WORST WILDFIRE IN COLORADO HISTORY

STATUS: June 17, 2012

Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of

North Carolina, USA

THE 2012 HIGH PARK, CO WILDFIRE

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.

VERY DIFFICULT FIREFIGHTING CONDITIONS GET WORSE

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

HIGH PARK, CO WILDFIRE ON JUNE 11TH

ONE OF THE FIREFIGHTING HELICOPTERS: JUNE 15, 2012

REFILLING FOR ANOTHER WATER DROP

EVACUATIONS ORDERED

At present, 3,000 people have received notices to evacuate.

BACKGROUND

Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters

Planet Earth’s atmospheric-lithospheric interactions cause:

Wildfires

SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES

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.

WILDFIRES CAN CAUSE HIGH-RISK SITUATIONS

Any wildfire, whatever the cause, can be devastating to people, property, infra-structure, business enterprise, individual livelihoods, wildlife, and the environment.

COMMUNITYCOMMUNITYDATA BASES DATA BASES AND INFORMATIONAND INFORMATION

HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS

•HAZARDS•INVENTORY•VULNERABILITY•LOCATION

RISK ASSESSMENTRISK ASSESSMENT

RISK

ACCEPTABLE RISK

UNACCEPTABLE RISK

WILDFIRE DISASTER RISK WILDFIRE DISASTER RISK REDUCTIONREDUCTION

•PREVENTION/MITIGATION•PREPAREDNESS•INTERVENTION/ RESPONSE•RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

POLICY OPTIONSPOLICY OPTIONS

THE WILDERNESS AREAS typically contain national forests, national parks, or resorts and the adjacent urban areas typically contain large, expensive homes.

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)

WILDFIRE HAZARDS (AKA POTENTIAL DISASTER AGENTS)

• SUNDOWNER WINDS• SANTA ANNA WINDS• LOCAL CHANGES IN AIR

QUALITY• LOCAL CHANGES IN WEATHER

EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR FIGHTING WILDFIRES

• FORECASTS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS

• MONITORING TECHNOLOGIES (E.G., REMOTE SENSING, TEMPER-ATURE, HUMIDITY, WINDS)

• WARNING SYSTEMS• INTERVENTION

STRATEGIES

• DATABASES FOR EACH WILDFIRE

• COMPUTER MODELS OF WILDFIRES

• MAPS; ZONING • DISASTER

SCENARIOS• HAZARD AND RISK

ASSESSMENTS

THE 2012 HIGH PARK WILDFIRE HAS ALREADY SURPASSED 2010’S FOURMILE CANYON

WILDFIRE NEAR BOULDER, CO

THE FIRST LARGE WILDFIRE IN 50 YEARS RAVAGES BOULDER,

COLORADOAN EXAMPLE OF NOT HAVING THE CAPACITY WHEN AN INFREQUENT

HAZARDOUS EVENT HAPPENSSEPTEMBER 6-9, 2010

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

an automobile accidentally hitting a propane tank.

WILDFIRE IN FOUR MILE 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 WERE NEEDED

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.

GOVERNOR BILL RITTER ANNOUNCED SUPPORT

The wildfire destroyed 169 structures, most of them in just

2 days.