Summary: Wildfires continue to rage in Southern California. Comments below from Toddi Steelman, a wildfire expert at Duke University, are available to use in your coverage.
Quotes:
“It is highly unusual to have fires in January like this – attributed to the very dry winter that Southern California is experiencing after a very dry summer combined with the Santa Ana winds,” says Toddi Steelman, a wildfire expert and the vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability at Duke University.
“We don’t have a fire season anymore; we have a fire year. It is hard on communities and residents because they need to remain vigilant. At the same time, fire fighters do not get a much down time because they are working year-round.”
“This is yet one more sign that our climate is changing. Drought is a climate signal. Santa Ana winds are typical for this time of year but the drought and dryness are not.”
“When you have a fast-moving wind-driven wildfire, which this is, the evacuation becomes a real challenge. Many of the roads in these areas are narrow and winding, with one-way ins and outs. It is very hard for the firefighters to get in when people are also trying to get out and this complicates the evacuation as well as the response.”
“Wind-driven fires are also hard because you can’t fly aircraft in when winds are that high. The aircraft are ineffective under these conditions.”
“It’s important to have a family evacuation plan — and then after the fire, there will be a need to make the neighborhood more defensible. In compact urban environments, this situation is challenging because fire will travel from house to house.”
“How soon will this end? It depends on the wind event – as soon as the wind drops down, then firefighters can get in and do their jobs. But when the wind is this high, we are at the mercy of mother nature.”
Bio:
Toddi Steelman is a wildfire expert and the vice president and vice provost for climate and sustainability at Duke University. Her policy research spans many environmental and resource management issues, including forest management and planning, water security, open space protection, and climate change. But she is best known for her work on community adaptation to wildfires and how communities and agencies can interact for more effective wildfire management.
Steelman has published four books and more than 50 peer-reviewed papers or book chapters, including widely cited studies in Sustainability Science, Conservation Biology, Policy Sciences, and the Journal of Forestry.
For additional comment, contact Toddi Steelman at:
toddi.steelman@duke.edu
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Media Contact:
Kirsten Khire
kirsten.khire@duke.edu
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