1. WILDFIRES BURNING IN THE WESTERN USA 42,933 WILDFIRES HAVE OCCURRED DURING 2012 AUGUST 16, 2012 Walter Hays, Global Alliance for Disaster Reduction, University of North Carolina, USA

2. BACKGROUND

3. Natural Phenomena that Cause Disasters Planet Earth’s atmospheric- lithospheric interactions cause:  Wildfires

4. 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.

5. SCIENCE OF WILDFIRES

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

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

10. WHEN YOU CHOOSE TO EVACUATE, THE MEASURE OF LAST RESORT, THE WILDFIRE IS TOO CLOSE AND HAS BECOME A THREAT TO PEOPLE, PROPERTY, AND INFRASTRUCTURE

11. THE BIG PICTURE

12. LOCATION OF 2012’S WESTERN WILDFIRES

13. So far during 2012, 42,933 wildfires have burned 6.47 million acres, surpassing the 6.36 million acres burned by this date during 2011, according to the National Interagency Fire Center

14. According to center statistics, in 2006,1,801 fires burned 9.87 million acres.

15. WHAT WAS HAPPENING ON WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 2012

16. AUGUST’S HIGH TEMPERATURES CONTINUE “FIRE SEASON” IN THE WEST  At least 70 large fires are burning across 13 states west of the Mississippi River, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center.  California has the most with 13, followed by Nevada with 12 and Idaho with 10

17. In California, 8,000 firefighters are fighting a dozen fires

18. The Marines joined the fight on Wednesday (Aug 15), with helicopter units from California joining U.S. Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard units from Colorado, Wyoming, North Carolina and California, to fight the fires by air.

19. In Northern California, the Rush Fire has torched 101,000 acres

20. The lightning-sparked Barry Point fire near the border between Oregon and California has torched 59,000 acres of land in the two states

21. In Oregon and Nevada, more than 800 firefighters and support personnel are working to corral the 436,600-acre Holloway Fire, the largest of the Western wildfires

22. In Featherville, Idaho, more than 800 firefighters are fighting the Trinity Ridge fire, which has burned more than 68,000 acres

23. In central Washington state, the Taylor Bridge Fire has scorched some 22,600 acres and destroyed at least 60 homes

24. CENTRAL WASHINGTON WILDFIRE: AUG 15, 2012

25. BAD NEWS: Blistering hot temperatures will blast the normally tepid Pacific Northwest again Thursday (Aug. 16)