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Author(s):
David E. Calkin, Kimiko Barrett, Jack D. Cohen, Mark A. Finney, Stephen Pyne, Steve Quarles
Year Published:

Cataloging Information

Topic(s):
Wildland Urban Interface

NRFSN number: 26948
Record updated:

Consider several of the most devastating fire disasters of the last century. In August 2023, the wildfire-initiated urban conflagration of Lahaina, Hawaii, damaged or destroyed more than 2,200 structures and killed 98 people. In December 2021, the Marshall Fire sparked conflagrations in Superior and Louisville, Colorado, destroying 1,084 structures and killing two. In September 2020, the Almeda Drive Fire in the communities of Talent and Phoenix, Oregon, destroyed 2,600 homes and killed three. In November 2018, the Camp Fire initiated ignitions in Paradise, California, destroyed 18,804 buildings, and killed 85. In November 2016, fires spread through Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, destroying 2,460 structures and killing 14.

Citation

Calkin, David E.; Barrett, Kimiko; Cohen, Jack D.; Finney, Mark A.; Pyne, Stephen J.; Quarles, Stephen L. 2023. Wildland-urban fire disasters aren’t actually a wildfire problem. PNAS. 120(51): e2315797120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2315797120

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