Chapter 13: Wildfires Flashcards
The first change in wildfire behavior was seen when
A) climate warmed after last major glacier advance.
B) the amount of charcoal found in sediment increased.
C) volcano activity increased after last major glacier advance.
D) grasses evolved and spread across the land.
E) humans used fire to clear the land.
D) grasses evolved and spread across the land
In order to create and sustain a wildfire, you need all the following except
A) All are needed.
B) carbon dioxide.
C) oxygen.
D) fuel.
E) heat.
B) carbon dioxide
Which is a true statement about wildfires?
A) A fire always starts from an ignition
B) Humans play a major role in affecting large wildfires
C) Combustion processes absorb energy
D) Future wildfires are very likely to occur in areas that have just been destroyed by a wildfire
E) Preignition processes absorb energy
E) preignition processes absorb energy
Label the phases of a wildfire from left to right for the three parts shown in the figure.
A) Extinction, flaming combustion, preignition (pyrolysis)
B) Glowing/smoldering combustion, flaming combustion, preignition (pyrolysis)
C) Extinction, flaming combustion, glowing/smoldering combustion
D) Extinction, glowing/smoldering combustion, preignition (pyrolysis)
E) Flaming combustion, glowing/smoldering combustion, extinction
B) Glowing/smoldering combustion, flaming combustion, preignition (pyrolysis)
Which is a difference between flaming and
glowing/smoldering combustion?
A) Glowing/smoldering combustion does not require rapid pyrolysis for its growth
B) Glowing/smoldering combustion takes places at higher temperatures
C) Glowing/smoldering combustion produces rapid oxidation reactions
D) Flaming combustion dominates during the late stages of a fire
E) Flaming combustion has a very low amount of residual unburned material
A) glowing/smoldering combustion does not require rapid pyrolysis for its growth
What is the role of convection in wildfires?
A) Rising and falling air within the fire causes the fire to reuse air as fuel.
B) Sinking hot air in the fire pushes air out of the fire to fuel the flames.
C) Rising hot air in the fire pulls in fresh air to fuel the flames.
D) Rising hot air in the fire pulls in fresh air to extinguish the flames.
E) Sinking hot air in the fire pushes air out of the fire to extinguish the flames.
C) rising hot air in the fire pulls fresh air to fuel the flames
How does the presence of mountains increase wildfire incidence or intensity?
A) Slopes exposed to prevailing winds have drier vegetation.
B) Winds tend to circulate, causing fires to move more quickly.
C) Fires on steep slopes preheat materials ahead of fire, making them easier to burn.
D) Slopes exposed to sunlight during the day have drier vegetation.
E) All of these increase wildfire incidence or intensity.
E) all of these increase wildfire incidence or intensity
Which situation would result in a wildfire to burn more easily?
A) Slopes that have not been exposed to prevailing winds
B) Humidity is at its highest point
C) Flat topography without wind
D) A south-facing slope in the Northern Hemisphere
E) Area downhill of a fire on a slope with no wind
D) a south-facing slope in the Northern Hemisphere
Which of the following wildfire types is dominated by fires transmitted along treetops?
A) Ground fires
B) Surface fires
C) Crown fires
D) Tree fires
E) Convection fires
C) crown fires
Which of the following locations in the United States has the lowest risk of wildfires?
A) California
B) Nevada
C) Hawaii
D) Alaska
E) Maine
E) Maine
The creation and movement of a hydrophobic layer in the soil (shown in the figure) can increase the occurrence of [blank] after a wildfire.
A) plant growth
B) all of these can increase
C) water retention in the soil
D) another fire
E) surface runoff and soil erosion
E) surface runoff and soil erosion
Why have large wildfires in Southern California become more hazardous in the past few hundred years?
A) All of these are reasons the fires have become more hazardous.
B) The population has doubled in the past 50 years.
C) The number of fires has greatly increased.
D) Controlled burns have reduced the occurrence of catastrophic wildfires.
E) There is less natural fuels to burn.
B) the population has doubled in the past 50 years
Which is not a way climate change may increase the number and intensity of wildfires?
A) Decreasing the availability of natural fuels
B) Regional climatic conditions becoming warmer
C) Changes in vegetation
D) Weaken the vegetation
E) Increase the size or intensity of severe storms
A) decreasing the availability of natural fuels
Which is not a way wildfires affect vegetation?
A) Make it vulnerable to later fires
B) All of these are ways that wildfires affect vegetation
C) Destroy it
D) Help propagation
E) Long-term control
B) all of these are ways that wildfires affect vegetation
Which of the following is not a natural service function of
wildfires?
A) Provide homes and supply food for various insects and animals
B) Increase the nutrient content of soils
C) Increase microorganism populations in the soil
D) Reduces competition for moisture, nutrients, and light
E) Stimulate some plant reproduction and flowering
C) increase microorganism populations in the soil
Which of the following is not a primary approach of fire management?
A) data collection
B) science
C) education
D) fire suppression
E) prescribed burns
D) fire suppression
What is a problem with fire suppression?
A) Reduces the amount of fuel for natural wildfires
B) Buildup of fuel means potential for larger, high-intensity fires
C) Decreases chances lives and property are lost
D) Eliminates the effectiveness of prescribed burns
E) Allows natural removal of some vegetation
B) buildup of fuel means potential for larger, high-intensity fires
What is a problem with those that live or work in the wildland-urban interface not adequately perceiving the risk from
wildfires?
A) They continue to build on brush-covered hillslopes
B) They believe the government will bail them out
C) Urbanization of the area increases the fuel amount
D) The amount of open land is reduced
E) All of these are problems
E) all of these are problems
Which is not an adjustment you should make to fire hazards?
A) Let your landscape defend your property
B) Fire danger alerts and warnings
C) Fire insurance so you can live in fire-prone areas
D) Having a fire safety and evacuation plan
E) Fire education
C) fire insurance so you can live in fire-prone areas
