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Case Studies of Large Outdoor Fires Involving Evacuations

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Case Studies of Large Outdoor Fires Involving Evacuations Case studies of large outdoor fires involving evacuations February 2021 Large Outdoor Fires & the Built Environment (LOF&BE) Working Group Emergency Management & Evacuation (EME) Subgroup Enrico Ronchi Guillermo Rein Lund University, Sweden Imperial College London, UK Stephen Wong Martin Kristoffersen University of California COWI, Norway Institute of Transportation Studies, USA Ruggiero Lovreglio Transportation Sustainability Research Center, Massey University, New Zealand USA Ido Marom Sayaka Suzuki Technion- Israel Institute of Technology, National Research Institute of Fire and Disaster, Israel Japan Chunyun Ma Maria Theodori NRC Canada, Canada Reax Engineering Inc., USA Danielle Antonellis University of California, Berkeley, USA Kindling, USA Rahul Wadhwani Xiaoning Zhang Dept. of Wildlife Protection, Leh, India The Hong Kong Polytech University, China Imperial College London, UK Zilong Wang Victoria University, Australia The Hong Kong Polytech University, China Sandra Vaiciulyte Nima Masoudvaziri Arup, UK University at Buffalo, USA Steve Gwynne Lund University, Sweden Movement Strategies, UK *Current affiliation February 2021 Report 4504853 This report should be cited as E. Ronchi, S. Wong, S. Suzuki, M. Theodori, R. Wadhwani, S. Vaiciulyte, S. Gwynne, G. Rein, M. Kristoffersen, R. Lovreglio, I. Marom, C. Ma, D. Antonellis, X. Zhang, Z. Wang, N. Masoudvaziri, Case studies of large outdoor fires involving evacuations, Emergency Management & Evacuation (EME) Subgroup, Large Outdoor Fires & the Built Environment (LOF&BE) Working Group of the International Association for Fire Safety Science, 2021 February. Doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4504853 Corresponding author: Sayaka Suzuki ([email protected]) Cover Photo The cover photo is taken at the Estreito de Calheta during the fires affecting the community of Madeira (Portugal) in 2016. The photo clearly show an example of a wildland-urban interface fire, in which an urbanized area is threatened by an approaching wildfire. Three deaths were eventually attributed to the fire as well as a thousand people needed to be evacuated. Photo taken by Michael Held. Case studies of large outdoor fires involving evacuation E. Ronchi, S. Wong, S. Suzuki, M. Theodori, R. Wadhwani, S. Vaiciulyte, S. Gwynne, G. Rein, M. Kristoffersen, R. Lovreglio, I. Marom, C. Ma, D. Antonellis, X. Zhang, Z. Wang, N. Masoudvaziri Number of pages: 155 Report number: 4504853 Keywords: evacuation; large outdoor fires, wildfires, forest fires, human behaviour, fire safety. Abstract. This report presents a list of case studies concerning large outdoor fires involving evacuation. The report has been developed within the activities of the Emergency Management & Evacuation (EME) Subgroup of the Large Outdoor Fires & the Built Environment (LOF&BE) group of the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS). This work is deemed to be a useful starting point to build a large database of case studies and identify common trends and differences across such type of incidents. The case studies presented are useful for the identification of critical issues related to evacuation scenarios due to large outdoor fires and could be used to identify lessons learnt based on the events. Spatial and temporal scales of past events can be reviewed and an analysis of their consequences could inform policy makers in further developing safety guidance and recommendations for emergency management and evacuation planning. Emergency Management & Evacuation Large Outdoor Fires & the Built (EME) Subgroup Environment (LOF&BE) Working Group International Association for Fire Safety Science Acknowledgements This report is prepared as a part of activities by the Emergency Management and Evacuation (EME) subgroup, Large Outdoor Fires & the Built Environment (LOF&BE) working group, (the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) permanent working group). We would like to thank Drs. Samuel L. Manzello (NIST) and Sara McAllister (USFS), LOF&BE co-leaders, for their encouragement to make this published. About the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS) IAFSS was founded with the primary objective of encouraging research into the science of preventing and mitigating the adverse effects of fires and of providing a forum for presenting the results of such research. The International Association for Fire Safety Science perceives its role to lie in the scientific bases for achieving progress in unsolved fire problems. It will seek cooperation with other organizations, be they concerned with application or with the sciences that are fundamental to our interests in fire. It will seek to promote high standards, to encourage and stimulate scientists to address fire problems, to provide the necessary scientific foundations and means to facilitate applications aimed at reducing life and property loss. Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................ 5 Table of Contents .............................................................................................. 6 1. Introduction ............................................................................................... 7 2. Aim and objectives ................................................................................... 8 3. Methods ...................................................................................................... 9 4. Case studies ............................................................................................. 10 1. Atlas fire (USA), 2017 ....................................................................................... 10 2. British Columbia fires (Canada), 2017 ............................................................ 17 3. Cadiz fire (Spain), 2016 ..................................................................................... 20 4. Camp fire (USA), 2018 ..................................................................................... 22 5. Carr fire (USA), 2018 ........................................................................................ 29 6. Creek fire (USA), 2017 ...................................................................................... 36 7. Haifa fire (Israel), 2016 ..................................................................................... 42 8. Flatanger Fire (Norway) 2014 .......................................................................... 45 9. Fort McMurray fire (Canada), 2016 ................................................................ 49 10. Hill fire (USA), 2018 ......................................................................................... 52 11. Imizamo Yethu fire (South Africa) 2017 ........................................................ 57 12. La Gomera Island fire (Spain), 2012 ............................................................... 60 13. Laerdalsoyri fire (Norway), 2014 ..................................................................... 63 14. Madeira Island fire (Portugal), 2016 ................................................................ 68 15. Pigeon Valley fire (New Zealand), 2019 ......................................................... 71 16. Nuns fire (USA), 2017 ...................................................................................... 74 17. Okanagan Mountain Park fire (Canada), 2003 .............................................. 80 18. Ranch fire (USA), 2018 ..................................................................................... 84 19. River Fire (USA), 2018 ..................................................................................... 91 20. Rye fire (USA), 2017 ......................................................................................... 98 21. Sakata fire (Japan), 1976 ................................................................................. 103 22. San Diego fire (USA), 2007 ............................................................................ 105 23. Skirball Fire (USA), 2017 ................................................................................ 110 24. Thomas fire (USA), 2017 ............................................................................... 116 25. Tubbs fire (USA), 2017 ................................................................................... 126 26. Victoria fire (Australia), 2009 ......................................................................... 135 27. Västmanland fire (Sweden), 2014 .................................................................. 139 28. Woolsey fire (USA), 2018 ............................................................................... 143 5. Discussion ............................................................................................. 149 References ...................................................................................................... 152 1. Introduction Large outdoor fires around the world are a growing and critical issue, requiring mass evacuations to protect people and ensure safety [1]. The term large outdoor fires here includes a range of incidents, such as wildland fires, wildland-urban interface (WUI) fires, urban fires and informal settlement fires1. When people are required to leave the hazard area, evacuations can be carried out using a variety of transport modes, including the use of private vehicles, public transport, walking on foot, and being rescued by fire rescue vehicles via land, air or water [2]. Depending on the scale of the incident and the population at
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