Glendale (PDF) - Hazard Mitigation Web Portal - State of California

Natural Hazards Mitigation PlanCity of Glendale, CaliforniaSection 7 – Wildfireslikely be curtailed due to damage to the water distribution system — broken water mains,damage to the aqueduct system, damage to above-ground reservoirs, etc.Loss-estimation scenarios were conducted for the city of Glendale using HAZUS. Specifics ofthis analysis are discussed in detail in Section 6 – Earthquakes. Five different earthquakescenarios were considered for the city. The results of these loss estimations indicate thatGlendale could experience between 3 and 11 ignitions immediately following an earthquake,with the San Andreas fault earthquake scenario triggering 3 ignitions, and the Verdugo andSierra Madre faults triggering 11 ignitions each. The Raymond and Hollywood faults are bothexpected to trigger 10 ignitions in the city. The burnt area resulting from these ignitions willvary depending on wind conditions. Normal wind conditions of about 10 miles per hour (mph)are expected to result in burn areas of between 1.9 and 6.7 percent of the region’s total area. IfSanta Ana wind conditions are present at the time of the earthquake, the burnt areas can beexpected to be significantly larger.The fires triggered by an earthquake on the San Andreas fault are anticipated to displace as fewas 30 people (if the winds are low), and as many as 308 people (if 30 mph winds are blowingthrough the area at the time). The fires triggered by the other earthquake scenarios areexpected to impact between 116 and 354 people (if winds are low), and as many as 2,047 to2,919 people (if 30 mph winds are present).Wildfire Mitigation Activities:Hazard mitigation programs in fire hazard areas currently include fire prevention, vegetationmanagement, legislated construction requirements, and public awareness. Each of theseprograms is described further below.Fire Prevention: Fire prevention aims to reduce the incidence and extent of fire by preventingwildfires from occurring in the first place. Over the years, a variety of fire prevention programshave been developed and implemented by Federal, State, and local agencies. These programstypically include education, engineering, patrolling, code enforcement, and signing (Greenleeand Sapsis, 1996). Smokey Bear is one of the best-known characters that both children andadults recognize, attesting to the success of public education programs aimed at fire prevention.Quantitative studies show that fire losses arising from human fires, especially those caused bychildren, have dropped substantially over the last 30 years or so, in some cases by as much as 80percent (Greenlee and Sapsis, 1996). Therefore, fire prevention is a well-understood programwith a high degree of success. However, as discussed above, by preventing fire from occurring,fuel loads are allowed to increase, with the potential for high intensity fires and resultantdamage. Therefore, fire prevention needs to be complemented with a variety of other programsthat will guarantee long-term success in reducing the losses resulting from fires.Fire Prevention can include limiting access to fire hazard areas during certain times of the year.Although not apparent from Map 7.2, the wildfire susceptibility of an area changes throughoutthe year, and from one year to the next, in response to local variations in precipitation,temperature, vegetation growth, and other conditions. When the fire danger in a High FireHazard Zone is deemed to be of special concern, local authorities can rely on increased mediacoverage and public announcements to educate the local population about being fire safe. Forexample, to reduce the potential for wildfires during fire season, the City of Glendale can opt toclose hazardous fire areas to public access during at least part of the year. By monitoring sitespecificwildfire susceptibility of a region, the Fire Department can establish regional preventionpriorities that help reduce the risk of wildland fire ignition and spread, and help improve theallocation of suppression forces and resources, which can lead to faster control of fires in areas ofhigh concern.2006 PAGE 7 - 17