Download - 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..