Date of Award

Spring 2019

Document Type

Thesis

Publisher

Santa Clara : Santa Clara University, 2019

Department

Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering

First Advisor

Reynaud Serrette

Abstract

The intent of this project was to provide design recommendations to mitigate future wildland fire damage, with reference to the devastation incurred in Paradise, California, from the Camp Fire at the end of the 2018 fire season. The town of Paradise is uniquely positioned in a rural, heavily wooded, mountainous channel with few transportation routes, intensifying both the exposure to wind-aided wildland fire and the hindrance of evacuation and emergency response. The project scope included the structural design of a single-family residence and its nonstructural material recommendations that can better withstand fire, as well as town-wide measures to improve preparedness. Though the recommendations of this report are based upon the most recent engineering knowledge and practice regarding structural fire resilience and community emergency preparedness, the Camp Fire proves human comprehension of nature’s capacity for destruction will always be insufficient.

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