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HIGHLIGHTS OF NOTABLE DISASTERS OF 2012 PART 9: 2012 WILDFIRES (In Chronological Order)

HIGHLIGHTS OF NOTABLE DISASTERS OF 2012 PART 9: 2012 WILDFIRES (In Chronological Order). Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA . PLANET EARTH HAS HUNDREDS OF “WILDFIRE LABORATORIES” EVERY YEAR.

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HIGHLIGHTS OF NOTABLE DISASTERS OF 2012 PART 9: 2012 WILDFIRES (In Chronological Order)

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  1. HIGHLIGHTS OF NOTABLE DISASTERS OF 2012 PART 9: 2012 WILDFIRES(In Chronological Order) Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, Vienna, Virginia, USA 

  2. PLANET EARTH HAS HUNDREDS OF “WILDFIRE LABORATORIES” EVERY YEAR Each Wildfire Provides Valuable Lessons on Disaster Risk Reduction

  3. Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters Planet Earth’s atmospheric-lithospheric interactions create favorable conditions for: • 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. WILDFIRESare 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. 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)

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

  9. CAUSES OF FIRES 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

  10. WILDFIRES CAN CAUSE HIGH-RISK SITUATIONS People, property, infrastructure, business enterprise, government, natural resources, and the environment are at risk.

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

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

  13. 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

  14. THE WILDFIRE SEASON BEGINS: MARCH 2012

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

  16. LOWER NORTH FORK WILDFIRE: MARCH 27

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

  18. THE 2012 HIGH PARK, CO WILDFIRE;Worst wildfire in Colorado’s history

  19. HIGH PARK WILDFIRE • Located 26 km (15 miles) West of Fort Collins, the lightning-caused fire had burned 85 square acres and destroyed 181 homes between June 6 and June 17. • More than 1,630 firefighters were working on the partially contained fire on Saturday, June 16th.

  20. VERY DIFFICULT FIREFIGHTING CONDITIONS BECAME WORSE • Firefighting crews, working for 11 days just to get a difficult fire in a difficult terrain under 45 percent control, suddenly faced hot, dry, “sundowner” winds of 800 kph (500 mph) with temperatures of 90 degrees F on Sunday.

  21. HIGH PARK, CO WILDFIRE ON JUNE 11TH

  22. ONE OF THE FIREFIGHTING HELICOPTERS: JUNE 15, 2012

  23. REFILLING FOR ANOTHER WATER DROP

  24. EVACUATIONS ORDERED • Initially, 3,000 people received notices to evacuate.

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

  26. 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

  27. NATIONAL RESPONSE • Firefighters from across the USA and Canada were dispatched to Colorado to increase the number of firefighters on the ground from 100 to 450.

  28. 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.

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

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

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

  32. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS; JUNE 30

  33. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS; JUNE 30

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

  35. BURNED HOMES: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 1

  36. BURNED OUT HOMES: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 1

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

  38. 32,000 EVACUATED FROM COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 2

  39. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 2

  40. WALDO CANYON FIRE: COLORADO SPRINGS: JULY 2

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

  42. WE WILL REBUILD: COLORADO SPRINGS; JULY 5

  43. STATUS OF COLORADO FIRES JULY 8, 2012

  44. WILDFIRE NEAR ATHENS, GREECEJune 16, 2012

  45. ATHENS, GREECE AREA

  46. PAST WILDFIRES IN GREECE • Hundreds of other wildfires have raged throughout Greece, most recently in 2009.

  47. IT’S “FIRE SEASON” AGAIN IN GREECE • Every Summer, Greece faces the nightmare of destructive forest fires linked either to the inevitable heat wave or to arsonists. • In 2007, 80 people died in dozens of major wildfires across Greece

  48. THE FIRE BROKE OUT SATURDAY, JUNE 16TH WHERE WORKERS HAD BEEN WELDING

  49. BAD TIMING • The timing of the unwanted fire coincided with Greece’s election to deal with the economic crisis.

  50. THYMARI, GREECE: JUNE 16, 2012

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