Guest Speakers Flashcards
Who is Rob Gazzard and what did he do?
A wildfire specialist and consultant with Forestry Commission England and co-founder and chair of South East England Wildfire Group.
He helps devise useful policy guides with regards to wildfire risk in the UK and how to manage them.
Give a brief overview of fire history and the basics!
450mya oxygen at 25% of atmosphere, need 16% for fire; 400mya 1st vascular plants; 377mya 1st “trees” in Devonian, O at 15-17%; 300mya 1st conifers with 20-35% O; 250mya mas extinction, low O; 120mya angiosperms, dinos, high O at 30%; 25mya grasslands, frop in O, normal 21%; 10mya modern biomes; 7 mya, O stays at 21%
Combustion - reach and exceed temp, sustained.
Pyrolysis - chemical breakdown of soil fuel under heat and O-deficient environment.
Fire triangle: fuel, oxygen, heat
Wildfire triangle: vegetation, weather, topology
What is ‘burning’, and according to the Fire Rescure Service?
“Any uncontrolled vegetation fire which requires a decision, or action, regarding suppression”
Additional criterion of which only 3 can be directly quantified: geographical area, flame length, resource of appliances, >6hrs, serious threat to life.
What are some key findings regarding fires in the UK? (and compared to Europe)
FRS attended >250k wildfires in an 8-yr period. Woodlands accounted for 1-15% of all wildfires. 7k were on SSSI’s.
Out of Europe, UK was 4th in amount of area burnt in 2018.
UK fire planning doesn’t happen until June, but fires in May.
UK saw a 477% increase in 2018.
What is the UK fire policy like at the national level?
Had a National Risk Register in 2013, 2015 and 2016.
Climate Change risk assessments mention fire, problems in 2080.
Set “standards” for Forestry, Countryside, social, economic and environmental considerations.
How is fire managed locally in the UK?
Local authorities risk assess their area; Fire and Rescue Service.
What is the problem with UK fire politics at present?
Focus on short timescales, not considering how rapidly our environments can change - built land, climate change etc.
Only 1 department in DEFRA acting on it, the Forestry Commission.
No consideration of wildfire affecting housing in approved documents - embers like in US, Australia.
List 6 UK fire case studies that occurred 2015-2018.
- Ash Ranges, Surrey (1990, 1999, and 2015) -> same conditions, hadn’t learnt.
- Tottenham Marshes, London (2016) -> 1-acre fire, small but affected pylons, water pipes, biodiversity.
- Boom Town Music Festival, Hampshire (2016) -> stubble field, destroyed 80 parked cars
- Pumps Farm, Little Marlow (2018) -> harvester -> jumped into field, road closure, lots of resources needed
- Wanstead Flats, London (July, 2018) -> 100 evacuated, 1 injured
- Feltham, near Heathrow (July, 2018)
How is wildfire predicted in England?
‘Right to Roam’ act -> Met Office Fire Severity Index but what counts as ‘exceptional fire risk’ is debatable and the system doesn’t trigger easily, to review the current approach since it is based on a Canadian pine habitat, thus calibrated for an irrelevant ecosystem to UK.
FC make daily hazard assessments are made which are given to emergency services.
What does the UK currently not have regarding fire risk assessment/management?
Risk or Fuel Map - would help to inform planning, to include data on topology, ecosystems, urbanisation, defendable space
What are the major challenges of wildfire prediction?
Models
Climate change
Seasonality
Episodic fire
How could climate change alter UK fire behaviour and management?
Temps to increase, drier periods, warmer minimum but also wetter -> more vegetation -> more fuel -> more intensity.
Management will need to not only better mitigate against fire but increase adaptation/resilience i.e. landscapes, interconnectivity, education, prep, defendable space. NB. as fire intensity increases, management options decrease -> need to design landscapes better to avoid the worst fires, at the PLANNING STAGE.
What is being developed to tackle this new/changing UK fire risk?
Development of Wildfire Coordination Forum: national forum, local discussions, multiple groups, NGOS, officials, industry specific workers -> collaborative approach
To consider: climate change, social, economic and environmental impacts, partnerships, reduction in suppression costs, creation of fire maps, training, exercises, key contacts, social media, equipment sharing, regular stakeholder meetings.
What happened in Swinley Forest in May 2011?
Real bad surface fire that turned into crown fire due to many young Scott’s Pine trees, jumped two more plantations, travelling near a major high security hospital in just 7 mins.
£1.25 million from damage alone.
“Cause” -> dry continental easterly winds, spot fires.
Who is Andy Elliott and what does he do?
Has been a firefighter for Dorset rescue service for 37 years, ranger for 17 years, national tactical advisor. Knows lots man.
