Chapter 11: Wildfires

INTRODUCTION
Wildfires are a natural phenomenon that have occurred for many millions of years. While they have many ecosystem benefits, they also pose a threat to human habitation that is increasingly
Human changes to landscapes, including wildfire suppression, have reduced the natural fire cycle and increased the probability of large, hot, and damaging fires that can reduce ecosystem fu
will explore what controls wildfire spread, how humans can mitigate and prepare for wildfires, and the human and ecosystem impacts of wildfires.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
The goals and objectives of this chapter are to:

Describe the causes of wildfire ignition and spread.

Explain the positive and negative impacts of wildfires.
Describe how mitigation can reduce wildfire risk.
Explore the role of wild land firefighters in fire management.

Introduction to Wildfires

TYPES
OF
WILDFIR
ES
The three
main types
of
wildfires,
as
described
by
the Nation
al Park
Service are
:
Ground
fires
which
burn
organic
matter in
the soil
beneath
surface
litter and
are
sustained
by
glowing
combustio
n.
Surface
fires
which
spread
with a
flaming
front and
burn leaf
litter,
fallen
branches
and other
fuels
located at
ground
level.
Crown
fires
which

ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS
Read pages 1-3 in the USDA report below about the basic impacts of wildfires and the ecological effects:

Editors Note/Photo: This picture correlates the causes that climate change has had on wildfires.

The Fire Environment

FIRE TRIANGLE
The fire triangle contains the three key ingredients for fire ignition and spread:

Fuel
Oxygen
Heat

The combination of these three factors contributes to fire behavior and is related to
the environment of the fire. Fuel provides the energy source, oxygen is required for
the combustion process, and heat often provides the trigger for the fire. Fire will
occur when these three factors combine.
For wildfires, this triangle is sometimes modified to include the specific factors important for fires in wilderness lands namely:

Fuel
Topography
Weather

The fuels in wildfires include trees, shrubs, and grasses, but also can be dead organic material littering the floor of the wild area. Both living and dead organic material can burn. A key featur
amount of water in living or dead fuels. This will be a factor of the type of vegetation, whether it is living or dead, the time of year, and the preceding weather and climate conditions. Fuel ty
vegetation types, such as junipers and pines, are particularly flammable. Finally vegetation density, will impact the rate and ability of spread of the wildfire.

Topography, while easy to analyze with topographic maps, is a challenging factor for wildfire spread. First, fire, being hot, tend to move upward, and therefore will move up slopes at a much
Additionally, the steepness and aspect of slopes will determine the type and spacing of vegetation growing. Wildfires burning in very complex topography are challenging to forecast and po

FIRE WEATHER
Weather is critical in forecasting both the likelihood that a wildfire will start, as
well as the behavior of a fire once it has started. The key weather variables that
impact fire are:

Temperature
Relative Humidity
Wind Speed
Wind Direction
Cloud Cover
Rainfall
Chance of Lightning

Meteorologists and firefighting personnel can assess these conditions in the field using existing surface weather stations, with temporary weather stations, and with handheld weather stations
by local offices of the National Weather Service and communicated to firefighters and emergency managers in the field. On large fires, and Incident Meteorologist from the National Weathe
location to provide detailed and up to date weather information to personnel in real time.

However, in many cases the fire itself can create different weather conditions. Additionally, the topography around the fire can create weather. These, changes in conditions happen on very s
by meteorologists. Therefore, it is important for wildland firefighters to have a basic understanding of fire weather, so they can assess changing situations in the field and modify their activit

Editors Note: Despite being something so destructive, there is a benefit to wild fires that happens w
instead of man caused which is often the case.

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior
National Interagency Fire Center
Idaho

Benefits of Fire
Youve seen the stories on television, read the newspaper headlines that blazed
about the devastation caused by wildfires, but as a visitor to the national
parks, that plume of smoke you see towering over the trees may be from a
fire benefitting not only the land, but you as a park visitor.
During your park visit do you hope to see
healthy wildlife, open panoramic vistas, forests
penetrated by sunlight, or verdant grasslands?
If so, then wildland fire was also likely part of
that picture whether you knew it or not.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park,

Tennessee and North Carolina

Many parks across the country, from Great

Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee
to North Cascades National Park in Washington
State, use fires started by lightning to reduce
fuels, provide wildlife habitat, and restore native
species.
Why does fire need to be a part of the picture?

From 1872 when Yellowstone became the

worlds first national park until the midtwentieth century, land managers were dedicated
to stopping what they saw as destruction of
forests by fire. While some scientists and land
managers had recognized the value of fire on
the land and advocated its use, it was not until
the 1960s that this view resulted in a change of
National Park Service policy.

