| In late October 2003 the state of California was | | | | unexpected. The personal losses incurred by local |
| slammed with the worst wildfire that it had | | | | residences and the tremendous losses to local wildlife |
| experienced to that date. Twenty people where killed, | | | | resulted in a push by the United States federal |
| and damage to local communities and infrastructure | | | | government to pass the "Healthy Forests" bill which |
| was extensive. | | | | allocated seven hundred and sixty million dollars to the |
| The wild fire extended from the Mexican boarder | | | | urban interface between urban cities and forest areas. |
| north to the suburbs of Los Angeles. Hundreds of | | | | The economic impact of this wildfire was catastrophic. |
| thousands of acres of forest where destroyed. Local | | | | One and a quarter to two billion dollars in damages |
| vegetation and animal life suffered very large losses | | | | resulted from the fire, making it the most costly wildfire |
| and many communities where effected by the | | | | in American history. Losses to businesses and local |
| disaster. Thousands of different species where | | | | municipalities amounted to millions of dollars in lost |
| decimated by the fire. It is expected that certain of the | | | | revenues, not to mention the cost of replacing or |
| larger species like elk, and deer, may take several | | | | restoring lost information, and resulted in hardship for |
| years to repopulate. Even the local salmon stock | | | | many local area residents. The logging industry, of |
| feeding in the streams running through the burning | | | | course, took a major financial hit. |
| acreage suffered losses from the fire. | | | | Not all natural disasters kill thousands of people, yet |
| Damage to the area was devastating. 20 people died | | | | most will spread their effects over huge areas and |
| including one of the fire fighters. Two thousand seven | | | | cause massive damage to our fragile and over-used |
| hundred homes and buildings where destroyed and | | | | infrastructure. Telephone lines and utilities like electricity, |
| many businesses had to close. This wildfire was to | | | | water and even sewage are easily interrupted. |
| become the most expensive fire to ever hit the United | | | | Businesses are not able to operate without these |
| States. Damage to phone lines, and local utilities | | | | simple services. Lost data means lost revenues. Even |
| caused major outages. People were displaced from | | | | something as simple as a forest fire can have a huge |
| their homes and many had to leave the state to find | | | | social and economic influence on our lives. In this case |
| accommodation elsewhere during the clean-up period. | | | | it appears the best offense is a great defense. |
| The social impact of this wild fire was a bit | | | | Always be prepared. |