Camp fire- Paridise lost (2018 California Wild fire) Flashcards
What date did the fire happen?
November 8th 2018
Where did the fire happen?
Paradise, California
What areas were effected?
Paradise, Concow, Pulga and several other towns in the area
What type of winds influenced the fire?
Santa Ana hot dry winds from the Mojare desert (canyoning)
What does Canyoning mean?
When winds sped through gaps between mountains increasing in speed
What’s the rainfall like in paradise?
Up to 40 inches annually ( in the desert there is less than 5 inches annually )
What’s the temperature like in Paradise?
70-80°F
What type of fire was camp fire?
A crown fire
What vegetation type is there in paradise and surrounding areas?
Mixed conifer woodland with some grassland (very fast burning)
How many firefighters helped to try to put the fire out?
5,000 (CAL five)
How long did it take to contain the fire?
17 days
How many people were evacuated?
52,000
How big was the search and rescue operation?
The largest ever in California
How did law enforcement officers help?
Searching through debris for missing people
How much of the homes destroyed in 2018 are now rebuilt?
21%
How many buildings were destroyed?
19,000 (businesses and homes)
How many people were burned to death?
85
How many total deaths were there including respiratory illnesses caused by the fire?
91
What we’re the flame lengths?
200ft
How fast did the fire burn in seconds?
1 acre of land burnt per second
how many acres burnt in 1 hour of the fire starting?
5-10,000 acres
What we’re the issues with traffic?
Extreme traffic jams as all exits were ‘death traps’
How much land was burnt by the fire?
153,300 acres
How many people were unaccounted for (missing) immediately after the fire?
1300
Which towns both lost 95% of their structures?
Paradise and Concow
How many injuries were there?
12 civilians and 5 fire fighters
How many total fire fighters got involved?
5,600 fighting the blaze
What did rescue workers say due to the lack of people they had helping?
People calling 911 were told to get out on their own, as there weren’t enough rescue workers
How many schools were destroyed?
8/9
How many students were effected by school closures?
3,800
How much money did the total damages amount to?
$16.7 billion
How many people were displaced and made homeless?
30,000 homeless, 40,000 at least displaced
How much money was property damages?
£18 billion
How many homes were destroyed?
14,000
How many applicants were accepted for rebuilds?
8,000
How many people were displaced in Denver and Salt Lake City?
50,000 people
Where is paradise in relation to the hills?
It is a foot hill town
Where did the fire start?
At the bottom of the hills and was carried up by wind up the hills (meaning embers fell from within the ash cloud across paradise)
What was the terrain like?
Dry mountainous terrain
What acted as fuel for the fire?
dry grass, leaves, pine needles, twigs, and other dead brush
What started the fire?
A faulty electric transmission line
How many years was paradise and surrounding areas in drought?
5 years, meaning vegetation was incredibly dry
How fast were the winds that day?
60-70mph
What is El Niño?
When the California current is dominating (trade winds), there is a cool current carrying colder winds. However when currents change direction, this causes a warmer current aiding higher temperatures .
How fast can canyoning wind speeds reach?
Hurricane speed
What was the population in Paradise?
27,000
What’s the frequency of wind fires in California?
Almost 1 major fire occurs every year
What we’re the issues with search and rescue for remains?
The debris burnt so quickly that remains were difficult to find due to such severe burns
What was Paradises plans for evacuation?
Evacuation zoning with 14 zones, each evacuated separately
What we’re people told they would be if they evacuated too quickly?
A ‘burden to traffic systems’ which made no sense as every evacuation route was a death trap and traffic was stand still
What do Paradise need to improve on to help ensure people’s safety?
More education in warnings and evacuation systems
Why could FEMA not help with evacuations?
FEMA received no emergency messages from California which meant that emergency and wireless alert systems couldn’t be used by FEMA, as they were aware what was happening.
What did Code red entail?
Automated cell phone call, which were overwhelmed due to power lines being down and so only 1/3 of the messages went out.
Why did some people not get the code red notification?
Code red notifications needed to be signed up for in advance and only 1/8th of population were signed up.
How many fatalities were found in their homes?
2/3
What is the risk for wildfires in Paradise?
11,454 properties in paradise are constantly at risk from wildfires, which includes all homes in paradise
