Midterm 3

Question 1

Main characteristics of fire

Answer 1

Exothermic (heat producing), self-perpetuating, chemical reaction initiated by a small amount of heat.

Question 2

Fire tetrahedron

Answer 2

1. fuel
2. heat energy
3. oxygen
4. uninhibited chain reaction

Question 3

Importance of pre-ignition phase

Answer 3

heat causes fuels to give off vapours that can burn

Question 4

Surface fire

Answer 4

a fire that occurs in grasses, pine needles, and shrubs near to the ground

Question 5

How most wildfire start

Answer 5

Lightning

Question 6

Why lightning tends to burn more acres.

Answer 6

-occur in remote areas
- burn longer before being noticed
- are more difficult to fight
- are often left burn as a natural process

Question 7

The factors that influence the potential for a wildfire to spread

Answer 7

• type of vegetation
• amount of rainfall (less rainfall => more spread)
• average temperature (higher temperature => dryer fuels => more spread)
• topography (steeper slopes => more spread)
• wind strength

Question 8

The largest wildfire to occur in United States History

Answer 8

the Great Fire of 1910: burned 3 million acres in 2 days, killed 87 people including 78 firefighters, led to the “fight all fires” policy of the National Forest Service