Lessons learned from community-scale use of temporary refuge areas during the Camp Fire

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Abstract

Background. Wildfires can rapidly spread or ignite within wildland-urban interface areas, creating life-threatening conditions for people unable to evacuate or who become trapped during evacuation. The Camp Fire in Butte County, California, USA, provides an example of such a scenario. Aims. To identify lessons from the Camp Fire evacuation and introduce temporary fire refuge areas as a contingency that communities can incorporate into evacuation planning and response. Methods. We conducted an in-depth case study of the Camp Fire to reconstruct the conditions and sequence of evacuation events. Key results. The fire reached communities within an hour of ignition, burning homes, blocking egress routes, and trapping hundreds of evacuees. The ad hoc use of 31 temporary refuge areas saved at least 261 civilian lives and reduced the risk to at least 961 others. Conclusions. Ad hoc temporary refuge areas facilitated a fortunate outcome with no known accompanying casualties. Pre-planned identification of suitable areas could help emergency managers reduce risk in their communities. Implications. Communities should account for no-notice, dire scenarios in their evacuation plans and community outreach, and include temporary fire refuge areas in fire response plans.

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Keywords

Wildland urban interface fire and Fire

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