essay about forest fire

Effects of Forest Fires on Ecosystem Essay

Introduction, effects of forest fires on eco system, works cited.

The effects of fire on the environment and the ecosystem resources may be physical effects, biological, or even chemical. Its abiotic effects comprise the role it plays in altering the quality of air, the quality of water, the properties of soil as well as the cycling of nutrients. The biotic ones comprise the changes in vegetation and the associated impacts on flora and fauna. Fire effects come about as an outcome of an association between the heating system brought about by fire and the properties of the ecosystem. The specific fire effect on whatever components is flexible but will have to change depending on the characteristics of the site and the behavior of the fire. For instance, the effects of the burning fire in similar conditions may not be the same on soils that do not have similar textures.

It is quite important for the managers of forests to know and understand the fire effects. Fire is the basic ecosystems process in which the forest managers encounter challenges to deal with so as to achieve the objectives of the management of the ecosystem. These managers utilize fire to acquire effects that are of advantage and evade the outcomes that are not needed.

According to Gupta and Yunus (4), fire is among the greatest causes of deforestation all over the world. In the initial cultural era, the fire was the only available tool to be employed in clearing the land and making it most appropriate to facilitate easier grazing. In the current era, forest fires bring about forest deprivation by exerting prospective impact on forest crop, renewal, output, defensive power, soil, flora, and fauna. The general fire’s destruction on the forest crop is reliant on such factors as; the species that make up a portion of the crop or the forest components, the condition in which the crop is, the season and the crop’s age, and the status of the nutrients found in the soil. The breaking down of nitrogen compounds by the high temperatures brings about an additional reduction in nutrients. The forest fires bring about the great loss of flora and fauna by destroying the eggs and the young wildlife and destroying the areas in which they inhabit which is an essential component of the ecosystem of the forest.

However, according to Anon. (Wildfires 1), there has been a gathering of data by the researchers on the effects of fire on forest ecosystems. These researchers have come up with the knowledge that fires have their own positive effects and should not be completely excluded from the forests. This has resulted in coming up with a new technique referred to as prescribed fire.

In the last several years, the teams of management in forestry have realized that fire restraint has brought about quite a number of problems in the forest’s ecosystem. In the current times, it is known that fire exclusion brings about great amounts of materials that fall as well as vegetation that are thick. These materials together with the thick vegetation bring up the level of fuel on the forest’s floor and this enhances the ignition of fires. Whenever a fire is set up on the floor that is covered with large amounts of dead materials, it burns more intensely bringing about more destruction to the forest ecosystem (Rogers 7). More so, the thick vegetation has smaller trees that are found near the ground and whenever a fire is ignited, these smaller trees direct the fire to the larger older trees bringing about a crown fire.

More so, forests that have not experienced a fire for a long time may turn out to be a habitat for plant species that may not be able to adapt to fire. This is known as vegetation modification. Those plants that are able to adapt to fire possess thick barks and these barks offer protection to living tissues found inside for the heat originating from the fire. In addition, there are several species of plants that rely on heat originating from the fire that helps in the opening up of the seed cones in order to germinate. Vegetation modification affects the flora and fauna populations, diseases, the structure of the soil, and the recycling of the nutrients as well.

These issues of vegetation modification, accumulation of dead material, and the thick vegetation that are all brought about by fire suppression have triggered the turning to a technique referred to as “prescribed fire” by the managers of the forests. A prescribed fire refers to a fire that is set up by a human being or occurs naturally and is keenly controlled. The forest managers put into consideration several factors before setting up a prescribed fire. Such factors include the weather conditions, the quantity of moisture found in the dead accumulated material, the current season, the conditions of wind, humidity, and the amount of vegetation found on the floor of the forest. If all these conditions are in favor of setting up a fire, then these managers will have to plan about which area to burn.

Most of the effects of the prescribed burn are quite clear. One of these effects is that the materials found on the forest floor and the undergrowth vegetation are burned down and an open floor forest is obtained. This open forest floor does away with the likelihood of the forest experiencing an intense fire in time to come due to the absence of fuel on the floor of the forest.

After burning taking place, the ash is left and this is quite rich in nutrients. At the time when rain falls, there is the dissolving of the nutrients found in the ash in the soil which is utilized by the new plants. This is a process that is referred to as nutrient recycling. These nutrients are of great benefit to the young plants that would have to come up.

In addition, after the prescribed burn, there is a coming up of new growth just after the fires being put off. There are those that give out cones and these cones are given out at the time they are exposed to heat. This brings about the growth of new vegetation which takes advantage of the newly formed nutrients and this facilitates the thriving of the new vegetation. At this point, there is quite minimal competition for food as well as sunlight and this enables the new plants to grow at a higher rate (Anon. Role of fire in the forest ecosystems 1).

However, there have been concerns about the effects the prescribed fires can have on animals. People have raised issues that these fires might have negative effects on the animals. But on the other hand, most of the prescribed fires move quite slowly and this gives enough time for the animals to relocate to other places including those that live in the ground to dig deep in to the ground. More so, the prescribed fires are mostly set up during the seasons when the animals are taking care of the young ones or nesting. This season normally occurs in the course of the months between February to April and from September to early November. The only main threat associated with prescribed burns comes about after the burning has been carried out and the fire put off. The animals encounter hardships in the finding of food and shelter. However, majority of the animals move to the areas where burning has not occurred and later come back to inhabit their original place of stay when the vegetation has grown up.

Other concerns about the prescribed fires are in regard to air pollution. It is argued that the smoke produced during the burning brings about air pollution. This view is supported by Sandberg, Ottmar and Peterson (623) and they stress that, whereas fire is vital in bringing about the maintenance in most of the ecosystems, the emissions from the fire that pollutes air can turn out to be injurious on the health of human beings as well as their welfare. According to the aforementioned authors, the solution to this can be offered by putting in place effective programs in the management of smoke and the policies regarding the quality of the air and this has to be supported thorough research and land management agency. This solution is offered in part by the prescribed fire plan since in this plan, even if smoke is let into the atmosphere, this can not measure up to the level of smoke that is released in the conditions that are not controlled.

To this end, it has been realized that forest fires have both negative and positive effects on the ecosystem. However, there should be a distinction between wild fires and prescribed fires. The wildfires can be quite destructive to the ecosystem but on the other hand, the prescribed fires have several benefits as it has been seen. Therefore, this calls for the need to take control of the burning of fires in our forests, putting them at a particular limit. The forest managers should go on letting the prescribed fires to burn in order to ensure the sustainability of the forest ecosystem.

In conclusion, even if the long term effects of the prescribed fires are not well identified, the available evidence indicates that the benefits that come from a plan for prescribed fires are more than the benefits that could be derived in a case where such a plan is not put in place. There should be carrying out of more improvements in order to maintain fire prescription as an important practice. More research should be carried out in regard to the long term effects of the prescribed fires. More so, there should be rising of the public awareness about prescribed fires. This is a point where human beings should come to a realization that fire gave shape to the forests that are seen nowadays and there should be no letting the forest ecosystems to gradually diminish away.

Anon. Role of fire in the forest ecosystems, Slideshare Inc . 2009. Web.

Anon. Wildfires. Ajwaters. 2010. Web.

Gupta Anil K. and Yunus, M., Forest fire and ecosystem-health, Environews. 1998. Web.

Rogers, Chris. How does fire affect the ecosystem? eHow Inc. 2010. Web.

Sandberg D, Ottmar R, and Peterson J. Fire Effects on Air quality. Forest Encyclopedia Network . 2008. Web.

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The Ecological Benefits of Fire

Wildfires are destructive forces, but they can occur naturally. Because of this, certain plants and animals have evolved to depend on periodic wildfires for ecological balance. Prescribed burns can mimic the benefits of wildfires while also lowering the risks associated with larger, uncontrolled fires.

Karner Blue Caterpillar

The food source for the Karner blue butterfly caterpillar (Lycaeides melissa samuelis) is a plant called wild lupine (Lupine perennis). The wild lupine requires fire to reduce overhanging plants that otherwise would outcompete it for needed sunlight.

