Paradise Wildfire (Hazards) Flashcards
In what year did the Paradise Camp fire happen?
2018
What started the wildfire?
An electrical transmission line was blown over by strong winds
What is the name of the company that was responsible for the fire; what happened to them afterwards?
Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). They plead guilty to 8 counts of manslaughter, paid $13.5 billion to victims and another $3.5 million as a fine. They still exist and have caused multiple wildfires since.
What is the main vegetation type in the area? how does this affect wildfire risk?
Ponderosa pine forests are plentiful in the region. The ground foliage (such as dry pine needles) around the pine trees is incredibly flammable. The trees themselves only burn at crown height (canopy).
What climatic conditions affected the wildfire risk?
< average rainfall
> average temperatures
Drought across the region
(all of these had been happening for years before the fire started)
How did the strong eastern winds affect wildfire risk?
The winds blew over the power line that instigated the fire.
The winds also contributed to the spread of the fire very heavily.
What is a burnover? How many of them happened during the wildfire
Where evacuation routes are blocked by burned cars, fallen trees, or other obstacles stemming from the fires.
There were 19 burnovers during the fire.
What are the four key SEEP impacts of the wildfire?
S - 85 people were killed
Ec - $16.5 billion (USD) worth of damage was caused
En - over 150,000 acres of land was burned down - killed many animals & habitats
P - the town of Paradise lost 95% of its buildings
How many firefighters were sent to respond to the wildfire?
5,600
In general, how effective was the response effort for the wildfire?
it was reasonably effective at tackling such a large threat.
What long-term responses were made after the fire? (4)
Increased investment into wildfire safety education
Laws passed to force cities & counties to identify inadequate evacuation routes.
Reduce the abundance of flammable ponderosa pines
Emergency service call system (911) had increased funding
What was the peak rate of fire spread?
80 football fields per minute (likely American football fields)
