WILDFIRES RAGE OUT OF CONTROL IN WEST TEXAS

WILDFIRES RAGE OUT OF CONTROL IN WEST TEXAS AND TEXAS PANHAMDLE DROUGHT AND WIND EXACERBATE WILDFIRES, WHICH SCORCH 80, 000 100, 000 ACRES MARCH 12 - APRIL 11, 2011 Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters Planet Earth’s atmosphericlithospheric interactions cause: Ø Wildfires

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

SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES

WILDFIRE IN TEXAS PANHANDLE Billowing smoke caused by a wildfire in the Texas Panhandle near Borger, Texas, Sunday, March 12, 2006.

WILDFIRE IN TEXAS PANHANDLE Flames reach heights of 20 -30 feet as a wildfire rages on Sunday, March 12, 2006 near Borger, Texas.

FIRE FIGHTERS COME FROM OTHER STATES TO HELP • Fire fighters from 25 states joined together in a joint effort to bring a dozen fires under control.

PROBLEMS FOR FIRE FIGHTERS • Hot, windy conditions and low humidity, combined withered shrubs and grasses caused by the drought, made fire fighting more dangerous than usual.

PROBLEMS FOR FIRE FIGHTERS • Air tankers usually used to douse massive fires like these could not be flown because of wind gusts of 66 to 60 kph (40 to 50 mph) on some days.

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

RISK ASSESSMENT • HAZARD MAPS • INVENTORY • VULNERABILITY • LOCATION DATA BASES AND INFORMATION ACCEPTABLE RISK UNACCEPTABLE RISK WILDFIRE DISASTER RISK REDUCTION COMMUNITY POLICY OPTIONS HAZARDS: GROUND SHAKING GROUND FAILURE SURFACE FAULTING TECTONIC DEFORMATION TSUNAMI RUN UP AFTERSHOCKS • PREVENTION/MITIGATION • PREPAREDNESS • EMERGENCY RESPONSE • RECOVERY and RECONSTRUCTION

NATURAL HAZARDS FOR WHICH EVACUATION IS TYPICAL FLOODS GOAL: MOVE PEOPLE OUT OF HARM’S WAY HIGH BENEFIT/COST FOR SAVING LIVES, BUT LOW BEMEFIT/COST FOR PROTECTING PROPERTY HURRICANES TYPHOONS TSUNAMIS VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS WILDFIRES

EVACUATION • More than 1, 900 people from seven counties were evacuated.