wildfire hazards

Question 1

wildfire

Answer 1

a wild uncontrolled fire that quickly spreads through vegetation

Question 2

conditions favouring intense wildfires

Answer 2

vegetation type, fuel characteristics, climate and recent weather

Question 3

vegetation type

Answer 3

thick, close together vegetation allows fires to spread quickly and easily. (trees and thick bushes)

Question 4

fuel characteristics

Answer 4

dry conditions allows vegetation to catch fire, finer vegetation causes fire to spread quicker but thicker vegetation burns for longer and more intensely

Question 5

distribution of wildfires

Answer 5

occur in a climate that has enough rainfall for sufficient plant growth but considerable dry spells and droughts to dry out the fuel. Areas with dry seasons allow for intense wildfires (California)

Question 6

climate and recent weather

Answer 6

Wind allows fires to spread much quicker
El nino effect
recent temperature increases cause increased amount of wildfires

Question 7

El Niño effect

Answer 7

provides dry season (Australia) creating more wildfires

Question 8

fire behaviour

Answer 8

fire spreads quickly on hills as the heat rises, fire spreads in every direction

Question 9

crown fires

Answer 9

burn the entire tree bottom top - most dangerous and destructive fire

Question 10

surface fires

Answer 10

only burn the leaf litter - easy to extinguish

Question 11

ground fires

Answer 11

burns beneath the surface and moves slowly through dried underground. difficult to put out - due to being underground

Question 12

causes of wilfires

Answer 12

natural -lightning, volcanoes, spontaneous

human - cigarettes, bbqs, agriculture, train lines..

Question 13

environmental effects

Answer 13

primary - air pollution from ash, water pollution, habitats destroyed, toxic gases realeased
secondary - removing invasive species, migration patterns of animals affected, increases CO2 from fires heighten greenhouse effect

Question 14

economic impacts

Answer 14

primary - businesses destroyed, agricultural land damaged, cost of fighting fires
secondary - high cost of rebuilding and insurance payout, sources of income lost, discouraging visitors, losing tourism sector, planes cancelled

Question 15

social impacts

Answer 15

primary - people killed or injured, homes destroyed, missing people
secondary - homelessness, food shortages, health problems (asthma)

Question 16

political impacts

Answer 16

primary - government buildings destroyed

secondary - borrowing money for international aid, pressure for government to do more about global warming

Question 17

prevention and preparedness

Answer 17

wildfires cannot be avoided but public awareness can prevent the ignition of wildfires
be prepared by having evacuation plans, emergency service training and drills.
warning systems let people know when there are perfect conditions
evacuation zones

Question 18

mitigation

Answer 18

controlled burnings - burning created on purpose to remove flammable materials so that less fuel is available. 
fire breaks (gaps in trees) - created to limit spread

Question 19

adaptation

Answer 19

There is the argument that perhaps we should not intervene in wildfires at all, which can be classed as a ​fatalistic outlook​. Many people believe it is not worth the ​money or resources​ to extinguish wildfires if they are only going to start again, and some should just be left to burn. There are also ecological benefits​ ​of having wildfires burn, which supports the idea that we should adapt to wildfires and let them burn.