A wildfire is an unwanted and unplanned natural catastrophe, occurring in a natural area. Wildfires can spread extremely quickly due to factors such as wind, weather, and underbrush, destroying communities, natural land, and displacing or killing the humans and animals in it’s path. Although wildfires are considered a natural catastrophe, they are more often than not started by some sort of human interaction, though they spread so quickly through natural means. According to the National Geographic four out of five wildfires are started by humans. CITE. They are considered natural because natural elements, such as wind, are what cause the fire to spread so rapidly and become so destructive.
Wildfires are able to start under three extremely specific and necessary conditions. These three necessary conditions are fuel, oxygen, and a source of heat. Fuel does not necessarily refer to gasoline or any other accelerant, but also includes, trees, dry underbrush, bushes, etc. These materials are extremely flammable, especially when dry, and can cause a wildfire to spread quickly and with ease in areas where they are plentiful. Homes built without flame retardant materials that are situated near wild open spaces also act as fuel for a fire, it is not uncommon for wildfires to destroy entire neighborhoods or even communities.
Oxygen is required for a fire to combust and subsequently continue burning, as fire is the byproduct of a reaction between the fuel and oxygen. Firefighters fight fire by trying to remove the oxygen that is fueling the fire through the use of fire retardants such as foam, dirt, and water which will replace the oxygen in the area immediately surrounding the fire. The foam will also adhere to the fire more successfully than water, and inhibit the continual combustion of the fire.
We require heat in order to start a wildfire, as it allows the fuel to reach a temperature where it is able to ignite. Some examples of fuel are the sun, cigarettes, lightning, or campfires. Source of heat is where human interaction comes into play when discussing the causation of wildfires, although the sun is also sometimes the culprit. Unattended fire pits, a smoldering cigarette, or the combustion of gas in a car could all result in the burning of natural fuel and cause a wildfire. When attacking a wildfire, a key component is removing the fuel that is in a wildfire’s path, which prevents the fire from spreading. They call the areas where they’ve removed fuel “firelines,” or “fireblocks.”
Wildfires are most prevalent in the Western United States, due to factors such as heat and drought, which lead to dry underbrush and high temperatures. Dry underbrush acts as fuel, while the high temperatures allow for combustion. Winds are also important when discussing the spread of wildfires, as the rushing air allows for the continual combustion and movement of a wildfire along the path of the wind. The Santa Ana winds, which we have here in California, are especially nasty for wildfires as they can cause fires to spread at speeds as high as 14 mph.
Wildfires can be extremely destructive to the environment, destroying natural resources and entire areas of life. Not only do wildfires burn vegetation and natural areas, they destroy the soil in the areas affected. Nutrients such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium are all present in the soil and extremely important to plant growth and habitat health. The relationship between fire and nutrients in soil is very complex, however fire intensity is usually the most important factor. (“Fire’s Effect on Soil”). When a wildfire rips through a natural area, the intensity of the fire determines which nutrients will be volatilized. For example, Calcium must be heated to 1240 C in order to vaporize, whereas Nitrogen only needs to reach a temperature of 200 C to do the same. (Fire’s Effect on Soil). When Nitrogen and other important nutrients vaporizes in soil, overall site productivity will undoubtedly decrease. Soil can also be damaged by attempts to stop a fire, such as erosion caused by the large quantity of water and other extinguishers used.
Wildfires also displace people and animals, and can ruin entire communities of people’s homes and livelihoods. They destroy people’s livelihoods by destroying the natural resources an area provides.
One of the most damaging effects on human health by wildfires is the smoke a wildfire creates. The smoke created in a wildfire is a mixture of small particles of the fuel burned and gas, which causes problems when the fine particles become inadvertently lodged deeply within one’s lungs. Exposure to these particles is linked to heart disease, chronic lung diseases, asthma, and even premature death. (Airnow). Wildfires often causing code red’s for the air, limiting people’s ability to go outside and breath the air without causing mild to serious health concerns.
The deadliest and most costly wildfire in California history has just finished it’s disastrous rampage in the San Francisco Bay Area’s North Bay. 42 people tragically lost their lives to the blaze and 6,700 buildings and homes have been destroyed. The fire burned in it’s entirety for a total of around ten days, and consumed much of the natural areas in the Bay Area’s Wine Country. According to climate scientists, the conditions could not have been more perfect for this wildfire to start and continue burning for such an extended period of time. Firstly, heavy rains during the winter season after a long drought created an abundance of vegetation, fuel for the fire. An increase in temperature, which the Bay area experienced over an extremely hot summer, also means an increase in winds, which we saw in the Diablo winds, moving at a speed of 70 mph.
Image of Santa Rosa- CNBC 2017
This extreme fire draws up issues of climate change-as it illustrates a significant increase in what we call the “fire season.” According to Leroy Westerling, co director of UC Merced’s school for climate communication, the typical length of fire season forty years ago was around 138 days. Today it lasts 222 days, over half of the year. The increase in temperature due to global warming increases our likelihood for fire, as stated earlier it creates more fuel for the fire to feed off and can cause combustion due to extremely high temperatures. The areas burned in the West alone since 1980 have increased by 390%.
In case of a wildfire, there are a few things one can do to make sure one stay’s as healthy and safe as possible. When heavy smoke fills an area close to or surrounding a wildfire, it is important to pay attention to local air quality reports, try to stay indoors, and avoid burning anything that releases any fine particles into the air while inside. Taking these actions will lower one’s risk for smoke-related health problems.
In order to address wildfires there are a variety of things we can do, though they will never stop occurring, as they are a natural disaster. In the future, as temperatures increase, it is important that houses are built using fire retardant materials, and are built further away from wild prairie like areas. Some fire resistant materials that can be used to build houses are asbestos cement, mineral wood, gypsum boards, and perlite boards. Homeowners should be sure to clear loose debris on and around their home, such as leaves and branches in gutters and decks. Strategic vegetation placement around residences can protect our homes to a certain extent from oncoming flames, though not keeping them at bay entirely. When creating a fire safe garden, it is important to keep any vegetation that can catch fire away from the house. Some options preferable to vegetation are hardscapes using rocks and gravel. Grass should be kept green and supple, as it is less flammable when it is moist, and tall trees should be pruned so as not to catch fire easily.
The most important thing we can do to address wildfires in the long run is reduce our emissions and slow global warming. The more emissions we produce as humans, the more we subject ourselves to extreme weather, such as drought and severe rains, which increase our likelihood for extremely detrimental wildfires.