AMU Emergency Management Public Safety

EDM Wednesday Briefing: Homeowners Asked to Ensure Wildfire Preparedness

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wildfire Arsenault

Emergency and disaster management briefing for May 6, 2020: It is Wildfire Awareness Wednesday, and fire officials are asking homeowners to create defensible space around homes to ensure wildfire preparedness; two recent high-speed train derailments have highlighted the need for increased safety measures in light of advanced automation; two Iowa counties were awarded grant money for disaster resiliency planning; wildfires, land use, and urbanization are contributing to unprecedented flooding in Lake Williams, BC; British Columbia now has a new wildfire app that will offer fire danger and other information in real time; California Edison will be using drones to inspect equipment as part of its Wildfire Mitigation Plan; seven residents were injured when fire broke out in a residential tower in the United Arab Emirates; and the U.S. Forestry Service has issued new restrictions for national forests in Arizona to help protect employee and community safety amid COVID-19.

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1) Officials are asking residents to create defensible space around their homes ahead of the start of wildfire season. Touting today as Wildfire Awareness Wednesday, officials want the public to understand just how quickly wildfires can spread — up to 14 miles in one hour or a four-mile-a-minute pace. If fuels are less available along a wildfire’s path, it makes it more difficult for the fire to travel. Maintaining a defensible space or buffer zone (30-100 feet) around a home helps prevent fire spread and offers protection for firefighters defending personal property. It’s also the law for anyone living within an SRA (State Responsibility Area).

2) Although rare, two recent high-speed train derailments in Europe have highlighted the need for increased safety measures to prevent future accidents. As technological advances and digital integration become the norm for high-speed rail (HSR), learning from past mistakes is critical in the effort to decrease the risk of future rail operations. According to studies being conducted on the recent HSR accidents, shifting from human operations to that of automation increases the need for additional safety measures within computer operating systems and their programs.

3) Two counties in Iowa were awarded grant money to create comprehensive disaster assessments and resiliency plans. The Iowa Economic Development Authority granted Mills and Fremont counties $1.5 million to help plan disaster resiliency after they were hard hit by flooding in 2019. Part of the funding will help the counties identify land for future commercial use and for sustainable community development, ensuring the counties continue to thrive well into the future.

4) Land uses such as forestry, urbanization, logging and wildfires likely increase flood risks. Lake Williams in British Columbia has been experiencing unprecedented flooding since it was devastated by record-breaking wildfires in 2017. The loss of trees and tree cover, soil erosion and forest floors that are water-repellent in the large burn scar area from 2017 has increased flooding in the area due to accelerated snow-melt, prompting calls for better planning decisions.

5) A new wildfire app is now available for residents in British Columbia. The BC Wildfire Service mobile app can provide real-time information that can be customized through an interactive map. Users will be able to access fire danger ratings, active fires, evacuation orders and alerts to B.C. park closures, among other things. The interactive map can also show fires nearby when users access the “near me” function.

6) California Edison will be using drones over the High Desert to inspect power equipment. Part of its Wildfire Mitigation Plan, the drones may be seen west of Interstate 15 as they are used to inspect power poles and equipment infrastructure and mitigate against wildfires. The use of drones allows aerial inspections of the equipment — much of which is hard to reach — with little to no disruption to residents in the area.

7) A fire broke out in a residential high-rise tower in Sharjah, in the United Arab Emirates, on Tuesday night. Reportedly, the affected structure was the 48-storey Abbco Tower, and the fire prompted the evacuation of its residents. A total of seven people suffered minor injuries as a result of the fire.

8) The U.S. Forest Service is implementing new measures to help reduce the risk of wildfires. Recreational shooting is forbidden in the Coronado, Prescott, and Tonto National Forests in Arizona from May 6 until July 31, or until the restriction is lifted. The restriction has been implemented due to limited firefighting resources amid the COVID-19 outbreak and to help protect the safety of employees and communities.

 

Kimberly Arsenault serves as an intern at the Cleveland/Bradley County Emergency Management Agency where she works on plan revisions and special projects. Previously, Kimberly spent 15 years in commercial and business aviation. Her positions included station manager at the former Midwest Express Airlines, as well as corporate flight attendant, inflight manager, and charter flight coordinator. Kimberly currently holds a master's degree in emergency and disaster management from American Public University.

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