Wild fires

35 Pages·2014·33.128 MB·English

by  Senker, Cath

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WWWIIILLLDDD
FIRES
Cath Senker
FFirst publishedd iinn 2014 byy Wayyllaand
Copyright © Wayyllaand 220014
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Text acknowleddgements: p11 Eyewitness: ‘Witneesss describes Black SSaturday fireballs’, Callista Cooper, ABC News 24,
13 May 2009; p13 Case study: ‘Rising from the Asshhees’, Claire Scobie, Eddition 7, 2010 Future Living; p17 Eyewitness: WWaalddoo
Canyon Fire – Eye Witness Report Colorado S pprriings, Guerrilla Tagg,, 2288 JJuuune 2012; p19 Case study: ‘After Waldo Caannyyon’,
Fred Durso, Journal NFPA, 1 September 2012; pp23 Eyewitness: ‘Boliviiaa RRRRReequests IInternational AAid to FFight FForestt FFFFires’, 19
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el Beni-Bolivia’, Marcelo Uwe Valdez Flores, 20111;; pp27 Quote: ‘Fire Distuurbance’, Ivan Csiszar and Guido vaan der Werf, Foodd
and Agriculture Organization (undated); p29 Quote: ‘‘FFire and Smoke’, NASA, 2013.
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Wayland is a division of HHachette Children’s Books, an Hachhette UK commppaany.
www.hachette.co.uk
What is a wildfire? 44
WWhhatt causes wwiiillldddfffiiiirrees?? 66
Australia, 7 Febbrruuaary 2009 8
Coloraddoo, UUSSA, June––JJulyy 2012 1144
Bolivia, Auuggusst 2200100 200
Predictionn aanndd pprreventionn 266
Protection fromm wwiillddfires 2288
Glloossary 30
Find out more 31
IInnddex 32
What is a wildf ire?
Have you ever seen an enormous
bonfi re? However large that
seemed, a wildfi re is much bigger!
A wildfi re is an uncontrolled fi re in
vegetation more than 1.8 m (almost
6 feet) high. It burns everything
in its path – trees, homes, people
and animals. Wildfi res break out
in various ways. Ground fi res start
on the forest fl oor, burning dried
leaves and rotted wood. Here,
there is little oxygen so fi re spreads
slowly, at about 3–5 km (2–3 miles)
an hhour, prodduciing a llot off smokke.
Surface fi res burn grass, bushes and
trees. Over open ground, they can
travel at up to 23 km (14 miles) an
hour – and even faster up slopes.
4
CCCCrrroowwwnn FFFiiirreeess aanndd
FFFFiirreeessstttoorrmmsss
CCrroown fires are the moosst dangeroous, spreaad
byy the wwwind through the uppper ppart of thhe
treeess. Thhhhee fflames leapp from treetoopp to
tttrrreetop. CCroowwnn ffirres ussee lladdddeer ffuellss ––
sshhhrruubs, ffaalllleeennn treeess and bbrranchheess (thhey
aaree ccalllled llaadddder fuelss because they
lleead to fires higher up the treees). If
stroong air currrentss are ddrraawn iinnttoo thhe
blaaze, ccrown ffirreess maayy tttturrnn iinntoo rraaaggiing
firestorms, bburrnningg evvennn faasstteerr. WWWWiitth hhiiggh
winds, croowwn fires caann move aattt up ttoo 97
kkmm (((6600 mmiilleess) ppeerrrrr hhoouuurrrr... TTThhhee wwiind ccaarrrrriess
eemmmbbbeerss – glloowwiinnngg ffrraaggmmeennttsss oofff fffiiiree –
wwhhiicchhh sspppaarkk nneeewww wwiiillddffiiireesss eellseeewwhhhhheerree..
FFAACCTT
BBOXX Thhee beenneefifi ttss ooff fifi rree