Photograph by Science Stock

The year 2019 marked 75 years of Smokey Bear, the advertising icon of the United States Forest Service who encourages visitors and campers to prevent wildfires . Wildfires are destructive forces that can result from natural causes (like lightning), human-caused accidents (like cigarettes and campfires), or deliberate acts of arson . Despite Smokey’s education campaigns, wildfires burned about four million hectares (10 million acres) of land during 2017, and in 2018, a single California wildfire , the “Camp Fire” destroyed nearly 20,000 structures and killed more than 80 people, with insured losses topping $10 billion. However, while these frightening and negative consequences dominate news headlines, forest fires have a positive side. Controlled use of wildland fires for positive environmental effects is common around the world. While a wildfire refers to an unintentional, uncontrolled fire, the term “wildland fire” is broader and includes fires purposefully set as part of prescribed burns. While all fires have the potential to become dangerous to property and life, prescribed, or controlled, burns are planned extensively and performed with tight safety parameters. Humans have been performing such burns for thousands of years and for multiple reasons, but, today, they are mainly used to promote ecological health and prevent larger, more damaging, uncontrolled fires. It might seem counterintuitive that a fire, which burns plant life and endangers animals within an ecosystem , could promote ecological health. But fire is a natural phenomenon, and nature has evolved with its presence. Many ecosystems benefit from periodic fires, because they clear out dead organic material—and some plant and animal populations require the benefits fire brings to survive and reproduce. For example, as dead or decaying plants begin to build up on the ground, they may prevent organisms within the soil from accessing nutrients or block animals on the land from accessing the soil. This coating of dead organic matter can also choke outgrowth of smaller or new plants. When humans perform a prescribed burn, the goal is to remove that layer of decay in a controlled manner, allowing the other, healthy parts of the ecosystem to thrive. Moreover, nutrients released from the burned material, which includes dead plants and animals, return more quickly into the soil than if they had slowly decayed over time. In this way, fire increases soil fertility —a benefit that has been exploited by farmers for centuries. Several plants actually require fire to move along their life cycles. For example, seeds from many pine tree species are enclosed in pine cones that are covered in pitch, which must be melted by fire for the seeds to be released. Other trees, plants, and flowers, like certain types of lilies, also require fire for seed germination. Even some animals depend on fire. The sole food source for the endangered Karner blue butterfly caterpillar ( Lycaeides melissa samuelis ) is a plant called wild lupine ( Lupine perennis ). Wild lupine requires fire to maintain an ecosystem balance in which it can thrive. Without fire, the lupines do not flourish, and the caterpillars cannot consume enough food to undergo metamorphosis and become butterflies. In this way, healthier, post-burn plant populations generally have broad food web effects that trickle up to the foragers and other animals in the ecosystem . Similarly, animals that use pine trees for their homes benefit from the germinating powers of fire. Perhaps surprisingly, the animal casualties from wildfires are low—animals survive by burrowing into the ground or fleeing to safer areas. Conversely, fires can help rid an ecosystem of invasive species that have not adapted to regular wildland fires. While animals and plants within fire-prone ecosystems have adapted to thrive within a cycle of wildfires , invasive plants and animals are less likely to recover and could thus be controlled or even eradicated from the ecosystem they invaded. Moreover, prescribed burns are well established as a way to prevent more devastating naturally occurring fires. The buildup of decaying organic matter on the ground is fuel for wildfires . Without periodic fire to clear this out, a naturally occurring fire may grow and move quickly, doing much more damage that a prescribed burn—and without its safety parameters. In the end, it is true that the burden of preventing uncontrolled wildfires lies with humanity. Smokey Bear’s message is right—nearly 85 percent of wildfires originate from human activity, and we have to take action to prevent these damaging fires. But suppression is not enough. Nature needs fire, and ecologically benefits from periodic burning. In fact, suppression alone might make matters worse, depriving nature of its equivalent of spring cleaning and leading to hotter, larger blazes when built-up forest decay finally catches flame. Understanding and appreciating the benefits of fire is the only way to truly keep our homes, population , and ecosystem safe from its dangers.

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Review article, “forest fire emissions: a contribution to global climate change”.

• 1 CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute, Lucknow, India
• 2 Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, India

Forest fires are emitting substantial amounts of greenhouse gases and particulate matter into the atmosphere than assumed in state climate targets. It can play an important role in combustible environments, such as shrublands, grasslands, and forests, and contribute to climate change. Thus, forest fire, and climate change is intertwined concepts. As vegetation burns, release the carbon stored within them. This is the main reason why large-scale forest fires release atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and hence, are responsible for increasing the rate of climate change to a great extent. It is extremely significant to measure the contribution of global forest fire and emissions trends of greenhouse gases. In this context, continental-scale carbon emissions assessments were primarily attempted using ground-based datasets for forest ecosystem fires. Considerable research has been published employing remote sensing data from coast to coast. While ground-based data are valuable, they have some restrictions that can be overcome by remote sensing. Ground-based fire data are primarily limited to the total burned area, with their completeness changing yearly with the location. Remote sensing can provide additional spatio-temporal fire information to improve fire emission estimates. In this paper, the factors driving forest fire, with a brief discussion on the triangular relationship between fire, land degradation, and climate change, the role of Remote Sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS), machine learning (ML), and a critical overview of state-of-the-art global climate change are presented.

Introduction

Forests are predominantly significant because they stabilize the environment, regulate the carbon cycle, and make available habitation to thousands of existing living forms ( Aju et al., 2015 ; Balla et al., 2021 ). Forest ecosystems are a grouping of topography, geology, species, and climate that are bound together by physical and biological processes specific to a single site, and are most essentially occupied by trees as the dominant undergrowth ( Van Dijk, 2019 ; Zhumadina et al., 2021 ). A forest ecosystem can be as small as a tree branch microsite where various microbes, insects, and mosses interact or as large as a boreal forest that surrounds the Earth at northern latitudes ( Ménard et al., 2019 ). The more this area is extended, the more complex the potential interactions. Forestry is one of the oldest customs of agricultural practice, resulting from the need for human inhabitants to capture and cultivate tree species to supply their basic requirements such as shelter, food, clothing, and heat ( Butler and Schultz, 2019 ; Jhariya et al., 2019 ). Furthermore, “The Rio Convention,” “United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),” “United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),” and “United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD),” all eminent organizations acknowledge the important contribution of the forests. And all of them together are making constant efforts to increase the synergy of the purpose related to its conservation.

Forest fire is one of the unpredictable natural calamities and has caused tremendous damage to humans, animals and nature, as well as extinction and economic loss to the inhabitants ( Mateus and Gaspar, 2018 ; Kizer, 2020 ; Singh and Suresh Babu, 2021 ). A tiny spark in the forest or the sun’s heat can also cause a devastating fire. A forest fire can spread rapidly throughout a forest in a second, once a fire has started it can spread at a speed of 23 km per hour, catching everything in its path ( Kahanji et al., 2019 ; Mangiameli et al., 2021 ). The shifting climate could affect some areas more vulnerable to fire and increase the fire occurrence in existing hot spots. It coupled with hot, dry conditions are likely to increase the threat, timing and rigorousness of forest fires. Fire is almost certain to become a growing factor influencing the condition and durability in sensitive areas. Forest fires are an almost constant threat to life, an impact that cannot be reduced but they are also a threat to the environment and can be seen in the form of climate change ( Burke et al., 2021 ; Ertugrul et al., 2021 ). Thus, forest fire and climate change is intertwined concepts.

Figure 1 shows a relational diagram created with VOS Viewer ® software, using a network mechanism (based on the frequency of occurrence) on the primary issues related to climate change. Major associations with “forest fires,” “greenhouse gases,” “carbon dioxide,” and “carbon emissions.” The factors responsible for climate change are depicted in this review paper.

Figure 1. Keywords correlation map using VOS viewer software (Database: scopus and number of articles: 250 documents).

