remembering 2o10’s wildfires

REMEMBERING 2O10’S WILDFIRES

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

IMPACTED NATIONS

• Russia (7 regions) USA (Arizona, California, Colorado), Bolivia, …

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010

• 600 Wildfires affected 7 regions in Russia (including Moscow), killed 34, burned 309,000 acres, and affected tens of thousands.

• 300 firefighters and aircraft fought wildfires in Arizona

• 1,700 firefighters, planes, and helicopters fought 3 wildfires near Los Angeles; thousands are evacuated

SOCIETAL IMPACTS DURING 2010

• A wildfire that started after an auto accident in Fourmile Canyon near Boulder, Colorado, burned 7,120 acres, destroyed 100 homes, and displaced 3,500.

• Wildfires started by farmers in Bolivia burned 1.5 million hectares of land.

WILDFIRES

•FLAGSTAFF, AZ

• SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

• RUSSIA

•BOLIVIA

•BOULDER, COLORADO

THREE WILFIRES RAGE NEAR FLAGSTAFF,

ARIZONA

300 FIREFIGHTERS AND AIRCRAFT FIGHT BLAZES

JUNE 20-23, 2010

BRINS FIRE NEAR FLAGSTAFF, AZ: JUNE 20

SCHULTZ FIRE NEAR FLAGSTAFF, AZ: JUNE 21

The communities of Fernwood, Timberline and Wupatki were

evacuated because of the Shultz Fire, a massive blaze.

To keep the fires from spreading towards communities, firefighters

built containment lines, dug trenches, cleared out brush, and

sprayed hot spots with water.

CONTAINING THE SCHULTZ FIRE: JUNE 21

FIGHTING SCHULTZ FIRE: JUNE 21

WILFIRES IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA: LEONA VALLEY AND KERN

COUNTY

NO DEATHS AS THOUSANDS EVACUATED

JULY 27 – AUGUST 3, 2010

Wildfires happen every year in California, so most

homes of recent construction have fire resistant roofs, stucco

walls, boxed eaves, and landscapes with fire-resistant vegetation.

LEONA VALLEY, CA

• Two jumbo planes, three water-dropping helicopters, and 1,700 firefighters worked to get ahead of the blaze that broke out around 3 p.m. on Tuesday (July 27th) in Leona Valley, southwest of Palmdale.

LEONA VALLEY, CA

LEONA VALLEY, CA

The winds generated by the fire pushed the flames north and east

toward the suburbs of Los Angeles County's inland desert, causing

orange flames to explode through the dry grasses, jump roads and

viaducts, and speed across the rural foothills that connect Los Angeles

and the high desert..

15 M (50 FT) FLAMES: LEONA VALLEY, CA

LEONA VALLEY, CA

LEONA VALLEY, CA

LEONA VALLEY, CA

DC-10 DROPPING FLAME RETARDANT: PALMDALE CA

Five high-voltage transmission lines and 2,300 homes were threatened, causing

contingency planning and evacuation of homes in the community of Leona Valley and parts of Palmdale to be evacuated

on Friday (July 30th).

As of Friday (July 30), there was zero containment of the Leona

Valley wildfire.

Further north in Kern County, good weather

helped firefighters achieve 44 % containment for two wildfires burning in remote mountain communities near Tehachapi, on the western edge of the Mojave Desert.

KERN COUNTY WILDFIRE: JULY 28

FIREFIGHTERS: KERN COUNTY WILDFIRE

KERN COUNTY WILDFIRE

Vegetation that hadn't burned in more than a

century was fuel for the 2010 Kern County fire.

RUSSIAN PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV DECLARES STATE

OF EMERGENCY

600 WILDFIRES KILL 34 AND BURN 309,000 ACRES IN 7 REGIONS

JULY 29 – AUGUST 13, 2010

Wildfires happen in Russia about once every 30 to 40

years, so communities generally lack capability for

fire fighting.

The hottest temperatures in 130 years across much of

western and central Russia topped 35 degrees C (95 F)

during a 5-week period, causing 19 peat bog fires and

creating conditions that exacerbated wildfires and

drought.

On July 29, forests in the Moscow region's Kolomna

district caught fire.

600 WILDFIRES WERE BURNING IN 7 REGIONS

14 regions were declared an emergency situation and nearly 86,000 people were evacuated.

The fires destroyed more than 1,800 homes, leaving nearly

5,000 people homeless.

Several villages in the Nizhny Novgorod, Voronezh and Ryazan regions were reduced to ashes.

PRIME MINISTER PUTIN: “VILLAGES TO BE REBUILT BEFORE WINTER”

Russia deployed nearly a quarter of a million people (comprised of the military,

professionals, and volunteers) and 25,000 pieces of equipment

(including planes and helicopters) to fight the fires.

STRONG WINDS AND 32 C – 42 C TEMPERATURES HINDERED FIREFIGHTING

VORONEZH WILDFIRE

ONE OF 14,000 FIREFIGHTERS: VORONEZH FIRE

MOSCOW IN SMOKE:AUGUST 6

Moscow was veiled in acrid smoke from the fires, causing landmarks to

disappear from view and commuters to hold

handkerchiefs to their faces

Russia received help from the following countries: France,

Germany, Italy, Poland, Turkey, and the USA, as well as from former

Soviet Republics: Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.

The USA delivered firefighting equipment (valued at $2.5 million (euro 2 million)) and the State of

California contributed fire-protective clothing.

WILDFIRES IN BOLIVA

AUGUST 19- ?, 2010

LOCATION OF BOLIVIA

25,000 fire hotspots were burning in five of the country's nine regions on Friday, August

20, engulfing as much as 1.5 million hectares of land.

The fires were started illegally by farmers who burn forests and

grasslands in the summer to renew and expand their agricultural lands.

The original fires spread quickly due to dry conditions exacerbated by drought

and high winds, the latter carrying smoldering embers through the air and

caused additional blazes.

Soon, there were 25,000 heat sources from fires of various sizes, burning mostly in the east near Brazil in the departments of Cochabamba, Beni,

Santa Cruz and Pando.

PRESIDENT EVO MORALES DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY

Bolivia’s President Morales said that his country was not

properly equipped with planes, helicopters, and enough firefighters to handle the wildfires, and asked for help from neighbors Brazil and

Argentina.

THE FIRST LARGE WILDFIRE IN 50 YEARS RAVAGES BOULDER,

COLORADOAN EXAMPLE OF NOT HAVING THE CAPACITY WHEN AN INFREQUENT

HAZARDOUS EVENT HAPPENS

SEPTEMBER 6-9, 2010

The largest wildfire in Boulder county in 50 years was started by

an automobile accidentally hitting a propane tank.

3,500 residents were forced to flee their homes to escape the fast

moving fire that burned more than 7,120 acres of very dry trees and

brush.

WILDFIRE IN FOURMILE CANYON NEAR BOULDER

WILDFIRE NEAR BOULDER, COLORADO

A DISTANT VIEW OF THE RAPIDLY MOVING WILDFIRE

BUSES BURNED

ONLY A FEW FIRE FIGHTING HELICOPTERS

FILLING UP WITH WATER AT BOULDER RESERVOIR

MANY TRIPS ARE NEEDED

GOVERNOR BILL RITTER ANNOUNCE SUPPORT

The wildfire destroyed nearly 100 structures in just 2 days..