Fires In Nature

Question 1

What is a wildfire? What impacts do they have? - Fires in Nature

Answer 1

A wildfire is an uncontrolled rural fire, capable of destroying forests, grasslands and other vegetation alongside agricultural land and settlements.

Question 2

What are ground fires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 2

Ground fires are slow, smouldering fires that burn organic matters in soils. They are low in temperature and burn for long periods,often without flames.

Question 3

What are surface fires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 3

Surface fires are where leaf litter and low lying vegetation burn at a low or high intensity. They are relatively easy to control.

Question 4

What are crown fires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 4

Crown fires are where fires can rapidly spread through the top layer of vegetation (canopy). They often burn at a very high intensity and temperature, with dramatic effects. They are difficult to contain.

Question 5

What is a fuel ladder? What can this be made up of? - Fires in Nature

Answer 5

A fuel ladder is live or dead vegetation which allows a fire to climb up from the landscape into the tree canopy. This can be made up of tall grasses, shrubs, branches, etc.

Question 6

Describe the fire triangle and explain the importance of each aspect - Fires in Nature

Answer 6

Heat: evaporates moisture in fuels and allows easier ignition
Fuel: provides a burnable material, allowing fires to advance
Oxygen: supports oxidation process and creates heat and gases

Question 7

What are the 3 key elements needed for a wildfire to form? (Different from the fire triangle) - Fires in Nature

Answer 7

Fuel (vegetation), an ignition source and favourable conditions (low moisture, thick vegetation, lightning, strong winds to provide oxygen).

Question 8

What conditions favour wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 8

Thick, closely spaced undergrowth, fine and dry material, rainfall to allow plants to grow BUT a considerable dry season, strong winds and lightning all favour wildfires.

Question 9

What particular tree is very favourable to starting wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 9

Eucalyptus trees are very favourable to starting wildfires as they contain oil and shed strips of wood that can act as firebrands.

Question 10

What are natural causes of wildfires? What are human causes? - Fires in Nature

Answer 10

Natural: lightning/volcanic eruptions, heat transfers, climate change and warming temperatures
Human: arson, accidental ignition, human-induced climate change.

Question 11

What are primary and secondary social impacts from wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 11

Primary: loss of life, property loss and damage, emergency service action.
Secondary: displacement of people from wildfires and disruption from lives.

Question 12

What are primary and secondary economic consequences from wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 12

Primary: property loss and damage, loss of crops, timber and livestock
Secondary: loss of tourism and employment, businesses forced to close, costs of reconstruction and rebuilding

Question 13

What are primary and secondary environmental impacts from wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 13

Primary: destruction of natural habitats and ecosystems, damage to soils, release of toxic gases and air pollution.
Secondary: increased flood risk due to lack of interception as vegetation is lost, greenhouse gas emissions contribute to climate change.

Question 14

What positive impacts exist from wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 14

Wildfires remove dead or dying material from forest floor, secondary successions are encouraged (plant growth), some species need fires to aid seed germination.

Question 15

What are general short term responses to wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 15

Emergency teams try to put fires out, electronic and digital sharing of warning messages, fires diverted from settlements, people are evacuated from settlements, water sprayed on buildings to prevent ignition of embers.

Question 16

What are long term responses to wildfires? - Fires in Nature

Answer 16

Emergency shelters are created and plans formulated to deal with future events, community groups are set up for detection of wildfires, emergency services are funded, damaged buildings are rebuilt.

Question 17

How can wildfire impacts be mitigated? - Fires in Nature

Answer 17

Satellites with thermal sensors can detect heat variation, drone technology has been developed to survey large areas, controlled fires can be lit to use fuel prior to a wildfire, fire insurance can be taken out.

Question 18

How can wildfires be prevented? - Fires in Nature

Answer 18

Fire bans can be introduced during wildfire seasons, public education can highlight fire risk, fire beaters are available in public areas to put out small fires.

Question 19

How can wildfires be adapted to? - Fires in Nature

Answer 19

Wildfires can be adapted to by creating fire breaks in forests that prevent large spreads, non-flammable buildings materials can be used, fires can be accepted as natural and regenerative.

Question 20

When did the Alberta wildfire take place? - Fires in Nature

Answer 20

The Alberta wildfire took place between May and July 2016. CANADA’S COSTLIEST DISASTER IN HISTORY.

Question 21

How did the wind direction and climactic conditions contribute to the Alberta wildfire respectively? - Fires in Nature

Answer 21

Wind direction: change in wind direction resulted in spread of fire towards Fort McMurray.
Climactic conditions: El Niño event resulted in dry Autumn/Winter seasons and warm spring.

Question 22

How did temperatures/wind and the fire itself contribute to the Alberta wildfire respectively? - Fires in Nature

Answer 22

Temperatures/wind: over 30°C temperatures and winds of 72km/h created perfect conditions for wildfires.
Fire itself: created own weather patterns and lightning, which further ignited fires.

Question 23

What social impacts were there of the Alberta wildfire? - Fires in Nature

Answer 23

2400 houses were destroyed, businesses were lost, 90,000 were evacuated, power supplies were disrupted, water supplies were contaminated when untreated water was introduced to assist firefighters.

Question 24

How many people were killed from the Alberta wildfire? How many were evacuated? - Fires in Nature

Answer 24

0 people were killed from the Alberta wildfire. 90,000 were evacuated.

Question 25

What economic impacts were there from the Alberta wildfire? - Fires in Nature

Answer 25

$9bn of damage caused to Fort McMurray, 1.2m of barrels of oil lost/day for 2 weeks, costliest disaster in Canadian history, impacted global price of oil.

Question 26

What was the cost of damage to Fort McMurray from the Alberta wildfire? - Fires in Nature

Answer 26

$9bn of damage was caused to Fort McMurray.

Question 27

What were environmental impacts of the Alberta wildfire? - Fires in Nature

Answer 27

600,000 ha of land was burned, toxic air pollution from burning cars/buildings/factories, scorched forests damaged ecosystems, 500 species lost their habitats, mercury and lead detected in water supplies.

Question 28

How many hectares of land were lost from the Alberta wildfire? How many species lost habitats? - Fires in Nature

Answer 28

600,000 ha of land were lost from the Alberta wildfire. 500 species lost habitats.

Question 29

What were short term responses to the Alberta wildfire? - Fires in Nature

Answer 29

90,000 people were evacuated from the area, the fire was tracked and monitored with satellite data, a state of emergency was declared, shelters and food were offered to evacuees, emergency services mobilised.

Question 30

What % of Fort McMurray was saved by the response to the Alberta wildfire? - Fires in Nature

Answer 30

85% of Fort McMurray was saved by the Alberta wildfire response.

Question 31

What were long term responses to the Alberta wildfire? - Fires in Nature

Answer 31

Public transport schemes were repaired, increased government investment was made in disaster management schemes, Canadian Red Cross donated to businesses, evacuees were given funds to cover living expenses, air and water quality was monitored.