This paper is focused solely on forest fire, climate change, and carbon dioxide emissions to study its effects. Closely related research works embraced by several researchers. Seidl et al. (2014) studied increasing forest disturbances in Europe and their impact on carbon storage. Study show that this intensification can offset the effect of management strategies aiming to increase the forest carbon sink, and calculate the disturbance-related reduction of the carbon storage potential in Europe’s forests to be 503.4 Tg C in 2021–2030. Boer et al. (2020) assessed the burn area of Australian mega forest (temperate broadleaf) fires between September 2019 and early January 2020. Schneising et al. (2020) , studied carbon dioxide emissions from forest fires into the atmosphere in Russia. They also explained the potential role of the model in providing possible scenarios for future forest fire events and the likelihood of its distribution in the context of climate change. Masyagina (2021) , studied carbon dioxide emitted by fire-affected forest ecosystems in Siberia and local estimates of vegetation recovery. Isaev et al. (2002) used remote sensing techniques to assess Russian forest fire carbon emissions. In this paper, they discuss a remote sensing-based approach to assessing forest fire damage. Which is based on vegetation indices obtained from multi-spectral high-resolution satellite imagery. A normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) difference image was generated from the SPOT/HRVIR and RESURS-O/MSU-E images from pre- and post-fire satellite images. The study found a close relationship between temporal NDVI values and the level of forest damage. They estimated carbon emissions from burned forest areas using forest fire extent and damage mapping. From a global scientific perspective, there is a serious requirement to focus on forest fire emissions for a sustainable environment. The great harbinger of technological development that has led to innovations in the field of forest fire and climate change studies is undoubtedly the development of remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) ( Chuvieco et al., 2010 ; Ahmad and Goparaju, 2018 ; Ahmad et al., 2019 ). Due to the emerging importance of the topic, this article provides a detailed review of forest fire emissions and their contribution to global climate change.

In this review, a brief overview of remote sensing, GIS applications for global forest fire monitoring is presented. Initially, a comprehensive analysis of the factors driving forest fires is presented, with a brief discussion on its relationship with biodiversity, land degradation, and climate change, and state-of-the-art monitoring based on remote sensing and GIS.

Forest fire factors

Concerning environmental aspects, those associated with fuel, weather, and topography are the most substantial drivers of forest fire ignition. In recent years, forest fire regimes have been shifting in several parts of the world with substantial variations between climatic regions ( Pausas and Fernández-Muñoz, 2012 ; Stephens et al., 2013 ; Reid et al., 2016 ). Thus, appreciative of the connection between fires and driving factors in diverse climatic zones is essential. Fire incidence outcomes from a combination of propagation and ignition. Lightning from Cloud-to-ground and, to a minor extent, human activity is the principal ignition source in forest ecosystems ( Menezes et al., 2022 ). There are three types of forces that typically regulate the fire spread: fuel, weather, and topography, as abbreviated by the “Fire Environment Triangle” ( Krawchuk et al., 2016 ; Figure 2 ).

Figure 2. Fire environment triangle.

The fuel type itself reflects the characteristics of the fuel properties and has analytically significant implications for regulating fire-environment interactions by shifting the fuel moisture content, the flammable potential of the fuel, and fire characteristics related to the moisture present in the vegetation ecosystem. Topography also affects fires spreading in a straight line by changing wind patterns, and by controlling fuel moisture conditions through sunlight exposure and humidity pooling ( Rogers, 2017 ). Finally, fire climate is often the major supplier for forest fire events on a disproportionate temporal scale through effects on fuel moisture content and fire explosion source. Fire hazard ranking systems, which indirectly or directly bundle climate impacts on fuel moisture, have been established to capture the broader effect of weather on potential fire escalation and to measure the likelihood of fire risk ( Pook and Gill, 1993 ; Liu et al., 2014 ; He et al., 2022 ).

Relationship between forest fire, land degradation, and climate change

Forests cover about 30% of the world’s terrestrial surface and provide water, food, shelter, feed, nutrient cycling, and important ecosystem goods and features with cultural and divergent values ( Zhou et al., 2021 ). Forests store carbon on their own, providing inhabitance for a wide-ranging flora-fauna species and helping to reduce land degradation ( Gupta, 2019 ). These ecosystems help in maintaining healthy, stable soils, provide protection and habitat for the forest’s natural biodiversity, and deliver more stable carbon reserves. However, forests are increasingly vulnerable as a result of deforestation ( Mahmoud et al., 2020 ), climate change ( Tabor et al., 2018 ), forest fire ( Schoennagel et al., 2017 ) and other stressors that can be associated to human actions. Climate change is highly expected to cause major forest life alterations in the near future ( Zamora-Gutierrez et al., 2021 ). The dynamics of uncertainty, which happens when forest ecology is out of equilibrium with environment, is potentially a major characteristic of these. Forest fire, in particular, is anticipated to effect on forest biodiversity and the ability of land degradation, habitat loss and other distortion of other ecosystem services ( Scholes et al., 2018 ). It is not wrong to say that forest fires have negative effects on forest biodiversity, land degradation and climate change ( Figure 3 ). Forest fires show an association between weather, climate conditions and ecosystem progressions, they are closely intertwined and ultimately affecting ecosystem services.

Figure 3. Negative impact of forest fire.

Impact of fire emission on climate change

Every year, forest fires destroy acres of land around the world, biodiversity of flora and fauna, and acting as a major source of aerosol and greenhouse gas emissions ( Koristekova et al., 2020 ; Wokekoro, 2020 ; Shah, 2022 ). This is a very hot topic for scientists to observe the implications of forest fire emission, as its effects are increasing from time to time in the developing world due to different substantial expansions. Over the years, there has been cumulative evidence about the impact of CO 2 emissions from industrialized systems on global warming ( McGlade and Ekins, 2015 ; Allen et al., 2019 ). This misery has extended to other so-called greenhouse gases, particularly the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), methane, and nitrogen oxides (NO x ) ( Boettcher, 2021 ). Few efforts have been made to measure the emissions of these gases. Due to the burning of large forest areas globally every year, the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere by forest fires increases significantly. The contribution of these emissions to global warming has been found to be a significant factor ( Grace, 2004 ; Van der Werf et al., 2010 ; Dong et al., 2022 ). Conversely, climate change due to global warming are largely responsible for the increased incidence of forest fires.

There is a need for a new indebtedness for what we are calling “pyrodiversity,” or the wide dissimilarity in the effects and fire responses ( Roberts et al., 2021 ). Measuring spatio-temporal fire systems has many inaccuracies, a huge range of variation, and very little accuracy ( Reinhardt et al., 2008 ; DellaSala et al., 2022 ), more studies are required for the full gradient of fire’s effects. Previous estimates of fire severity and amount of carbon release have often been high and perhaps in many cases underestimated ( Van Der Werf et al., 2017 ). French et al. (2011) investigates the carbon release have been based on studies of forests in Canada and America. Most of the carbon emissions do not come directly from trees, but from other pieces of them such as brush, forest floors, leaf litter and even from under the ground. In the past few years, only a few sustained efforts have been made to very accurately assess the effects of fire on trees or on carbon dynamics ( McCarthy et al., 2010 ). Even when a very severe fire event covers almost all trees, the trees stand still and only fall to the floor, rot, and lose their carbon very slowly over many years ( Campbell et al., 2016 ). Grass and shrubs quickly grow back some time after a high-intensity fire, releasing some of the carbon from dead and decomposing trees. And in several scrupulous burned areas, the researchers normally observed generous tree revival, which would result in comparatively rapid retrieval of carbon uptake and storage ( Smith, 1974 ).

It is predicted that a major fire in the near future could turn the forest from a carbon sink to a source of atmospheric carbon ( Churkina et al., 2020 ). Since fire activities are rapid, while greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, climate change mitigation approaches focus primarily on human-caused emissions, which will have a greater impact than those that underlie forest fires. For a more accurate memorandum, estimates of carbon impacts are in dire need to better understand the severity, the impact of non-tree responses, and the essence of below-ground processes ( Hartter et al., 2020 ). Even though it appears that the whole thing is burning in a forest fire, it is not so. Trees do not disappear completely even during high-intensity fires, but their resilience capacity is significantly affected ( Stephens et al., 2012 ). The destruction of fires has resulted in a short-term decline in greenhouse gases, but fire will still be an integral and essential part of the forest ecosystem on a long-term basis. The researchers supposed that global warming could lead to complex levels of forest fires and associated global carbon emissions in the future, even though there are several doubts present about how climate change will affect forest ecosystems, and there is no such warning that the incidence of forest fires will increase.

The need to study the relationship between environmental factors and forest fires is important to reduce risk ( Cascio, 2018 ; Kim et al., 2019 ; Abram et al., 2021 ). Forest fires can be accomplished by reducing the resilience of existing ecosystems, clearing forests, and protecting the diverse flora and fauna, human life, and property that constitute the biodiversity.

