Wildfires are massive fires that occur suddenly, particularly in rural areas with combustible vegetation, and can have many causes which may be natural or humanrelated.
Both natural and unnatural causes of wildfires have advantages and disadvantages. The rate at which wildfires spread is highly dependent on their environment and other factors. Wildfires may pose a number of threats to human property, life, and health; however, even though they can be a hazard to humans, they are also an important part of the natural processes in some habitats - forests, especially. Wildfires are known to bring about positive effects on the general health of these ecosystems, and are linked to significant evolutionary impacts on plant and animal life.
Causes
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Over the years, more and more causes have chalked up to being human-related.
Currently, as many as 90 percent of wildfires are caused by humans (NPS). According to the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign, nearly 60 thousand human-caused wildfires burned over 2 million acres in the year 2015. For the sake of cutting these numbers, the campaign has taken to educating people on the measures they can take to prevent wildfires.
In the same way that natural fires aren’t always good for their environment, unnatural fires aren’t always bad for their environment. Prescribed burns to a forest are actually a very effective form of wildfire control, because they eliminate excess growth that could pose a greater risk to communities if left untouched. These controlled fires also help to restore health to an ecosystem that depends on wildfires to grow and thrive.
Because prescribed fires can still be dangerous if they breach a designated area, they are always painstakingly planned. Certain conditions - weather, topography, equipment, and the type of fuel - must be very specific before any fires are initiated (“Prescribed
Fires”).
The tendency of a wildfire to spread is highly dependent on the
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It is also very important to understand the role of wildfires in an ecosystem, and whether or not they are crucial to the health of such an ecosystem. Of course, in communities where wildfires are likely to be a major threat, the people living in these communities must learn the appropriate precautions to avoid permanent damage, to themselves and to their property.
It is unlikely that wildfires will always be completely avoidable, even when education on proper prevention and risk avoidance is taught to communities exposed to fire hazards. While most fires are caused by humans, they are rarely started intentionally, except in case of cases of prescribed fires or arson. Accidental fires are very common; taking a few extra measures of caution could greatly reduce hazards in the long term. Even though there is no fix-all solution to wildfires, small steps can be taken by every person who lives in or visits fire-prone areas. It is important to realize that, however small, each individual 's contribution to wildfire safety can greatly lower the overall risk of unnecessary
Fires kill plants and trees leaving wildlife without homes and food. Large fires cause lots of smoke and air pollution.
The ecological effects of wildfires on Yosemite are among some its greatest benefits. Trees like Bishop Pines and Sequoias have evolved in such a way that their seeds will only open when exposed to high temperatures. The fires also help to clear out dead leaves and weeds, thereby making sunlight accessible to new plants and increasing their chances to germinate (Marder). Wildfires are so essential in areas like Yosemite that over millions of years, plants have developed strategies to be successful in this type of environment. For instance, giant sequoias have developed a thick layer of fire-resistant bark. This bark is “the main explanation for tree survival in intense fires” (Gignoux, Colbert, and Menaut). Fire makes the soil fertile and redistributes the nutrients evenly so that the next generation of trees can cover more space. The fires have helped...
Fire plays a huge role in natural forests. The let it burn policy allows natural fires to burn unless, they threaten people, property, or endangered species. This policy allows the years and years of kindling that has fallen and piled up on the forest floor to burn up in smaller fires, instead of having huge devastating fire like the ones that burning for months in 1910 and 1988. When the west was first settled, forests were thinned by lumber companies that logged the trees and burned the logging debris, and by ranchers looking to increase pasture land. The last herder coming out of the mountains would set a fire to ensure good forage for the next year.
Wildfires started as an annual and seasonal occurrence in the south western region of California since the early 1930’s in part because of the hot dry summers and the hot dry turbulent Santa Ana winds that blow in from the desert during the fall months. Now it has become a yearlong event (Mckay, 2010). These conditions greatly contribute to the “fire season” throughout this area. This set of circumstances in conjunction with downed power lines and humans that ignited fires took place in October of 2007. This led to a series of fires that burned more than 500,000 acres, destroyed 1,500 homes, killed 9, injured 85, and forced the successful evacuation of around 500,000 people out of harm’s way.
As people of the twenty-first century, we are all too familiar with the frequent occurrence of wildfires in our nation’s forests. Each year millions of acres of woodlands are destroyed in brutal scorches. It has been estimated that 190 million acres of rangelands in the United States are highly susceptible to catastrophic fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). About a third of these high-risk forests are located in California (www.sfgate.com). These uncontrollable blazes not only consume our beautiful forests but also the wildlife, our homes and often the lives of those who fight the wildfires. The frequency of these devastating fires has been increasing over the years. In fact, in the years 2000 and 2002, it has been reported that the United States has faced its worst two years in fifty years for mass destruction fires (www.doi.gov/initiatives/forest.html.). The increased natural fuels buildup coupled with droughts have been a prevailing factor in contributing to our wildfires and unhealthy forests (www.blm.gov/nhp/news/releases/pages/2004/pr040303_forests.html). Due to the severity of these wildfires, several regulations and guidelines have been implemented to save our forests. In fact, the President himself has devised a plan in order to restore our forests and prevent further destruction of our woodlands.