North Cascades National Park,

Washington

Yosemite National Park, California

E X P E R I E N C E YO U R A M E R I C A

Fire is part of a cycle in most ecosystems. It

reduces dead vegetation, stimulates new growth,
and improves habitat for wildlife, many of the
details park visitors imagine when they think of
a national park. With fire suppression, fire was
removed from the cycle and ecosystems began to
get out of balance.
After nearly a century of no fires, fuels, such as
dead trees, pine needles, leaf litter, and shrubs
built up to unnatural levels in forests. In these
cases, restoring fire is no easy task; sometimes it
takes additional work such as manual removal of
the debris before the fire cycle can begin again.

Fire, such as this one at Grand Canyon National Park, helps

to clear the forest floor of debris or fuel and encourages
new growth.

Are there any firefighters on the fire?

It depends. Every human-caused fire is

suppressed, and a natural fire could be
suppressed by firefighters if it is too close to park
infrastructure or a community. When it is not,
it is regularly monitored and assessed to assure
that it meets and continues to meet objectives
pre-set by park and fire managers. Some fires that
are burning in very remote parts of a park where
there will be no impact to human life and safety
may only be monitored by plane every few days.
Other fires may need more active management
point protection for structures, cooling the fire
in certain areas, burning out large amounts of
fuel in other areas. On these fires, firefighters may
camp out close to the fire for several days as they
are still typically remote from park infrastructure.
To learn more, talk to a park employee.
How will the fire impact my visit to the park?

Most likely you will see smoke during your visit.

Depending upon weather conditions, the smoke
may come into visitor areas and surrounding
communities. If smoke becomes too extreme and

Benefits of Fire 1

Impacts of Wildfires
WILDFIRE THREATS
Read the USGS report below to explore the threat of wildfires in the United States:

Editors Note/Satire: The following is from The Onion, a satire news site. Although it is meant as a j
real issues that surround us everyday.

Report: Massive Wildfires, Geopolitical Crises, AIDS, Human Rights Violations, Deadly Shootings, Africa, Trapped Trav
And Moral Issues, Child Labor, Drug Wars

NEWS

June 19, 2011

VOL 47 ISSUE 25 World Onion 1000

THE WORLDCalling it devastating, tragic, complex, heartrending, heartwarming, catastrophic, courageous, and shameful, sources confirmed Sunda
geopolitical crises, AIDS, human rights violations, deadly shootings, Africa, tourists taken hostage, ethical and moral issues, child labor, and drug war

While the Catholic Church, nuclear weapons, deadly Ebola outbreak, failing U.S. schools, the homeless, North Korea, and the resignation of high-level
widespread corruption, a major environmental disaster, the crumbling housing market, blizzards, Indonesia's rapidly growing economy, fraud, and th
Famine, sources later confirmed.

"We are in the midst of an unprecedented crisis," an extremely high-ranking figure said in an exclusive interview, adding that tensions remain high wh
afraid the worst has yet to come. The aftermath could be even more devastating."

According to those with inside knowledge of the situation, mine safety, unclean drinking water, gun laws, global warming, the role social media played
pharmaceutical companies, the insurance companies, the oil companies, a South Carolina neurosurgeon, a recovering drug addict from Baltimore who
family alive, how one former steel town is struggling to adapt, and the psychological trauma suffered by soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

In addition, the incalculable human toll, indescribable loss, utter ruin, candlelight vigils, Category 5 hurricane, magnitude-8.9 earthquake, F5 tornado
term effects on the local economy for the next 10, 20, and 100 years.

"This is something the world needs to know about," said a key player in the still-unfolding story who spoke on the condition of anonymity, adding that
newspaper after reading what he called "years and years of in-depth, compelling, poignant, authoritative, swift, rigorous, comprehensive, and respons
turn a blind eye, and it takes a brave reporter to shine a light on what is, in the end, a gravely serious problem."

"It's times like these that I'm so thankful for a news organization that speaks truth to power and takes its responsibility as a gatekeeper seriously," he a

Those directly affected expressed anger, resignation, distress, rage, sickness, confusion, eerie calm, and frustration. However, a pervading sentiment t
that rebuilding will take time, and that certain realities will have to be faced persists.

"The situation is terrible," said a visibly distraught person whose comments were echoed by millions of other visibly distraught people who speak lang
Punjabi. "I have lost [my home, my small business, my dignity, my entire family in what nobody is calling genocide but is clearly genocide, my medica

Migrant workers, school bullying, Internet bullying, the misappropriation of government funds, organized crime, stem cell research, changing gender
caught on the Iranian border, cracks in the criminal justice system, clean energy, a behind the scenes look at the CIA, microprocessors, the health of 9
diplomatic cables, the Supreme Court, the foster care system, and terrorism, sources confirmed.

