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WILDFIRES STILL RAGING IN BIG SUR CALIFORNIA July 22---August ???, 2016

WILDFIRES STILL RAGING IN BIG SUR CALIFORNIA July 22---August ???, 2016. Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA. 2016’s WILDFIRE SEASON MAY ECCLIPSE 2015’s.

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WILDFIRES STILL RAGING IN BIG SUR CALIFORNIA July 22---August ???, 2016

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  1. WILDFIRES STILL RAGING IN BIG SUR CALIFORNIA July 22---August ???, 2016 Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA

  2. 2016’s WILDFIRE SEASON MAY ECCLIPSE 2015’s • On June 17, experts warned that drought-stricken, hot and dry California, now in its fifth year of drought, should prepare for an unusually intense wildfire season. 

  3. EXAMPLE: BIG SUR AREA OF CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

  4. THE BIG SUR • The Big Sur region, location of the Sabrenas wildfire, is a well known area of central California containing Monterrey and Carmel, beaches and state parks, that are visited each year by thousands of tourists.

  5. The blaze began as the result of an illegal campfire on July 22 at Garrapata State Park

  6. STARTED ON JULY 22

  7. EXACERBATED BY ONGOING HOT-DRY CONDITIONS

  8. STILL BURNING--- AUGUST 9

  9. SMOKE PLUMES VISIBLE FOR 450 KM (270 MILES)

  10. STATUS: AUGUST 9 • An army of more than 5,000 firefighters and an air force of tankers and helicopters have made slow progress because of the intensity of the fire, high winds, and high temperatures.

  11. AN ARMY OF 5,000 FIRE-FIGHTERS

  12. AN AIRFORCE OF PLANES AND TANKERS

  13. AN AIRFORCE OF PLANES AND TANKERS

  14. STATUS OF THE SOBERANES WILDFIRE: AUGUST 9, 2016 • After burning more than 104 square miles over a 3-week-period, California’s largest wildfire of 2016, located north of Big Sur, is only approximately 50 percent contained.

  15. STATUS: AUGUST 9 • The fire has claimed one life and injured three, destroyed fifty-seven homes and 11 outbuildings, and is still threatening at least 410 structures.

  16. WILDFIRE THREATENS MANY HOMES

  17. WILDFIRE HAS DE-STROYED MANY HOMES

  18. STATUS: AUGUST 9 • Thousands have evacuated their homes and thousands of tourists and workers and travelers have been diverted to other routes to escape the wildfire zone.

  19. EVACUATEES AND DIVERTED TRAVELERS

  20. EVACUAEES AND DIVERTED TRAVELERS

  21. STATUS: AUGUST 9 • Some evacuation orders remain in place, while others have been changed to warnings on a day-by-day-basis in order to allow as many residents as possible to return to their homes temporarily.

  22. STATUS: AUGUST 9 • Highway 1 was closed Monday night (Aug. 8) due to increased wind and flames from the spreading fire, but reopened early Tuesday.

  23. A Natural Phenomenon Planet Earth’s atmospheric-lithospheric interactions cause: • WILDFIRES • Wildfires

  24. WILDFIRES are conflagrations caused by lightning discharges, spontaneous combustion, or acts of man in wilderness areas close enough to an urban interface that they threaten people, property, infrastructure, and business enterprise.

  25. SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES

  26. EXACERBATING CONDITIONS • California has all of the physical conditions that exacerbate a wildfire: strong winds and scorching, triple-digit temperatures.

  27. HAZARDS AND RISK

  28. 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)

  29. WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS) • SUNDOWNER WINDS • SANTA ANNA WINDS • LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR QUALITY • LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER (“FIRENADOES”)

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

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