The Wild Land Fire Problem
Name: Khaled Albassam
Institute: Oklahoma State University
Abstract
The United States of America alone experiences nearly a hundred thousand (100, 000) wild fire out breaks destroying over nine million (9, 000, 000) acres of land. Human beings are the leading agents of wild fire in the US. Humans contribute up to 90% of wildfires resulting from cigarette butts, unmonitored campfires, equipment failure, or simply arson. Relocation could imply leaving moving from a vulnerable zone or choosing a more suitable to habit; more, it could also mean land use planning. Recovery and adaptation may involve property insurance and sharing of responsibility as a means of being prepared. No one solution is perfect on its own. The best approach to fighting wildfire would perhaps be to minimize the risk of fire before it starts.
Keywords: Fire, Fighting, Wildfire,
The Wild Land Fire Problem
A wild land fire is also referred to simply as a wild fire. According to Rinkesh (2016), a wildfire is a blaze that is uncontrolled and is fueled by several weather conditions, dry under bush and wind. A wild fire can consume acres of land in a very short time. The United States of America alone experiences nearly a hundred thousand (100, 000) wild fire out breaks destroying over nine million (9, 000, 000) acres of land. This study discusses the findings of a detailed search into the causes, effects, and solutions to wild land fire problem.
The Wildfire Problem
According to Gill Stephens and Cary (2013), universal problem of wildfire is characterized by property loss, human lives, as well as, natural resources. These characteristic features are the results of the harmful effects of fires that are unplanned. Wildfire problem is typically complex and requires continual surveillance to the changes that take place within the context of ecosystems, landscapes and other stakeholders. It takes place on several spatial and temporal scales. In order to minimize the impact of wildfires, full measures must be taken including fire control, relocation of people and property. In the event of an occurrence, the recovery process requires the promotion of adaptation of societies so as to achieve long term results.
Causes
Wild land fires are most common in forests and grasslands. While these ecological zones are a great source of the earth’s renewable energy, they have maintained a nearly ideal environment for sustainable livelihoods. Wild fires may occur naturally or as manmade disasters over a large area. However, environmentalist use controlled fire to efficiently and legitimately manage environments during pasture land regrowth, minimization of wild fire hazards, field preparation, and forest land clearance. Uncontrolled wild land fires are disastrous. With the reported increase in global warming, wild land fire is expected to increase.
Human beings are the leading agents of wild fire in the US. In his article, Revkin (2016), I indicate that humans contribute up to 90% of wildfires resulting from cigarette butts, unmonitored campfires, equipment failure, or simply arson. Only 10 % of the wildfires are caused by natural events like volcanic eruption, and lightening.
Effects
The impact of wild land fire has not only consumed homes but wildlife as well. As human homes and the wild have interacted more closely lately, wildfires that occur near farms are usually costly and may cost millions of US dollars in rebuilding, damage repair and vegetation recovery. Furthermore, wildfires destroy nutrients available n the soil by destroying the organic composition. While microorganisms suffer from the disasters of wildfire, wildlife is also becoming extinct.
Wildfire is known to destroy animals but vegetation is all the same not spared. Trees and plants get destroyed, carbon dioxide rates increase in the atmosphere and global warming becomes more real. With reduced vegetation, food supplies dwindle, water supply runs low, and soil becomes bare giving way to erosion and air pollution from the smoke. The pollution poses potential health hazards including respiratory complications. These effects are felt by both man and animals. Wildfires typically cause a short-term increase in food supply contributing to population increase. Animals then suffer the inadequacy of shared resources.
According to a report by Lueck and Yoder (2016), in 1998 between June and July, catastrophic wildfires in north eastern Florida consumed property amounting to nearly 800 million dollars. These figures have forced governments to implement legislative action on issues of forestry and firefighting. With policies in place, governments can detect, prevent, and suppress wildfires. The government creates policies, plans, ad finance primary responsibilities.
Wild fires are more common during summer and in tropical climates. Management of wildfires in tropical climates is important in the prevention of adverse economic, ecological and social impacts. Management of wildfires has a long history in the world. Convectional approaches of protection against fires include a well-established network of firefighting lines, watchtowers, daily fire possibility ratings and guidelines. Apart from deforestation, wildfires are a major cause of forest degradation.
Solution to the Problem
Governments have policies guiding regulations and laws on fires that can be burnt where and when and the materials permitted to be burnt. It is therefore important that local regulations on firefighting are adhered to. Additionally, weather forecasting can foresee an impending catastrophe and warn people and relevant authorities in good time. In the event that a warning is given, individual must refrain from burning substances especially when winds are high. During such times, it is advisable that fires are lit only in locations that can be easily controlled such as fire pits. This is to allow ease of putting of the fire in the event of a dangerous situation.
Additionally, cigarette smokers need to observe where they smoke. Ensuring that the cigarette is put out completely before disposing it could help in the reduction of a large percentage of wildfires. Most picnics and camping expectations restrict smoking but one only needs to be familiar with the rules early enough. Furthermore, teaching the children about safety precautions can certainly help in reducing wild fires and loss of lives during fire outbreaks. Nature lessons could go a long way in making a difference.
According to Gill et al (2013), “Minimizing adverse outcomes involves controlling fires and fire regimes, increasing the resistance of assets to fires, locating or relocating assets away from the path of fires, and, as a probability of adverse impacts often remains, assisting recovery in the short term while promoting the adaptation of societies in the long term.” Moreover, there are long-term and shortest aspects to minimization values. To control wildfires and regimes, fire suppression could be involved as well as treatments like non fire treatments and prescription burning. To improve the resistance of property to wildfire would mean addressing issues on design and materials used in property construction, or the installation of personal protective equipment (PPE).
In recovery, property might require relocation from one place to another and may including moving to a suitable area or planning of land use. Recovery and adaptation can include asset insurance and sharing responsibility as means of being prepared for any outcome. There is no one solutions that can solve the problem of wildfire, steps need to be integrated to find effective solutions. Usually, the approaches used in the minimization and the depth of their application usually vary depending on the geographic mix of property types.
According to Renkish (2016), “The list of government reports, scientific studies and media accounts warning of terrible trouble has continued to rise.” With targeted promotions and smart development, fighting wild fires can be more cost-effective. America’s west is notorious for wildfires with over 30,000 wildfires being reported in 2016 burning over three million acres. The federal government had seen worse outcomes in 2015 with over ten million acres getting burned at the cost of over two billion US dollars. The United States Forest Service announced in 2016 that it would channel half of its annual budget towards fighting wildfires. Still researchers in the agriculture department suggest that the situation will only get worse with an estimated increase to twice as much the acreage burned by 2050.
Management of wildfires is a complex institution which complicates the assessment of the economic perspective of wildfire expenditure. Some of this institutions include the Forest Service, State land Agencies, county and municipal agencies. This network of wildfire-fighters includes multiple policies, laws, and contracts creating a complex combination of incentives and aftermath. However, studies reveal that the system could be ineffective resulting in overinvestment on suppression that involves fighting a fire that’s ablaze and underinvestment in preventive measures that would help in the mitigation of wildfire occurrences.
Considering the natural and demographic aspects of a geographical location, it becomes cl