Furthermore, gangs and cults. Also, commonly overlooked medical conditions that include fibromyalgia, thyroid disease, and aneurysms. And obesity

Fighting Wildfires
MITIGATING THE THREAT
Wildfire mitigation has three main components:

Thinning fuels or prescribing small fires to reduce wildfire intensity and decrease the likelihood of crown
fires. This activity tries to restore forests and landscapes to a healthier state, and restore the natural fire
cycle.
Creating fire breaks (roads or other non-vegetated areas) to reduce fire spread, and aid in fire fighting
activities.
Creating defensible space around homes in the urban-wildland interface.

WILDLAND FIREFIGHTERS
Fighting wildfires is a dangerous and physically demanding job, which requires
extensive training. This training has three main facets.

10 Standard Firefighting Orders

Fire Behavior
1. Keep informed on fire weather conditions and forecasts.
2. Know what your fire is doing at all times.
3. Base all actions on current and expected behavior of the fire.
Fireline Safety
4. Identify escape routes and safety zones and make them known.
5. Post lookouts when there is possible danger.
6. Be alert. Keep calm. Think clearly. Act decisively.
Organizational Control
7. Maintain prompt communications with your forces, your
supervisor and adjoining forces.
8. Give clear instructions and be sure they are understood.
9. Maintain control of your forces at all times.
If 1-9 are considered, then...
10. Fight fire agressively, having provided for safety first.

Fitness training to ensure firefighters can handle to physical challenges

of the job.
Fire fighting training to learn the appropriate tools and techniques to use
at different fire stages and in different situations.
Safety training in order to understand and identify the many hazards of
wildfires and how to reduce the risk associated with these hazards.

Eighteen Watch Out Situations

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.

Fire not scouted and sized up.

In country not seen in daylight.
Safety zones and escape routes not identified.
Unfamiliar with weather and local factors influencing fire behavior.
Uninformed on strategy, tactics, and hazards.
Instructions and assignments not clear.
No communication link with crew members or supervisor.
Constructing line without safe anchor point.
Building fireline downhill with fire below.
Attempting frontal assault on fire.
Unburned fuel between you and fire.
Cannot see main fire; not in contact with someone who can.
On a hillside where rolling material can ignite fuel below.
Weather becoming hotter and drier.
Wind increases and/or changes direction.
Getting frequent spot fires across line.
Terrain and fuels make escape to safety zones difficult.
Taking a nap near fireline.

Editors Note/Blog post: I found a blog on howtostopwildfires.blogspot.com that talks about the corr
wildfires and our human rights that can be violated because of this.

Ethical Dilemmas, Human Rights, and Values

Wildfires most of the times are caused because people are being careless about how the extinguish fires. Humans being careless mostly cause wildfires. Peopl
ground, they don't properly extinguish campfires, they shoot fireworks over wooded areas, and much more. People are becoming too careless and too lazy. Th
the time to think that maybe if they throw their cigarette on the ground a fire could start. People need to learn more about wildfires and how there carelessness
happen the affect peoples human rights. Their houses and other property become destroyed and there is a very good chance that they could be injured. Wildfir

wildfires happen there family, yourself, and a lot of stuff you put hard work into could all be affected by wildfires. Wildfires are too dangerous, and people m
Even you could be affected by wildfires. Everyone could. Next time when your in or by a wooded area think before you do. "Only you can prevent wildfires."

Case Studies
YARNELL HILL FIRE
A lightning storm ignited a wildfire on June 28, 2013 in a desert area northwest of Phoenix, AZ. As the fire
grew nearby towns were evacuated and the Granite Mountain Hot Shots crew arrived to aid in fire suppression
and protection of the nearby towns. On June 30, 2013, while retreating toward the town of Yarnell, 19 of the
firefighters were overtaken by the flame front. They deployed their fire shelters, but all 19 succumbed to the
heat and flames. The accident was partly caused by outflow winds from a thunderstorm to the northwest,
which increased fire movement dramatically and created dangerous fire conditions.
More detailed information and accounts from this tragedy can be explored HERE.

RESOURCES
Firewise Communities, http://www.firewise.org/
National Interagency Fire Center, https://www.nifc.gov/
Ready.gov: Wildifres, http://www.ready.gov/wildfires
USDA, Wildfire, Wildlands, and People: Understanding and Preparing for Wildfire in the Wildland-Urban Interface, January 2013
http://www.fs.fed.us/openspace/fote/reports/GTR-299.pdf
USGS, Wildfire Hazards--A National Threat, February 2006
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2006/3015/2006-3015.pdf
Utah Fire Info, http://www.utahfireinfo.gov/