The Issue Of Forest Fires

There are also so many animals that go along with the damage from the fires because they are living in the middle of it and do not have any where to go. It makes sense that actions such as controlled burns should be done because so much could be prevented. Then again there are so many people who argue against them because they are a disruption to the environment. “Fire experts argue that prescribed burns are vital for reducing the risk of catastrophic blazes and restoring ecosystems that evolved with fire” (Tobin 2). If a great deal of damage could be prevented, I do not see why there should be any concern. This is especially important when you look at what more damage is done to the environment during a huge forest fire compared to on from a petite controlled burn.

The rising number of high severity wildfires in California has significant ecological, economic, and health impacts. Many western American forests are adapted to frequent low severity fires. However, the majority of these forests, and particularly the mixed conifer forests of California, are not adapted to high intensity fires and do not possess fire resistance adaptations such as serotinous cones to protect seeds. Consequently, high severity fires have significant negative impacts on California forests, and the absence of low severity fires has considerably altered many fundamental ecosystem processes (Miller et al. 2008). Prior to 1900, low severity fires would burn every 6-15 years. Low severity fires are generally non-lethal, have minimal change to the overstory, and kill mainly small trees. In the past, these fires were started naturally by lightning, or by Native Americans who used low severity fires to manage the forests.

The focus of this lesson will be teaching the students to examine the history of wildland fires and their impact on society in America and in their community. Students will explore different approaches to living with fire and will examine various fire management techniques including prescribed fire, fire suppression, and fire prevention. They will take a closer look at the Copper King Fire in Montana, and will conduct a research project of wildfire history in another state. Students will also gain a better understanding of the role of fire in a particular culture and the importance of wildfire in the ecosystem. They will also understand ways to reduce wildfire risk around their home and community. Furthermore, students will increase their knowledge

Looking further into the impacts of the Rodeo-Chediski fire the trees saw the greatest impact of the fire. Almost 90% of the trees suffered complete crown kill (Ffolliott, 2008). Either some trees had survived with low severity, were harmed, or dead because of the drought and the fire combined. Even though some of the trees that had faced high severity apparently after having seen what trees had survived the fire yet by 2004 two years after the fire they had died (Ffolliott, 2008). The wildfire also impacted the standardization structure, post-fire mortality of trees, and stocking of tree reproduction on the Steamer Ridge Watershed (Ffolliott, 2008). After the fire had finally been contained the density of the forest had been forever changed.

Wildland firefighers are hired by Forest Service Bureaus of land Management, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, U. F. Fish and Wildlife Service, Emergency Services, Fish and Game, and Fire and Rescue. Some local agencies also hire them where a large chunk of area within the city is covered by woodland. The employment would be for year-around or seasonal, which means the wildland firefighters will work only during the time when the probability of wildfire breaking out is high.

In North America, the boreal forest is known to be one of the largest carbon storage systems. A boreal forest is a biome that is made up of trees such as pines, spruces and another conifer species, the Black Spruce being one of the most essential species of the boreal forest. Fires may be a significant element to the ecosystem in terms of maintaining an ideal community by selecting for species and their traits that, in return, shape the environment, however forest fires are causing the Black Spruce species to deteriorate in population size due to the effects of the fires, caused by a rise in temperature. Clearly, temperature is the leading factor causing constant wildland fires across North America. This concludes the degree of heat intensity in the environment is

Banff National Park in Alberta Canada has a very interesting climate. The study site only a few miles away from the city of Banff resides on the front ranges of the Rocky Mountains. The Continental Divide is only 45 km (28 miles) west of the study location. The climate around the park as a whole is interesting. It is commonly known to be completely different weather at varying temperatures all over the park. Throughout the day, the weather frequently changes dramatically. Areas studied included dry meadows, shrub-fields and shrub-lands, open or immature forest and mature forests. All of which have a nutrient rich post-wildfire soil. The forests are primarily spruce, lodgepole pine, subalpine fir and alpine larch.

California is one of the states affected by this problem. Every-time I watch the news, I see that Californians are coming with new technology to deal with this issue. We were experiencing lack of rain in Colorado Springs during the fires more than 2 years ago. Not only we lacked of rain fall, but the carbon release from the fires was way above of what the trees can absorb. The more fires we have in an area, the more carbon capture and release unbalance we have in the area adjacent. The quantitative data shown in your thread is a great method to find out more about this research. Great post!

Massive wildfire ravaged Northern California’s wine country since Sunday night. Wildfires whipped by strong winds have swept through the region, killing at least 10 lives and more than 20000 people are forced to evacuate and flee their homes. This is one of the most destructive wildfire events in the state’s history. More than a dozen wildfires continued to burn across eight counties, destroying 1500 homes and commercial structures according to losses reported up to Tuesday. More death and destruction are expected. Authorities have not said what caused the fires but October is typically the busiest month for wildfire in California. Therefore, they believed that the hot, extremely dry condition in October created the critical fire conditions.

Officials figured the fire would die off naturally. Scientists believe that the major reason that the fires were so extensive was “because of the unusually severe drought and high winds that characterized 1988.” (dr. Robert j. ruff, the 1988 forest fires of yellowstone national park). All of the fires that started naturally were initially allowed to burn. Eleven out of twenty fires went out by themselves and the rest were being monitored in accordance to the existing fire plan.

Over the past 30 years, Wildfires have become more frequent and have increased in size. Records show that all vegetated continents have experienced uncontrolled fires. (Science Magazine) According to the American Geophysical Union, "The total area these fires burned increased at a rate of nearly 90,000 acres a year -- an area the size of Las Vegas. Individually, the largest wildfires grew at a rate of 350 acres a year." (Science Daily, 2014)

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, Wildfire means “a sweeping and destructive conflagration esp. in a wilderness or a rural area.” Also according to the same dictionary, wilderness means “a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings.” Forest Fires happen when there is a drought because branches and twigs die and dry out creating plenty of fuel for a fire. According to the NIFC (National Interagency Fire Center) there are about 105,534 wildfires that occur each year.

A wildfire is any instance of uncontrolled burning in grasslands, brush, or woodlands. Wildfires destroy property and valuable natural resources, and may threaten the lives of people and animals. Wildfires can occur at any time of the year, but usually occur during hot, dry weather. Wildfires are usually signaled by dense smoke which may fill the air for miles around. The National Weather Service, U.S. Forest Service, and State forestry agencies combine to give wildfire probability forecasts. Local radio and television stations broadcast information and warnings on local fire conditions. Wildfires pose an increasing threat to the residential United States. In 1987, 53,000 fires consumed more than two million acres. By October 1988, almost

Fires we all know them to be deadly and dangerous, but who would have thought that in Alaska, especially in the Yukon Flats there would be forest fires. These forest fires are causing a major problem with our Earth atmosphere. We can go back to 1939 and see that the fires that are happening right now are exactly the same ones that occurred in the past. The studies are being conducted by Ryan Kelly, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Illinois and Feng Sheng Hu, a professor of plant biology and geology at the University of Illinois. For their studies, they have used actual fire data from previous studies to come up with a conclusion that in a radius of 2,000 km of the Yukon Flats the fires are way higher than what they were 10,000

Humans have been changing the Western forests' fire system since the settlement by the Europeans and now we are experiencing the consequences of those changes. During the summer of 2002, 6.9 million acres of forests was burnt up in the West (Wildland Fires, 1). This figure is two times the ten year annual average, and it does not look like next summer will be any better (Wildfire Season, 1).