Wildfires case study

Question 1

What was the temporal setting of LA before the fires?

Answer 1

-Low humidity
-Dry vegetation
-8 months of drought
-Santa Ana winds helped spread fires

Question 2

What caused the California fires?

Answer 2

-Breakages in electricity from the powerlines made sparks break free
-Quick switch from wetness causing vegetation growth to drought creating fuel

-Hills and LA have lots of fuel through vegetation
-Top layer was very dry

Question 3

What was the name of the company which had the faulty powerlines?

Answer 3

Southern California Edison

-Caused the Altadena fire

Question 4

Social impacts of California fires?

Answer 4

-21 Dead
-10,000 homes and businesses destroyed
-Air quality reduced causing health issues
-200,000 evacuated

-Raised awareness on climate change

Question 5

What were the economic effects of the fires?

Answer 5

-$40 billion insurance bill
-Costs could reach $160 billion
-Rent increased 200% to accommodate displaced
-Tourism and film heavily disrupted

Question 6

What were the political influences of the fire?

Answer 6

-US removed from paris agreement by trump
-62 new fire stations needed to accommodate LA daily needs

Question 7

What were the environmental impacts of fires?

Answer 7

-Total area of 58,000 acres burned
-Toxic contamination from flames

Question 8

What were the responses to the fire?

Answer 8

-Firemen and planes dropped water and used retardants
-Residents sprayed roofs with water
-Aircrafts grounded
-Evacuations and curfews to prevent looting
-Power cut off
-Aid from other states, canada and mexico

Question 9

What factors affected the responses to the fires?

Answer 9

-Water infrastructure not good enough causing shortage and fires couldn’t be stopped
-Gridlock from those evacuating
-Not enough firefighters due to a $17million cut in funding
-Insurance market failure

Question 10

How was LA prepared for the fires?

Answer 10

-Pre positioning of resources like fire engines and aircraft when winds started picking up
-Early warning systems triggered by atmospheric conditions
-‘Know your zone’ system in place
-‘12,137’ buildings classified as threatened were saved

Question 11

How did LA mitigate the effects of fires?

Answer 11

-Fuel reduction projects through controlled burning and mechanical thinning
-California has invested 2.5 billion in fire resilience since 2021
-Investment in AI tools to detect fires
-Fire resistant homes through clearing vegetation, sealing cracks, sliding windows

Question 12

How do LA try prevent wildfires?

Answer 12

-Powerline de energization where energy is cut off before extreme wind events to prevent faulty equipment starting fires
-Land use planning to prevent fires spreading to communities

Question 13

How has LA adapted to wildfires?

Answer 13

-Hazard mapping where houses in at risk zones are required to take extra steps to minimise risk
-Insurance
-Buffer zones through use of golf courses, parks, vineyards etc.
-Fire resistant materials and design

Question 14

How has prediction been used by LA to manage wildfires?

Answer 14

-Meteorological forecasting as Santa Ana winds were predicted 72 hours of the winds arriving
-Storm prediction centre forecast a critical risk of fire weather conditions 5 days before it started