(9 Jan 2025)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Swansea, Wales – 9 January 2025
++SOUNDBITES OVERLAID BY SHOT 7++
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Stefan Doerr, Professor of Wildland Fire Science at Swansea University and the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire:
"The key point here is really the no rain for such a long time because the winds are pretty normal, having a lot of combustible vegetation. Yes, that that chaparral and grassland vegetation is fundamentally very combustible and probably particularly combustible now because there was a relatively moist growing season beforehand."
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Stefan Doerr, Professor of Wildland Fire Science at Swansea University and the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire:
"But what we what we also getting on top of this and I cannot say for sure that this is the case at the moment, but in big fires across the world, this does happen is that the fire generates its own weather. So once the fire reaches a certain size, it sucks a lot of airflow from the perimeter of the fire into the fire itself, pushes it up into the atmosphere. And then it basically brings strong dry winds on the periphery of the fire so that sends the flame even more. The fires need to have a particular size to do this. And I said, I can’t confirm this is the case in this particular fire. But generally when fires do occur and this has happened in California, that is another factor that makes them more challenging to find and less predictable as well."
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Stefan Doerr, Professor of Wildland Fire Science at Swansea University and the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire:
"It is unique basically that so many properties have been destroyed so quickly, but it’s partly to do with the fact where those fires have burned. The population density and the property density is very high. And let’s face it, it’s a very prestigious area, a very affluent area. So it’s basically more likely to have a lot of news reporters focusing on this. Hollywood stars lose their houses, well, they are insured. You know, it could be far worse. If you think of Hawaii, for example, Lahaina fires, more than 100 people killed very, very rapidly under extremely strong, windy conditions."
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Stefan Doerr, Professor of Wildland Fire Science at Swansea University and the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire:
"If you look at the cost per person affected by a natural disaster, fires are the most expensive natural disaster on that basis. So insurance companies will certainly want to make sure that they you know, they will cover financially. So it probably will become much more expensive in some of those areas to insure a future property. But also insurance companies have a role to play in this because if they provide reduced costs for properties that are safer. There is certainly I wouldn’t say a win-win situation, but there’s certainly some progress to be made in this."
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Stefan Doerr, Professor of Wildland Fire Science at Swansea University and the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire:
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Professor Stefan Doerr, Professor of Wildland Fire Science at Swansea University and the Editor in Chief of the International Journal of Wildland Fire:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Los Angeles – 8 January 2025
7. Various of homes burning and firefighters on the scene fighting fire
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