🌋3.1.5.6 - Fires in Nature

Question 1

What is a wildfire?

Answer 1

A bushfire or rural fire which is uncontrollable and spreading

Question 2

What are the three things needed for fires to burn?

Answer 2

Heat, Fuel and Oxygen

Question 3

What can sources of fuel include?

Answer 3

Trees
Logs
Dry Grass
Petrol
Aerosols
Leaves

Question 4

What can sources of heat include?

Answer 4

Cigarette ends
Matches
Barbecues
The sun
Electrical storms
Broken glass
Arson

Question 5

How can the seasons affect the likelihood of wildfires?

Answer 5

The drier and windier the season, the more likely the wildfire

Question 6

What is the most common cause of wildfire?

Answer 6

Arson

Question 7

Which factors can worsen wildfires?

Answer 7

Dry vegetation
Ladder fuels
Hilly areas
Homes with wooden/timber cladding
Flammable fertilisers

Question 8

How can wildfires be prevented?

Answer 8

Remove ladder fuels
Control of vegetation
Removal of fuel sources
Burn off crops after harvest

Question 9

What phenomenon can make conditions warmer and drier?

Answer 9

El Nino and the Indian Ocean Dipole

Question 10

How does vegetation type affect wildfires?

Answer 10

Water stroing plants eg Cacti are much harder to burn
However Eucalyptus use the nutrients released from ash and the additional light from surrounding vegetation being burned, so promote wildfire

Question 11

How can wildfires be mitigated against?

Answer 11

In countries such as Australia and the US, which are prone to fires, organisations produce advice for residents and some states such as Colorado provide residents with a set of guidelines

Question 12

What are some of the guidelines set in Colorado?

Answer 12

Reduce fuels around the home
Mow grasses and weeds often, to shorter than 6 inches
Use fire resistant materials in the house
Dispose of any excess accumulation of logs

Question 13

What is the most popular wildfire education campaign in the US?

Answer 13

Smokey Bear

Question 14

What are the five rules in the Smokey Bear song?

Answer 14

Only you can prevent wildfires
Always be careful with fire
Never play with matches or lighters
Always watch your campfire
Make sure your campfire is out before leaving it

Question 15

How effective has Smokey Bear been?

Answer 15

It was launched in 1944 and has since been popular with children and adults, teaching the effect of wildfire on the environment. The success has largely been down to the character.

Question 16

What do NEPA do in the US?

Answer 16

The National Fire Protection Agency runs fire community preparedness days annually to help reduce fuels and educate communities

Question 17

How can wildfires be detected?

Answer 17

Using traditional manned lookout towers, which can be unreliable and require 24 hour surveillance, or more recently, computer based video analysis which can automatically produce an alert

Question 18

What does the law state in California?

Answer 18

The residents must clear out all flammable materials such as bush or vegetation around 100ft of the property to create defensible space

Question 19

What does the law state in Scotland?

Answer 19

The any open fires must be kept under control and must not be lit in prolonged dry periods in areas such as grasslands or forests

Question 20

What’s the 2 year project called that’s been launched in Europe?

Answer 20

IGNIS (2016)

Question 21

What’s IGNIS aiming to do?

Answer 21

Improve the fire and rescue response by bringing together knowledge and expertise

Question 22

Example of a group involved in IGNIS

Answer 22

Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service

Question 23

Natural Causes of Wildfire

Answer 23

Lightning
Lava

Question 24

Humans Causes of Wildfire

Answer 24

Falling power lines
Campfires
Fireworks
Arson
Agricultural burning (controlled fires)

Question 25

Why does the El Nino Effect cause more intense burning?

Answer 25

As it’s drier and hotter

Question 26

Why does drought favour more intense wildfires?

Answer 26

Low levels of retained water in plants- burns more quickly

Question 27

Ladder Fuel

Answer 27

Live or dead vegetation allowing a fire to climb from the forest floor to the tree canopy, meaning the fire is more influenced by winds

Question 28

Preparedness: 2 Countries Techniques on Educating

Answer 28

America- Smokey Bear

Australia- TV Adverts

Question 29

Preparedness: What are computer simulations used to do?

Answer 29

Model the fires track

Question 30

Preparedness: 2 Ways of Spotting Wildfires

Answer 30

Aircraft survey large areas
Satellites provide low resolution images

Question 31

What do Australia have on weather forecasts?

Answer 31

Fire Danger Ratings

Question 32

Prevention: How does managing vegetation work?

Answer 32

Controlled burning creates fire breaks, stopping a fire during a disaster

Question 33

Prevention: 3 ways to manage the built environment

Answer 33

Increase gaps between homes
Install fire beaters in areas where barbecues and campfires are common so fire doesn’t rapidly spread
Use more fire resistant burning methods

Question 34

Why’s it important to replant trees after a wildfire?

Answer 34

To avoid flash floods and mudslides on unprotected slopes

Question 35

3 Aspects to Conditions needed for Wildfires

Answer 35

Vegetation Type
Climate / Weather
Fire Behaviour

Question 36

Oxygen Key Points

Answer 36

Strong winds = more oxygen so fire can spread more quickly

Question 37

Difference between Ground fire, Surface fire, and Crown fire

Answer 37

Ground- slow, smouldering, no flame, little smoke
Surface- leaf litter, low lying vegetation burns, can be low or high intensity
Crown- moves rapidly through canopy, most intense and fastest moving

Question 38

Heat transfer

Answer 38

. Radiation is the transfer of fire to an adjacent object by causing it to combust without touching it.
. Convection is in an upward direction

Question 39

What 3 things effect wildfires behaviour

Answer 39

Fuel, topography, weather