Role of remote sensing and geographic information systems

Forest researchers are working with other forest fire experts to assess the representation of forest fire risk, forest vegetation, and fuels, investigating how a changing climate is shifting risk as part of comprehensive adaptation measures ( Roy, 2003 ; Williamson et al., 2019 ; Cheng and Dale, 2020 ). Forest burning is a major cause of carbon in the atmosphere ( Lasslop et al., 2019 ); Therefore, it is an important aspect to consider while assessing climate change at the global level. Additionally, familiarity with spatio-temporal emission patterns is essential for assessing their impact on atmospheric dynamics to advance global atmospheric models as well as to encounter the international Kyoto Protocol agreement.

Precise accounting of carbon cycling is of paramount importance for understanding and modeling global climate change. Until now, continental-scale estimates of carbon emissions were mainly made for forest ecosystem fires using ground-based fire datasets ( Chuvieco et al., 2018 ; Desservettaz et al., 2022 ). There have been some attempts to employ remote sensing data from coast to coast. While ground-based data are valuable, they have some restrictions that can be overcome by remote sensing ( Li et al., 2000 ; Wu et al., 2018 ; Barmpoutis et al., 2020 ). Ground-based fire data are primarily limited to the total burned area, their quality and completeness varying from year to year and region to region. Remote sensing can provide additional spatial and temporal fire information to improve fire emission estimates ( Krylov et al., 2014 ; Oliveras et al., 2014 ; Chuvieco et al., 2020 ). Even though the changing aspects of global fires are driven by climatic factors ( Turco et al., 2018 ; Teckentrup et al., 2019 ), several authors have ascribed the inter-annual variability of forest burning ( Kelley et al., 2019 ). For example, in tropical regions, temperatures, and the length of the dry season can vary greatly, greatly affecting the characteristics of fires. Thus, when monitoring emissions on a continuous temporal scale, changing parameters according to seasonal anomalies would be an important step ( Ware et al., 2019 ). Different spatio-temporal scales have also been allied in the last few years, in the direction of a more inclusive valuation of fire assessment. In addition, increasing the use of remote sensing (RS) products by atmospheric modelers involves a clear concern about adding models and observations ( Chuvieco et al., 2020 ). Emissions estimation consists of various optimized models at several spatio-temporal scales ( Biggart et al., 2020 ). While local assessments and dimensions are important for identifying emission mechanisms ( Bhattacharjee and Chen, 2020 ), local and global assessments are important for measuring emission’s effects on the atmosphere and global climate patterns. Models with a high spatial resolution ( Andrée et al., 2019 ) provide a global assessment of spatial variability that models often miss but include more comprehensive information and are problematic for specifying global scales.

The direct measurements of trace gas released during a fire have been implemented through field measurements ( Andreae, 2019 ), as well as through remote sensing analysis of smoke components ( Ichoku, 2020 ). Both field and remote sensing gas emissions measurements require simultaneity with active fires, either experimental or actual ones. Direct measurement of trace gas released during a fire has been instigated through field measurements ( Kawa et al., 2018 ), as well as remote sensing analysis of smoke constituents ( Ansmann et al., 2018 ). Active fire, as well as actual fire, are both required for emissions measurement via remote sensing. It is difficult due to operational complications to coordinate measurement operations with fire activity. The secondary approach to estimating emissions is based on a model that assimilates the input variables involved in the procedure in different ways ( Talerko et al., 2021 ). This method makes it possible to integrate burned area maps with independent estimates of the input variable values. On the downside, these studies present more factors of uncertainty due to error propagation effects when different input variables are considered. Most of these emissions models take into account biomass weight, burning efficiency, burned areas, and combustion parameters. Remote sensing is an exceptional source of information to obtain some of the input parameters required for those models ( Jaffe et al., 2020 ). Since remote sensors measure the same physical variables at different resolutions, the use of remotely sensed data in emission models can deliver important sustenance for spatial scaling, while considering spatial variations, mainly expanding when working with input variables at different levels ( Wei and Barros, 2021 ). Advancement in data fusion techniques may afford a solid framework for this integration in the near future ( Kalantar et al., 2020 ). Moreover, the temporal frequency of remote sensing interpretations can significantly improve time-domain estimates of gas emissions ( Table 1 ).

Table 1. Application of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) in fire emission monitoring.

a. Quantification of greenhouse gas emission

Spatial-sequential greenhouse gas emissions, i.e., carbon, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), methane (CH 4 ), nitrous oxide (N 2 O), NO x , and particulate matter are the major components that are estimated through the NPP. The NPP measures the ecological impact of forest fires and the associated damage in highly intensive ecosystems.

b. Release of carbon into the atmosphere

The inventory emissions of greenhouse gas emitted under forest fires are calculated using guidelines provided by the Heath et al. (2011) , Baglivo et al. (2020) . Seiler and Crutzen (1980) , proposed a simple mathematical formula to calculate the emission of any chemical gas or particle species.

E = emission of a gas (x) or particulate matter from fire (g); BA = burned area (ha); FL = fuel density or loading (kg/ha); FF = fraction of fuel consumed (%); EF = emission factor for gas (x) or particulate matter (g/kg). In contrast, it has been an intimidating mission to acquire any of these variables from the aerial, ground, or space-borne observations. Almost none of them are insignificant to obtain from the observation platform or modeling. To effectively use different types of spatial data in raster or vector formats, GIS-based emission modeling systems have been potentially developed. For forest fire emission estimation, key fire emission characteristics can be obtained from satellites and other sources as model inputs. These include burned region, degree of burn, fuel loading, above-ground biomass, burning environments, emission factors, etc. Before the system can run, the input data desires to be attained, revised and converted as separate attribute data stratums. The system involves numerous integrated subsystems that pretend burning processes. The method needs to be able to use RS data in conjunction with conventional data to increase the assessment of carbon emissions and cycling.

c. Remote sesning monitoring and post-fire recovery

Forest fire is one of the most disturbing types around the globe. For this reason, characterizing fire disruption and monitoring post-fire restoration are appropriate topics both for ecological and management resolutions. Krawchuk et al. (2020) presented an article on models, methods, and sensors associated with this topic. Post-fire recovery analysis should be associated with an alive conception of environmental drivers that affect the retrieval processes. In this sense, the post-fire renaissance depends on biotic and abiotic influences, but slight is still recognized about how these factors are interrelated in natural retrieval procedures after fire disruption. Numerous studies have used topographical variables as drivers of post-fire undergrowth retrieval ( Roula et al., 2020 ; Han et al., 2021 ; Chen et al., 2022 ), while some other researchers have highlighted the importance of burn rigorousness to describe renewal forms ( Trumper et al., 2020 ). The heritage effects have also been assessed, as well as forest configuration before the fire incident. Spatial properties, such as adjacent remoteness to an unburned zone, a substitution of edge effect, or tree species features have also been recognized as important drivers of retrieval ( Singh, 2015 ). The comparative prominence of these variables and their interface in the fire renaissance procedure remnants are still mainly unknown. Recent development in fire recovery monitoring is based on using temporal RS datasets, especially since 2008 when the US Geological Survey (USGS) released accessibility to the Landsat datasets. This fact has enhanced the examination of past trends, and it has incremented the number of approaches and submissions to illustrate the ecosystem retort to forest fires. Vegetation indexes such as NDVI (normalized ratio of red and near-infrared reflectance), and its derivatives such as dNBR, and RdNBR are widely used in forest fire monitoring. Baglivo et al. (2020) suggested using NDVI, which generally captures chlorophyll concentration and green covering, for tracing initial periods of the ancillary succession in Italy.