The Mann Gulch wildfire was a tragic event that took the lives of 13 firefighters who had jumped into the area to battle the fast-moving fire. The tragedy was a severe hit to the Forest Service, which had not experienced a death during a decade of smoke jumping (Rothermel, 1993). Along with the horrific deaths, Rothermel (1993) states the Mann Gulch fire had serious consequences for the Forest Service and its research branch. The fire disaster changed the landscape of wildfire firefighting. Due to the tragedy, the Forest Service would establish new training techniques and improved safety measures for its firefighters and smokejumpers along with more emphasis on fire research and the science of fire behavior (Lehman, 2009). With the training and research, better firefighting techniques and equipment evolved (Lehman, 2009). The analysis will evaluate how the firefighters
Forest fires kill many animals and usually destroy a large amount of land. Prescribed burns seem like they would be the best idea, but are they? Their claim to fame is to clear out land in order to decrease the burning space for when an actual forest fire occurs. Yet this may seem like a brilliant idea, but one must look at the negative aspects of controlled burnings. People might have a change of heart when they realize the damages and effects of such an interesting act. Keep in mind that not only is your health involved but even such things as the inconvenience of dealing with a smoky town. It is important to understand that prescribed burns cause severe health problems especially to firefighters; these are concerning carbon monoxide poisoning, visibility issues and health risks that will affect the future.
Approximately three miles west of Colorado Springs in the Pike National Forest, the Waldo Canyon fire of 2012 was the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history burning 18, 247 acres, killing two people, destroying 347 homes and damaging many more (City of Colorado Springs, 2013). In addition to property damages and loss of life, there were other damages caused from this wildfire to include wildlife, plant life, watershed and soil. Economic damages caused by this wildfire include firefighting costs, insurance claims, home displacement costs and business closures during the duration of the fire.
Good morning/good afternoon my name is Jonathan Scriva and today I am warning you about prescribed fire burning. This type of burning is done to maintain biodiversity, mitigate the seriousness of bushfires and to help protect lives and property by reducing the build-up of flammable bush. When a fire goes out of control it’s a disaster as corrupt as war. This is why need to prescribe burn to stop this mayhem from happening.
Prescribed fires are used to clean up the dead plants that will produce harmful fuels after a wildfire. The problem with these fires are even though these fires are supposed to be controlled, they can get out of hand. May 20, 2016, a prescribed fire in Minnesota escaped and burned more than what was planned and continued unstopped for a few days. Firefighters finally were able to put a stop to it. This has increased in the United States quite a bit this year. The acres burned by escaped fires are forty-six percent above normal. Unlike what many think, prescribed fires are not always watched. Sometimes, they will be left for a couple days with no one checking on them. How do they expect to keep them controlled when no one wants to control them?
Historically, firefighters have been are our modern day first responders and are the most courageous and loyal people in today’s society. One issue buzzing around the media, however, is that fire departments are going over budget extinguishing wildfires. The definition of a wildfire is a large destructive fire that spreads quickly over woodland or brush. To put out any sort of fire, you need to take away any of the three components that fuel it, which include heat, oxygen, and fuel. What most civilians do not know is that most wildfires do have the potential to extinguish themselves, which saves money, health risks and resources. So why are firefighters still spending money to put wildfires out? Due to the overspending on limited natural resources and taxpayer’s money, the fire service should alter their approach on extinguishing naturally started fires, or wildfires.
It is so sad to see the horror of forest fires and how they corrupt our beautiful land. So much damage comes out of what started so small. At least 603 square miles of land were burned in the early stages of the Arizona fire only a couple of years ago (BBC 2). In a Colorado fire 2.3 million acres had been burned (BBC 3). That land could have been saved if the use of prescribed burns had been in the area.
Policies regarding the handling of wildland fires continue to change and evolve as new information is learned each fire season. Attitudes have changed between complete wildland fire suppression to no suppression at all. We now seem to have reached a balance between the two schools of thought and fall somewhere in the middle.
Wildfires have been a major issue for many years; with the first one being recorded over four hundred and twenty million years ago the world realized they were dealing with an untamable monster. The effects that forest fires have on nature are by far extreme. Wildfire rips across the landscape tearing through and burning every living parcel in its path. If this occurs to often or burns for an excessive amount of time the natural cycle can be thrown out of balance. This equilibrium allows for the best the regeneration of the area and with this disturbance it may be slowed or even stopped. Along with plant life being thrown out of cycle the effects on nature’s creatures is also a major factor. With the loss of the majority of plant life causes the animal’s key food source is lost and many begin to migrate away from the area and into more adequate ones or some just starve to death. On top of losing a food source the anima...
The Forest fire is occurring very frequently nowadays, reasons for it are a heavy increase in global warming and an increase in temperature.