JULY 8
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MUDSLIDE BLOCKS HIGHWAY HIGH PARK BURN AREA
JULY 8
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WALDO CANYON FIRE EXPECTED TO BE CONTAINED JULY
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• The blaze will have consumed 18,247 acres as of
  Friday morning and will have cost approximately
  15.3 million to fight.