Month: December 2019

International Wildfire Cooperation

International Wildfire Cooperation

12/31/19

“How can countries across the world unite to solve the wildfire crisis?”

Wildfires are a global problem. Whether it be Paradise burning down in California or the seemingly-apocalyptic bushfires in Australia, all an area needs is a dry climate and high wind speeds for this problem to occur. Fire agencies around the world have taken out of this, and routinely send help to other countries when a catastrophe is going on. To illustrate, in 2018 138 firefighters from Australia and New Zealand were sent to the United States to help for almost 30 days and now in return the United States and Canada are sending 21 firefighters each to help out Australia with the trouble they’re going through right now. This is what International Wildfire Cooperation looks like.

Image credit wildfiretoday.com

Why Do Transmission Line Failure Cause a Disproportionate Amount of the Wildfires in California

Why Do Transmission Line Failure Cause a Disproportionate Amount of the Wildfires in California

12/30/19

“Why is it that transmission line failures cause ten times more wildfires than they should in California?”

Transmission line failures have the ability to start wildfires, as in the case of Paradise. However, In California, while these accidents are responsible for starting only around 1% of fires they cause 10% of all damage (Mitchell, 2013)! This is because these transmission lines failures are more likely to occur during periods of high winds and low humidity, which are ripe for wildfires. So when they do occur, they’re much more likely to spin out of control. This is Why Transmission Line Failure Cause a Disproportionate Amount of the Wildfires in California.

Image credit https://cdn.theatlantic.com/

References:

Mitchell, J. W. (2013). Power line failures and catastrophic wildfires under extreme weather conditions. Engineering Failure Analysis, 35, 726–735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engfailanal.2013.07.006

How Growing Transmission Needs Can Be Detrimental for Resilience

How Growing Transmission Needs Can Be Detrimental for Resilience

12/29/19

“Why is the growing demand for electricity potentially a resilience liability?”

With the growing demand for renewable energy and electricity in general, transmission lines are expected to grow in the future. however, having more transmission lines also increases liability to natural disasters, whether it be from hurricanes or wildfires. This is How Growing Transmission Needs Can Be Detrimental for Resilience.

Why Resilience Needs More Common Definitions

Why Resilience Needs More Common Definitions

12/28/19

“Why does the field of resilience need to have more common definitions?”

The field of resilience is pipe nascent as a professional form and is growing rapidly. Because of this, people from a myriad of different fields are entering and contributing their own ideas born from their backgrounds. however, a lot of these people become siloed and isolated from each other, and as a result, can’t even agree upon some basic definitions! This is Why Resilience Needs More Common Definitions, so professionals can work together to advance the field. For example, what does it mean to be resilient and how does one build resilience are questions that need to be answered.

Why Wildfires Move From Treetop to Treetop

Why Wildfires Move From Treetop to Treetop

12/27/19

“Why is it that wildfires will move from treetop to treetop?”

Wildfires are some of the most powerful dangerous in areas with Mediterranean climates. However, How exactly do they physically spread? Well, Let’s think about this like an engineer would. We know that fire can spread very quickly when one object touches an inflamed object. And we also know that the parts of an object that protrude the most are the most likely to come into contact with others. So when it comes to trees spreading fire, it would be logical for the treetop to spread fire to other treetops as those are the parts that bend the most outward. This is Why Wildfires Move From Treetop to Treetop.

Image credit ichef.bbci.co.uk

Why Undergrounding Transmission Lines Will Not Completely Stop Wildfires

Why Undergrounding Transmission Lines Will Not Completely Stop Wildfires

12/26/19

“Why will fires start even if there are no transmission lines above ground?”

Undergrounding transmission lines is often talked about as one of the most effective actions that can be taken to stop wildfires from occurring. However, even if the entire grid goes underground wildfires can start from a variety of other causes. These can include anywhere ranging from camping mistakes to a car causing an ignition. This is Why Undergrounding Transmission Lines Will Not Completely Stop Wildfires.

Image credit http://www.transmissionhub.com

How Waveform Analytics Can Help Grid Resiliency

How Waveform Analytics Can Help Grid Resiliency

12/25/19

“How can we use waveforms to analyze the stability of the electric grid?”

The electrical grid is prone to crashing whether it be because of natural or human causes. When this happens, the waveform signals get distorted. As such, waveform analysis in real-time can help detect when the rent goes down and went to respond. This is How Waveform Analytics Can Help Grid Resiliency.

Atmospheric Rivers

Atmospheric Rivers

12/24/19

“How can there be flying rivers of water?”

Rain is usually delivered through means of water vapor held in clouds dissipating. By coastal areas, water can build up in the atmosphere from evaporation from the ocean and then move landside where it can hit elevation, become colder, and then burst and create serious downpours. These Atmospheric Rivers can give up words of over 50% of California’s annual rainwater.

Image credit http://www.frontiersin.org

How Insurance Companies Can Go Bankrupt from Climate Change

How Insurance Companies Can Go Bankrupt from Climate Change

12/23/19

“How can insurance companies go bankrupt just from climate change?”

Climate change is wreaking havoc on finances everywhere. And insurance companies are often responsible for securing the losses that their customers face. In 2018, the Paradise Fire in Northern California destroyed properties whose combined claims were valued at 64 million USD to the Merced Property & Casualty Company. The problem is, the company only had 23 million USD in assets! This caused the 112-year-old company to file for bankruptcy, illustrating How Insurance Companies Can Go Bankrupt from Climate Change. As time goes on, these companies will have to be more careful about their insurance policies and how their organizations operate.