Pier Fire Research Paper

The preconditions of the area where the fire occurred were very dry land with “whipping seasonal gusts known as the Santa Ana winds and the Diablo winds” (mnn.com). The fire was started by a hunter who was lost in the woods. He believed he could be found easily if he started a small signal fire however, because of the preconditions, this small fire would spread and become the “largest single fire in California’s recorded history” (mnn.com)

In October 2003, San Diego experienced the Cedar Fire that claimed 273,246 acres, 2,820 structures, and 15 lives (CAL FIRE, 2015). It gained the moniker, “The Hundred Year Fire” because another fire of its magnitude was not expected for another 100 years (San Diego Fire Facts, 2016). This expectation was short lived because four years after this fire in October 2007, San Diego experienced the largest wildfire in history (San Diego Fire Facts, 2016). This fire gained the name, “Witch Fire” (CAL FIRE, 2015).

The county fire marshal Alan Carson, saw the fire around 1.30 am and he defined the fire was a big one. Added that the weather and

Just as everyone thought the fire was dying down and would no longer spread, the wind picked up, and the fire spread, causing it to head farther northward. Then, something terrible happened. Fire Devils. Fire Devils are whirls of air which send burning wood and such things flying through the air, and in this case, across a river. Not good.

Policies regarding the handling of wildland fires continue to change and evolve as new information is learned each fire season. Attitudes have changed between complete wildland fire suppression to no suppression at all. We now seem to have reached a balance between the two schools of thought and fall somewhere in the middle.

   The fire was supposedly caused by Catherine O'Leary's cow who kicked over a lantern, however this is just legend and can't be proven as the actual start of the fire. The fire burned out of control due to the windy quality of the city and possibly even the dry weather. Another contributing factor is that the fire department was sent to the wrong location, which caused them to arrived at the fire later then they should have. The Fire began on the night of October 8th and was finally put out on the 10th. The fire was extinguished by the firefighters, but was also put out due the rain that fell that day. As you can see the fire was very uncontrollable, lasted for a long period of time, and would cause severe damage to the city.

The wildfire fighting agency, Cal Fire, has reported minor injuries and notes that most of the fires are over 60% contained. In some cases, the land damage has been substantial. Fires in San Bernardino and Alpine counties have burned almost 50,000 acres. Rocky Fire, one of the largest wildfires, has destroyed three homes and led to a mandatory evacuation order for about 500 homes. The fire's location in steep terrain is making work

On September 26, 1970 due to power lines that were knocked down, and with the increase of winds near the Kitchen Creek area, the Laguna fire began. Only within twenty four hours the fire had already expanded towards El Cajon and Spring Valley, which is thirty miles away from the original spot where the fire began. According to the article titled, “ Laguna fire, September 26, 1970” published on the website WildFire Today stated that “The Laguna fire burned 175,425 acres, killed eight civilians, and destroyed 382 homes.” The Laguna Fire was said to be the second largest fire in Californian history. Within the same article a firefighter shares his experience to the news of The Laguna Fire he states, “The day the Laguna fire

210 houses and buildings were destroyed (Wikipedia) and from this main fire, another 3 started in Lithgow, Springwood and Mount Victoria.

The Eagle Creek fire—allegedly sparked by teenagers playing with fireworks over Labor Day weekend—has so far consumed over 37,000 acres in and around some of the most cherished spots in the Columbia River Gorge. On September 14, with rain on the way, officials said firefighters continue to employ burnout operations along the eastern section of I-84 as the fire continues to grow.

On July 3rd around noon the fire burned downhill and had only covered about 3 acres, burning mostly cured grass, twigs, and small shrubs. It continued to burn throughout the day and by midnight had reached upwards to burning 11 acres. July 5th the fire had burned 50 acres and on the 6th had reached 127 acres. Officials said the fire was steady until winds of speeds between 30-45 mph picked up mid afternoon on the 6th. Winds were blowing the fire over the ridges, upslope, and in the drainage. The winds gave the fire a blow torch affect and caused it to spread rapidly everywhere. Studies say that with the fire having practically unlimited fuel it was spreading at 3 feet per second in the drainage areas, and moving upslope at 6 to 9 feet per

California Fire was born of the Conservation movement of the late 19th century. Newspaper stories

A massive wildfire around Fort McMurray, Alberta, moved toward energy production facilities, which caused a shutdown that costed a Canadian manufacturer one million barrel a day. The fire jumped a firebreak area where plants and trees had been removed to stop its spread, moving north of Fort McMurray. About 4,000 workers were evacuated in the northern part of the area. The uncontrolled blaze covered 285,000 hectares, officials said that it was moving 30 to 40 meters per minute. If it keeps moving north, it has potential to impact a much bigger part of the production and impact facilities that were deemed as having no damage, a worker said. The fire also threatened Enbridge Inc's Cheecham crude oil tank farm south of Fort McMurray. The fire

June 4, 2012 a fire broke out in the Lincoln National Forest just north of Ruidoso, NM. The fire was to be called the Little Bear Fire and in the end engulfed about 44,000 acres and destroyed 254 structures. Of the structures burnt, 242 of those were homes. The fire was caused by lightening and was initially a very small fire. A team of Mescalero firefighters was dropped into the scene by helicopter

Day 1: I have arrived in Gatlinburg, Tennessee to help victims of the tragedies that have occurred during the lethal fires spreading throughout the Great Smokey Mountains. The team and I have brought water supplies to last until our last day, along with food and other snacks. So far, we have not yet discovered what started these fires. Our team has decided to put non injured victims into a hotel until finding them a new shelter. 14,000 residents were evacuated from Gatlinburg around noon. The fires continue to grow and roar at the innocent mountains that several claim home. Winds were up to 70 mph, forcing the fires to continue and spread throughout the forests.