Machine learning in forest fire monitoring

Understanding the consequences of forest fires is a hot topic for scientists, as its effects accumulate over time in different ways in developing countries. It is highly likely to cause major climate change shortly ( Littell et al., 2016 ). The dynamics of imbalance, which occurs when forest ecology is out of balance with climate, is potentially a major feature of these. A large part of fire modeling work relies on deterministic, biophysical models to conclude its impact assessments ( Briassoulis, 2020 ). Accurate fire mapping is critical for projecting climate change impacts associated with major control and eco-environmental impacts and in turn mitigation policy. The use of technological innovations such as various tools and software can support forest managers with systematic analysis desirable for sustainable management and conservation strategies. Over the past decade, machine learning (ML) approaches have revolutionized scientific discovery across disciplines, including Earth informatics, image processing-based applications ( Sarker, 2021 ), satellite imagery ( Abburu and Golla, 2015 ), sensor signal processing ( Hong et al., 2015 ), big data processing ( Zheng et al., 2018 ), etc. ML is defined as a technique that perceives patterns in datasets, and uses the exposed arrays to forecast future statistics or other consequences of interest. It is a division of AI statistics, that majorly focuses on constructing descriptive and predictive models for a given problem using specific collected datasets. ML modeling is widely used in forest fire monitoring, including all relevant physical properties, i.e., its composition, weather condition, and topography. Numerous algorithms have been developed to characterize and evaluate the responses to fire disturbances in the forest ecosystem ( Šerić et al., 2018 ; Kalantar et al., 2020 ). Various empirical models have been also used to simulate post-fire foliage retrieval. Wildfire modeling forecasting techniques include physics-based simulators that rely on planners to make many important decisions regarding the allocation of scarce firefighting resources in the event of a fire. However, these physics-based simulators have some restrictions: they generally provide very low accuracy, have a likelihood bias in the areas where they are intended to be used, and often due to the large number of It is difficult to design and implement ( Taylor et al., 2013 ). An early and reliable estimate of fire severity assessment at the field level is essential for the formulation of forest ecosystem policies and strategic plans to protect the environment. The use of ML algorithms for fire monitoring is extremely helpful in sustainability concerns ( Jain et al., 2020 ).

Forest fire continues to end huge forest areas worldwide, mortifying ecosystem services, instigating biodiversity loss, and endangering livelihood sources. It also adds to global warming generally by freeing greenhouse gases from biomass burning and allied soil deterioration. These influences are anticipated to exacerbate by increasing fire occurrences partly intensified by climate change. Despite these major challenges, forest fire management in the area is inadequate by a lack of appropriate policy, capacity building, and mechanical equipment. This is additionally convoluted by diverse topography and antagonistic climatic conditions. This situation demands a vigorous method to fire management comprising a global comprehensive policy recommendation. A such parameter must be inclusive and adequate to embrace different fire management interferences by a dissimilar community. However, such research must be deeply rooted in empirical knowledge generated from robust scientific knowledge about forest fire dynamics, causes, and effects under climate change scenarios. This review highlights the need to understand forest fire mechanisms, risks under global environmental changes, and the use of remote sensing to achieve sustainable outcomes. Based on the verdicts, this review recommends scientific studies for forest fires: (i) Forest fire assessment helps to compile the frequency of fires, the area burned, in general, and to identify the ecological and socio-economic impacts. (ii) Evaluation of fire effectiveness capability helps management at scenario levels. (iii) Development of climate adaptive indicators including other climate disasters. (iv) Further, the review also points to the need for a more remote sensing-based approach at the community level to create awareness about forest fire management. This study is extremely important, as it can be widely used to address the increasing frequency and severity of fire disasters, and climate crises, around the world. Consequently improved satellite-derived indexes, integrating ground-based inventory into fire interference investigation and making it more accurate.

Conclusion and need for future research

Increasing considerations today focus on climate change as a major aspect of increasing fire association, but researchers and policymakers are only looking at the role of fire emissions in the global carbon cycle as a response to the climate system. Global fire emissions are key components in appropriated carbon movement through terrestrial ecosystems into the atmosphere and other adjacent ecosystems. The increase in high-energy release fires that accompany climate change could accelerate carbon cycling from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere. The traditional monitoring technique is very laborious and expensive. Various studies have been conducted for the estimation of carbon emissions and other trace gases in many countries by combining remote sensing data with forest fire inventory. It is of utmost importance in future research to conduct field experiments to test the generality of forest fire parameters on a global scale. Estimates are slightly restricted by the spatiotemporal availability of high-resolution remote sensing data. However, coarse-resolution satellites, such as SPOT, AVHRR, and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS), can provide more fire-relevant data, including emissions, severity, and combustion efficiency. Therefore improving fire detection algorithms, reducing data processing and noise as well as incorporating RS data into fire disturbance research can enable and make it more accurate. In contrast, the ML-based method is preferred for conducting fire assessment and surveillance. This integration provides beneficial information that may be useful for measuring the implications of wildfire management.

Author contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

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Keywords : forest fire, emissions, greenhouse gases, climate change, remote sensing, GIS, machine learning

Citation: Singh S (2022) “Forest fire emissions: A contribution to global climate change”. Front. For. Glob. Change 5:925480. doi: 10.3389/ffgc.2022.925480

Received: 21 April 2022; Accepted: 07 November 2022; Published: 29 November 2022.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2022 Singh. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Swati Singh, [email protected]

This article is part of the Research Topic

Forest Fire Emissions and Their Impact on Global Climate Change

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Wildfires Are Intensifying. Here’s Why, and What Can Be Done.

The danger from flames and smoke is growing as blazes spread more swiftly and unpredictably as a consequence of climate change. Here are answers to five important questions.

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By Winston Choi-Schagrin

By nearly every metric, the wildfires in the Western United States are worsening. They are growing larger, spreading faster and reaching higher, scaling mountain elevations that previously were too wet and cool to have supported fires this fierce.

They are also getting more intense, killing a greater number of trees and eliminating entire patches of forest.

“Ten years ago, we weren’t really seeing fires move like that,” said Lenya Quinn-Davidson, a fire adviser for the University of California Cooperative Extension, referring to 2021’s Bootleg Fire , which began July 6 and at one point consumed more than fifty thousand acres in a single day.

Here’s what is driving these changes and what can be done about it.

Why are wildfires worsening?

Wildfires require a spark and fuel. In the forests of the Western United States, half of wildfires are initiated by lightning. The other half are human-caused — frequently started by power lines, cigarettes, cars, camp fires or arson.

In recent years, there’s been an abundance of very dry fuel. Drought and high heat can kill trees and dry out dead grass, pine needles, and any other material on the bottom of the forest floor that act as kindling when a fire sweeps through a forest.

Wildfire experts see the signature of climate change in the dryness, high heat and longer fire season that have made these fires more extreme. “We wouldn’t be seeing this giant ramp up in fire activity as fast as it is happening without climate change,” said Park Williams, a climate scientist at UCLA. “There’s just no way.”

These conditions have been exacerbated by fire-suppression policies. Before the modern settlement of the American West, forested land in the region burned naturally from lightning or else was intentionally burned by native communities as a form of forest maintenance. But for the past hundred years, most Western states have suppressed fires. That has led to increasingly dense forests and ample brush on the forest floors.

“We’re primed for fire,” Ms. Quinn-Davidson said.

Meet the People Burning California to Save It

Frequent, low-intensity fires known as prescribed burns are one of the best ways to stop wildfires. so why isn’t california lighting more of them.

