With the heat of the summer on the horizon it is time to refresh our memories about the causes and behavior of wildfire and to protect our lives and property.
Wildfires have been a natural part of our environment since time began. Under the right circumstances these wildfires can be beneficial to an ecosystem. With poor fire management practices in the past, new population growth, and more and more people living near the edges of forested areas, forest fires have become more numerous and dangerous each year.
On average over 106,000 wildfires occur each year consuming more than 4 million acres of land and destroying more than 900 homes.
According to smokeybear.com, a wildfire is defined as being “any unwanted and unplanned fire burning in forest, shrub, or grass.”
Causes of Wildfires
Wildfires are caused in several ways. In the past a “total suppression” attitude was taken in regards to wildfires. This policy stated that all wildfires were to be suppressed immediately. This policy has caused some damage that will take years and a lot of fire management to reverse. This fire suppression tactic has caused the over-accumulation of fallen leaves, branches, dead trees, and other fuel sources. It has also caused our wildland areas to become overgrown with plants creating a dangerous fire situation. Fires that are not threatening animal life, human life, or structures are now allowed to burn themselves out. This new policy creates new vegetation and nutrients for ecosystems as well as creating future firebreaks.
Wildfires can be caused by increasingly dry, hot weather and thunderstorms carrying lightning. Even after a time of heavy rains, wind can very quickly dry out vegetation making it an ideal fire fuel.
Most devastating of all is the fact that humans cause a great many wildfires. In fact, humans cause nine out of ten wildfires and a careless smoker causes one out of ten.
The Nature of Wildfire
Fire requires three elements in order to live and these three elements are combined to create the “Fire Triangle”. The three elements are fuel, oxygen, and a heat or ignition source. Fuel includes wood, gas or other fossil fuel, coal, dry or dead trees, leaf litter, or dry grasses. A heat or ignition source can be heat produced from the sun, a lightning strike, a match, or a lit cigarette. To extinguish or control a fire one of these three elements must be eliminated or restricted.