WWDoopssfaaffpprooooppttyrreeeerwrree erreeaoonn esaaaar ppssellrtttddllfs uueeaurr ,ddddaaffii slssffbbf nn eeeeowwkkssuu yyyyrrrr uirrrr fff nnwweffrraaciiood rrxhppiieesmmllttadd aa ssamdff t siiaaciiurrnnp eecchttrrr lhiiccsstteeenhhe.ii s gdddiiiiieeII n nn eewwoiit rrrr ssshhnnnnSSSssf epp ettiooofffoosaakkkaaoo uutughhlltte rttttffhhoeehhhriirr.ntssee eee TTAAtt ssrrUss nnnrrruuffm oooooS bbmFFFppprreeeA rrrmmiiiffrccaaaaccc aaiccaaaaaaaaanneerrrammmuucclr ,ssee iinnee, gggg . odgtcfTeogr iTanpoFv hrrnshaiweieenroeeselyae.o pcsys Tc pbety c hkshc;l so a a iefal,tanzil nhry nrneeoeede dhs bfst tfu uf eeh bsohdnrlr opunregoidser ilouetnsnpeshogorg atedgt dhm osfneyr leo oftu eaohocdwot dperart r yitte netbhrtsphne hnr,ose ea eitautc ss nssalepkl ce orton a tohfsewf vnog e odittidrrrhsrnmleooie enghsanweeg atnmss s sirkdnou m etig cninoln.fal.d iutgns.l h t
55
FFiirrrees nneeeedd tthhrree crucial
iinngreeddiieeeennnttss: hheat, oxyggen andd
fuel – tthe ‘ffffffire ttriangle’. The heat
to spark aaa wildfire can come from
lightning, or electricity from power
lines torn down in high wiindds.
OOxygen is found in aair. Branches,
leaveees andd grass provide ffuel.
If onne innggredient is missing, a
burnningg fire will go out.
HHHHumaann aactivity is a major cause
of wilddddffffires. IIIIIIn the UUUSA, people
ccausee 990 per cent ooff wildfires,
often byy thhrowing away lit
cigarettes or leaaavvvving campfires
burnnnnning. Somme fires are started
ddelibeeraattellyy –– tthhis is called arson.
6
TThhhee lliiinnnkkkk tto
cclliimmmmaaaattee chhhaaaangee
WWildfires aaare a growing hazard becauuseeee
of climate change. Hotter, drier conditionss
are caausing more droughhts and stroonger
wwinds, which allow fiires to spread moore
easilyyy. Highhher temperaturees mean that Fireefifi ghters trapped in a blazing forest
can use fifi rree shelteeers – aluminium tenttts
winter snnows occur later than usual. The
tthhat reeflfl ect heat. TThey have vents to
snoww meltss earlier, so the land is ddrier fffor
allow fifififi refi gggggghters to breathe but stop
loooongeer pperiods of tiime, increasing the rissks. embeerss ffrom enteriinng.
Alarmiiiinngly, thhhhhhhe areeaaa that wildfires burn
aannnuaalllyy has doubleedd since 19660. Wildfiiress
have alsso bbecommee a greater danger
because an increeeeasing nnumber of homess
are located inn and arounnd forests, creatiinggggg
mmore fueel foor ffirrees and putting lives aatt riskk. TTtthhhhieas t ti hssa rrttteehhhhee een ii efififififin egrdere etddri ifaeonnrgt asleeee , Oxygenin proFpeirr bealanHceeat
fi re ttttoo buurn. Fuel
FFAACT
FFigghhttinngg wiillddfi rreess
BBOX
FFirefighters often cannot reach wildfires in
fire engines, so they fly over in helicopters
or aeroplanes and dump water, foam
or powder to douse the flames. Foams
and powders have been developed that
are better than water for putting out fire.
Aircraft are also vital for observing the
fire and transporting firefighters, supplies
and equipment. Down on the ground,
firefighters may beat the vegetation to
smother the flames. They also use fire to
fight fire – they burn or cut down a corridor
of trees, which removes the fuel and
creates a firebreak to stop the fire from
spreading. Sometimes, specially trained
firefighters called smokejumpers bravely
parachute into isolated areas to fight fires,
carrying equipment on their backs.
7
Australia,
7th February, 2009
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8