“Do not stay. Your house is not going to make it. You have got to go now. Let’s go.” California is reckoning with a terrifying new normal. Announcer: “100 percent of California is now in a drought.” “It’s never been hotter. Feels like we’re in an oven.” Announcer: “The worst possible conditions for firefighters.” And it’s fueling a movement to radically rethink how we deal with fire. “If you think about a typical person’s experience with wildfire, what they see, of course, is fire at its worst. They think, ‘Oh my goodness, you’re going to deliberately start a fire? Are you guys insane?’” Setting fire to stop fire isn’t a new idea, it’s an ancient practice. And for decades, experts have been saying we need to bring it back. “The thing that prescribed fire does, is actually removes the fuels — leaves and branches and grass — and the things that allow fire to burn. So if we can use prescribed fire, they’re not there when the wildfire comes through.” But we’re still not doing it nearly enough. To understand why, we followed some of the most dedicated prescribed burners in the state who are taking a risk to try to save California. “It’s a mission for me. It’s a cause. This has to happen. OK, we’re good. As we’re moving in, if you have a torch, know your path, see your path, see your exit, and then have a secondary, OK?” Sarah Gibson works for a local fire department in Sonoma County. She’s using her experience fighting fires to become an expert at lighting them. She’s training to become what’s called a burn boss. “I’ve been working towards being a burn boss for 16 years. I have taken fire behavior and weather classes, fire ecology classes, smoke management.” “This is changing the battlefield, changing the landscape. The first prescribed burn inside a city limits in the County of Sonoma, probably ever.” Cal Fire does some prevention work, like this burn today. But most of the time, they’re putting fires out. “I think the fire agency has come to the realization that we only can get so much prescribed burning done, because we also are responding to fires. At some point, it totally takes prescribed burning off the table.” To do this work at a scale that would make a difference, California needs more burn bosses. The situation is dire. Homes like these, nestled amongst trees, span California. Without fire-safe measures, they can become kindling. Some of the residents here have evacuated the last four years in a row. “Literally, it’s our back fence is where they’re burning right now. They’ve been prepping for a long time. They took a huge fuel load out two months ago, and then waited for the wind to die down.” “Let’s just start with the one really close. Nice and tight. We got a lot of people watching. We want this to stay small, I think this is making people a little sketchy, OK?” “I can empathize with people who are concerned about prescribed fire. Culturally, we believed that fire was bad. It had to be excluded from our wildlands.” “Remember, only you can prevent forest fires.” Singing: “Smokey the Bear.” “Smokey was kind of the messenger for the campaign that started almost 110 years ago, where we promoted complete suppression of wildfire in our land.” “A shift of the wind can trap these men, but fearlessly they battled the red enemy till the fire lies in smoldering defeat.” But much of the state evolved with fire. It actually needs it to thrive. “When we have fire at normal intervals, the forests are also better protected from things like drought, things like bug infestations.” Native Californians knew this. For tribes like the Karuk, burning was a key part of the culture until the government first banned it in 1850. Now, an estimated 20 million acres of forest land here need fuel reduction, like tree thinning and prescribed burning. The state and the Forest Service have pledged to treat 1 million acres a year by 2025, but last year, they did less than a third of that. “When you compare that to the August Complex Fire, which burned a million acres, we have a long way to go.” “250 gallons of water, 300 feet of hose with a certain amount of tease —” One way to treat more land is to train private burn bosses to add to the work the government is doing. “Fire management and prescribed fire are typically only conducted by federal and state agencies. We need everyone at the table. Jim, did you have a question?” Lenya Quinn-Davidson helped design California’s first burn boss state certification course. Sarah is in the inaugural class. But training is only the first hurdle. “One of the things that burn bosses in California, including myself, are facing right now, is this disconnect between perceived risk and actual risk, and that translates into difficulty in getting insurance for what we do. It comes to a point down there for what I recall and then we just —” Experienced burn bosses like Phil Dye rarely lose control of a burn. For example, the Forest Service says its burns go as planned over 99 percent of the time. But problems can happen. “So if you’re a federal or state burn boss, you are indemnified as long as you’re doing your job and you’re being diligent, and operating within your scope of duty.” “I mean, you have a consistent fuel, right?” “But with these private burn bosses, they are personally liable if something goes wrong. There are some important changes happening this year.” Now, Lenya Quinn-Davidson is trying to fix the liability problem. “So I see these two points, the liability piece and the insurance piece, as top priorities.” She’s advising California lawmakers on two fronts: a state-backed claims fund for damages and a Senate bill that’s on track to pass. “Encouraging more use of the prescribed fire that currently occurs in the state is the goal of S.B. 332.” “So what’s your plan for —” If these two measures go through, private burners wouldn’t have to risk going broke. But until then … “There really isn’t any great way around the liability. I will only put fire on the ground when I’m confident that either it’s not going to escape or if it escapes, I’m going to immediately catch it.” “They are really risking everything to do this work. And that’s not a model for growth. That’s not a way to encourage this work.” “Got everybody? OK, so safety is my utmost concern here. So please, I do expect everyone to be using their full P.P.E. today.” Today, weather conditions are perfect for a safe burn: no real wind and just the right amount of moisture in the air. “All right. We’re going to start our test fire.” The border around the burn area was mowed a couple of days ago. Wetting it ensures the fire stops there. Fire will always run uphill, so the team lights at the highest point. That way, the flames stay short and controlled until they burn out. “Watch out — rattlesnake. Everyone move back.” Meanwhile, the holding team is monitoring for any spot fire escapes. “You know, here we are, private entities, putting fire on the ground. Ten years ago, this would have been unthinkable. The need is great and the resources are few. We need to keep it moving forward.” With climate change fueling one record fire season after another, political winds are starting to shift. “We’re investing in prevention and preparation today and the federal government is going to have to have your backs.” California’s new budget has more funding than ever for wildfire prevention. “Advancing more prescribed burns in this state, more home hardening support in this state.” Cooperatives of prescribed fire volunteers are popping up across the state, and communities on the ground are starting to embrace it also. “And I stay packed for half a year, and I’ve already packed a lot of my things, so hopefully I won’t need to pull them out of the house and put them in the car to get out of here now.” “I think that after having to evacuate and rebuild, that people are ready to see good fire come back. They understand now, and people are just ready to do something about it.”

So what exactly is an “extreme” fire?

Al Lawson, an incident commander for the Bootleg Fire in Oregon, described its behavior as “among the most extreme you can find.” But what does that mean?

Experts think about wildfires according to metrics including intensity, rate of spread, and severity.

Fire intensity refers to its power, or the energy released from its blaze. Satellites measure the energy and temperature of fires, and research has shown that the power of these blazes has been increasing.

The rate of spread is one of the most important factors, because it suggests that a fire may be less predictable. Though the size, or acreage, of a fire is important, Ms. Quinn-Davidson said that it’s more important to watch how quickly it is moving.

Severity refers to the consequences of a fire, for instance, how many trees are killed. If a fire is tall and burning to the tops of trees and killing them, it could be more challenging to control.

How bad is breathing the smoke?

Breathing in wildfire smoke is risky.

Like air pollution, wildfire smoke — and particularly the concentration of PM 2.5, or particles smaller than 2.5 microns — can affect the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, said Colleen Reid, an environmental epidemiologist and health geographer at the University of Colorado Boulder.

For people who are healthy, the smoke can cause a sore throat, coughing, shortness of breath or decreased lung function. Those already suffering from cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses are at risk of flare-ups and should take extra precautions even when air quality is considered moderate.

Scientists are still studying the chemical composition of wildfire smoke, which depends on what’s being burned.

Trees and biomass, for instance, will produce a combination of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides, whereas burning houses or cars could produce a whole range of compounds, including heavy metals.

Dr. Reid said a first step toward protection is to monitor the air quality where you live, using resources like this map from the Environmental Protection Agency or The New York Times’s tracker.

On days when air quality is particularly bad, stay indoors, keep windows and doors closed and use HEPA filters if possible. If you don’t have access to a HEPA filter, there’s evidence that attaching a quality filter to a box fan can be protective. Outdoors wear a form-fitting N95 mask.

What can I do to protect my home?

Between 60 to 90 percent of homes lost to wildfire are due to embers carried by wind ahead of a fire. If an ember lands on a house, or on mulch beneath a window, or enters an attic through a vent, it can ignite, setting the house on fire.

In California , homes built in the past decade in what’s called the wildland-urban interface — the areas that lie between, say, forests and towns or cities — have been required to have fire-safe features like noncombustible siding and double-sided tempered windows.

But for any home, experts say that even taking small steps, such as keeping gutters and roofs free of leaves and debris, can prove remarkably effective. As a next step, replacing things like vents with a finer mesh screen or replacing siding and roofing with more fire-resistant materials is valuable.

“We have good science that shows that homes that have been retrofitted or built in this way are more likely to survive wildfires,” said Susie Kocher, a forestry adviser with the University of California Cooperative Extension.

Landscaping changes can make a difference, too. Fire experts think in terms of the 0-5 Zone, which refers to the five-foot perimeter around a house. That zone should be kept clear of debris, firewood, plants or mulch. “It looks nice to put a shrub under our window, and that’s exactly the wrong thing,” Ms. Kocher said.

Can better policies fix this?

Experts agree that prescribed burns — intentionally set fires that periodically clear underbrush or other fuels — are a key to reducing the severity of wildfires in the future. State and federal agencies have already committed to conducting more prescribed burns.

But experts also stress that there needs to be more federal and state legislation that prioritizes this technique. There are currently bills in the U.S. Senate and the California Assembly to provide more funding and training for prescribed burns.

Another important step is taking care of the landscape to remove dead trees and other fuel. After a huge die-off in the Sierra Nevadas in the 2010s, an estimated 150 million trees fell, but only 1 percent of those trees have been removed, creating more fuel for future fires.

But a long-term solution requires major changes, experts say. Importantly, the mind-set needs to shift from fighting fires toward mitigating the risk of extreme events that are causing them to worsen. “We’ve treated fire for so long it as if it’s something we can fight. We don’t fight hurricanes or earthquakes or floods,” said Ms. Quinn-Davidson. “We need some radical shifts in the way that we do things in order to adapt, but, yes, I think we can.”

Winston Choi-Schagrin is a reporter covering climate and the environment. More about Winston Choi-Schagrin

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The science behind the West Coast fires

A collection of research and insights from Stanford experts on wildfires' links to climate change, the health impacts of smoke, and promising strategies for preventing huge blazes and mitigating risks.

Wildfires  torched more than five million acres in California, Oregon and Washington in 2020. They killed dozens of people, prompted evacuation orders for hundreds of thousands more and spewed enough toxin-laden smoke to make air conditions hazardous for millions. 

In 2021, wildfires in California alone burned more than 1.7 million acres before the end of August, destroying thousands of structures and forcing mass evacuations.

Tendrils of smoke from fires in the western United States have drifted as far as Europe. As environmental economist Marshall Burke put it in a virtual panel discussion hosted in September 2020 by Stanford’s Woods Institute for the Environment , “This is not just a U.S. West Coast issue, this is a nationwide issue.”

As the fires burn, they are unlocking huge amounts of carbon dioxide from soils and plants and launching it into the atmosphere. 

Six of the seven largest fires on the modern record in California ignited in 2020 or 2021, and most of the largest fires in the state’s history have occurred in the past two decades. Scientists say global warming and decades of fire suppression have helped lay the groundwork for the devastating blazes. One study by Stanford researchers estimated as much as 20 million acres in California would benefit from vegetation thinning or prescribed burns.  Another  found that the risk of extreme wildfire conditions during autumn has more than doubled across California over the past four decades, and human-caused global warming has made the changes more likely.

This collection covers how scientists are unraveling the factors that contribute to wildfire risk, understanding their impacts and developing solutions. Scroll down for wildfire research news and insights related to climate change , health impacts , prevention and mitigation , prediction and modeling and more.

Last updated: August 31, 2021

Climate change

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“In a changing climate it’s not just about continuing to manage the risk of ignition. We also need to recognize that we are dealing with biome shifts that will occur through time," said Chris Field, director of Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment . Read more in the National Geographic article, " How much are beetles to blame for the 2020 fires? "

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“The forests are alive. They’re growing and dying and regrowing,” says Michael Wara, director of the climate and energy policy program at the Woods Institute for the Environment. “That’s really different than carbon that was buried 50 million years ago under the earth that we are unearthing and burning. I think it’s not helpful to compare the two. It’s a misdirection.”

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California’s massive wildfires bring a host of health concerns for vulnerable populations, firefighters and others. Kari Nadeau and Mary Prunicki of Stanford’s Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research discuss related threats, preparedness and ongoing research.

Mask confusion

"Only certain masks are effective during wildfires, while a range of face coverings may help prevent coronavirus transmission," Stanford researchers write in Environmental Research Letters . Drawing on human behavior studies and past responses to epidemics and wildfire smoke, the scientists recommend ways to communicate mask-use guidance more effectively.

An unexpectedly huge toll on America's lungs

As wildfires become more frequent due to climate change, the increasing amounts of smoke may harm Americans nearly as much as rising temperatures, according to a working paper by Stanford environmental economist Marshall Burke and colleagues. “We hadn’t even thought of that as a key part of the climate impact in this country,”  Burke told Bloomberg .

Wildfire smoke is poisoning California's kids. Some pay a higher price.

Marshall Burke, an economist at Stanford, has found that, across California, as the number of smoke days has risen over the past 15 years, it has begun to reverse some of the gains that the state had made in cleaning up its air from conventional sources of pollution.

The shifting burden of wildfires in the United States

Wildfire smoke will be one of the most widely felt health impacts of climate change throughout the country, but U.S. clean air regulations are not equipped to deal with it. Stanford experts discuss the causes and impacts of wildfire activity and its rapid acceleration in the American West.

Tips to protect against wildfire smoke

Warnings of another severe wildfire season abound, as do efforts to reduce the risk of ignition. Yet few are taking precautions against the smoke. Stanford experts advise on contending with hazardous air quality.

Wildfire smoke can increase hazardous toxic metals in air, study finds

Smoke from wildfires – particularly those that burn manmade structures – can significantly increase the amount of hazardous toxic metals present in the air, sending up plumes that can travel for miles, a new study from the California Air Resources Board has suggested. "No one is protected," said Mary Prunicki of Stanford’s Sean N. Parker Center for Allergy and Asthma Research.

How do people respond to wildfire smoke?

Interviews with Northern California residents reveal that social norms and social support are essential for understanding protective health behaviors during wildfire smoke events – information that could be leveraged to improve public health outcomes.

Wildfire smoke exposure during pregnancy increases preterm birth risk

Smoke from wildfires may have contributed to thousands of additional premature births in California between 2007 and 2012. The findings underscore the value of reducing the risk of big, extreme wildfires and suggest pregnant people should avoid very smoky air.

Prevention and mitigation

Setting fires to avoid fires.

Analysis by Stanford researchers suggests California needs fuel treatments – whether prescribed burns or vegetation thinning – on about 20 million acres or nearly 20 percent of the state’s land area.

A new treatment to prevent wildfires

Scientists and engineers worked with state and local agencies to develop and test a long-lasting, environmentally benign fire-retarding material. If used on high-risk areas, the treatment could dramatically cut the number of fires that occur each year.

Wildfire preparedness

Experts with Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment discuss strategies for managing wildfire risks, including incentive structures, regulations, partnerships and financing.

Mitigating risks with law and environmental policy

"In talking about risks and policy prescriptions, we need to separate out wildfires at the wildland-urban interface – those that put people and communities at most risk – from fires that historically have burned through our remote forestlands," said Deborah Sivas , Director of Stanford’s Environmental Law Clinic. 

Concrete steps California can take to prevent massive fire devastation

"Successful wildfire preparedness begins with a clear strategy and accountability for outcomes," writes Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment.

Are forest managers robbing the future to pay for present-day fires?

"As fires burn with greater magnitude and frequency, the cost of fighting them is increasingly borne by money earmarked for prevention," writes  Bill Lane Center for the American West writer in residence Felicity Barringer.

Policy brief

Managing the growing cost of wildfire.

Stanford experts review recent trends in wildfire activity, quantify how the smoke from these wildfires is affecting air quality and health across the U.S. and discuss what policymakers can do to help reduce wildfire risk.

California burning

Heat waves that could melt the fat in uncooked meat until it would “run away in spontaneous gravy.” Forests that turned abruptly into “great sheets of flame.” These are some of the realities of life in California noted by the botanist William Brewer in 1860, and surfaced in an essay for  The New Yorker by Stanford Classics professor Ian Morris about being evacuated from his home in the Santa Cruz mountains.

According to Morris, "Before Europeans came, Native Californians had found ways to cope with this reality. Many moved seasonally, partly to avoid forest fires. As much as one-sixth of the state was deliberately burned each year." Not many people lived in places like the Santa Cruz Mountains until the 1870s. Since then, Morris wrote, the "quiet migration of hundreds of thousands of nature lovers has created one of the most unnatural landscapes on Earth."

Preparing together

"We need programs that emphasize and support herd immunity from fires," Rebecca Miller, a PhD student in the Emmet Interdisciplinary Program in Environment and Resources, told  Mic . Rebuilding efforts after a fire, she added, ought to recognize that once-burned neighborhoods are likely to burn again.

Fire burned the Coffey Park neighborhood of Santa Rosa, Calif. in October 2017. (Image credit: Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Cosse / California National Guard)

Prediction and modeling

Mapping dry wildfire fuels with ai and new satellite data.

Stanford researchers have developed a deep-learning model that maps fuel moisture levels in fine detail across 12 western states, opening a door for better fire predictions.

Predicting wildfires with CAT scans

Engineers at Stanford have used X-ray CT scans, more common in hospital labs, to study how wood catches fire. They’ve now turned that knowledge into a computer simulation to predict where fires will strike and spread.

Satellite imagery shows hot spots and thick smoke plumes from wildfires burning in Oregon and northern California on Sept. 8, 2020. (Video credit: NOAA)

Stanford Wildfire Research

Find experts, events, information about ongoing research projects and more.

Stanford Wildfire News

Read the latest wildfire coverage from Stanford News.

Media Contacts

Josie Garthwaite School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Sciences (650) 497-0947;  [email protected]

Explore More

John Kerry shares his ‘unfettered’ optimism on climate

The 68th Secretary of State and first presidential envoy on climate discussed protests, nuclear energy, and why he left government in a wide-ranging conversation moderated by venture capitalist John Doerr.

How wildfires change soil chemistry

Severe wildfires can drive chemical changes in soil that affect ecosystem recovery and risks to human health. A new study finds broader surveillance and modeling of these changes could inform strategies for protecting lives, property, and natural resources, and managing wildlife.

Facebook went away. Political divides didn't budge.

A study led by Economics Professor Matthew Gentzkow and Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability Professor Hunt Allcott investigated how quitting social media affected users’ political views leading up to the 2020 presidential vote.

Here are 3 main causes of wildfires, and 3 ways to prevent them

Wildfires in Australia, Brazil and the US have reached new levels of destruction. Image:  REUTERS/Stephen Lam

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• The number and scale of wildfires around the world are increasing rapidly.
• Investment in forestry needs to increase to protect the world’s woodlands.
• Forest managers say they need more resources to protect and restore forests.

A headline that reads ‘The Worst Year in History for Wildfires’ should be a shocking and dramatic statement. Instead, it’s in danger of becoming a cliché, a well-worn phrase, an annual event.

The year 2020 will be defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, but wildfires in Australia, Brazil and the US have reached new levels of destruction.

“We’re not only seeing ever-increasing fires year after year. We’re also seeing more fires over a larger geographical spread. And we’re also seeing a longer period. Our fire season used to be just two months of the year 15 years ago and now it’s nine months of the year.” said Hilary Franz, Commissioner of Public Lands, Washington State Department of Natural Resources, speaking at the Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2020 .

Climate catastrophe

“It’s increasingly clear that, as we have launched this effort around a trillion trees, we’re also in an era of megafires,” said Justin Adams, Executive Director, Tropical Forest Alliance, at the World Economic Forum.

For Jennifer Morris, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nature Conservancy, the California wildfires are a microcosm of a global crisis affecting forests.

Morris said decision-makers must address a range of challenges to save the forests and the communities that rely on them.

“How do we fund prevention rather than always deal with the next worst year?” she asked. “How do we make sure that forests are able to realize their total benefits through reforestation?

“How do we get farmers and forest owners from the US to Brazil and Australia to actually receive income for protecting the forests?”

A World in Flames

For Jad Daley, President and Executive Director of American Forests, there are three main causes of wildfires - and he’s in no doubt about the biggest one of all.

“Make no mistake, climate change is driving this dramatic increase in wildfires and future wildfire risk ... so, we can’t solve our wildfire crisis without addressing climate change,” he said.

Secondly, Daley called for more active forestry management to address issues such as a lack of water and drier weather which create the conditions for fires to break out and then burn out of control.

Thirdly, instead of restoring forests, he talked about the need to “pre-store” our forests for a changing climate, using science like a crystal ball to understand how conditions will develop in the future.

Hilary Franz also called for more funding to help her teams fight wildfires more effectively, saying hot air alone had never put out a fire. At present, her airborne firefighting crews are flying helicopters that saw active service in the Viet Nam war.

"I focus on three things," she said. "The first is wildfire protection resources ... At the federal level we borrow a number of resources from other states and federal governments. But when we have California, Oregon, Colorado, Wyoming all on fire at the same time, we don't have any more resources to borrow. The second prong is forest health ... and the third is community resilience."

The barriers to protecting the world’s forests are entrenched and significant. It will need political will, commitment from forest communities and the right resources in the right places to make progress.

The World Economic Forum’s 1t.org aims to conserve, restore and grow a trillion trees before the end of this decade, partly to reforest areas of woodland destroyed by wildfires.

The one trillion trees initiative aims to enable the kind of partnerships that will lead to a reduction in wildfires and more sustainable forests.

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• Published: 13 July 2022

The 2019–2020 Australian forest fires are a harbinger of decreased prescribed burning effectiveness under rising extreme conditions

• Hamish Clarke 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ,
• Brett Cirulis 4 ,
• Trent Penman 4 ,
• Owen Price 1 , 2 ,
• Matthias M. Boer 2 , 3 &
• Ross Bradstock 1 , 2 , 3 , 5  

Scientific Reports volume  12 , Article number:  11871 ( 2022 ) Cite this article

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• Environmental sciences
• Natural hazards

There is an imperative for fire agencies to quantify the potential for prescribed burning to mitigate risk to life, property and environmental values while facing changing climates. The 2019–2020 Black Summer fires in eastern Australia raised questions about the effectiveness of prescribed burning in mitigating risk under unprecedented fire conditions. We performed a simulation experiment to test the effects of different rates of prescribed burning treatment on risks posed by wildfire to life, property and infrastructure. In four forested case study landscapes, we found that the risks posed by wildfire were substantially higher under the fire weather conditions of the 2019–2020 season, compared to the full range of long-term historic weather conditions. For area burnt and house loss, the 2019–2020 conditions resulted in more than a doubling of residual risk across the four landscapes, regardless of treatment rate (mean increase of 230%, range 164–360%). Fire managers must prepare for a higher level of residual risk as climate change increases the likelihood of similar or even more dangerous fire seasons.

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Introduction.

Intrinsic to the earth system for hundreds of millions of years, wildfires are increasingly interacting with humans and the things we value 1 , 2 , 3 . Mega-fires in recent years have caused loss of life and property and widespread environmental and economic impacts in many countries, challenging society’s ability to respond effectively 4 , 5 , 6 . Climate change has already caused changes in some fire regimes, with greater changes projected throughout this century 7 , 8 , 9 . There is a broad network of anthropogenic influences on fire likelihood, exposure and vulnerability including land-use planning, building construction and design, insurance, household and community actions, Indigenous cultural land management, ecosystem management, and research and development. Within this network, fire management agencies play a critical role in wildfire risk mitigation, although our understanding of the interactions between, and relative contributions of, these varied factors towards risk mitigation remains limited. Addressing these gaps is required to support the development and implementation of cost-effective risk management strategies 10 .

Prescribed burning is commonly used in contemporary fire management to alter fuels, with the intention of mitigating risks posed by wildfires to assets. This involves the controlled application of fire in order to modify fuel properties and increase the likelihood of suppressing any wildfires that subsequently occur in the area of the burn 11 , 12 , 13 . Although the effects and effectiveness of prescribed burning have come under intense scientific scrutiny 14 , major knowledge gaps remain in the design of locally tailored, cost-effective treatment strategies that aim to optimise risk mitigation across a range of management values 15 . Crucially, these values may sometimes be in conflict e.g. smoke health impacts from prescribed fire and wildfire 16 or biodiversity conservation and asset protection 17 , necessitating methods for making trade-offs explicit 18 .

The 2019–2020 fires in south-eastern Australia resulted in 33 direct deaths, over 400 smoke-related premature deaths, the loss of over 3000 houses and new records for high severity fire extent and the proportion of area burnt for any forest biome globally 4 , 19 , 20 , 21 . These fires were an important opportunity to test the risk mitigation effects of prescribed burning. One empirical study found that about half the prescribed fires examined resulted in a significant decrease in fire severity, with effects greater for more recent burns and weaker for older burns 22 . Two other empirical studies 6 , 23 found decreases in the probability of high severity fire and house loss after past fire (either prescribed fire or wildfire), but also that this effect was significantly weakened under extreme fire weather conditions, consistent with prior research 24 , 25 . Large ensemble fire behaviour modelling can complement these empirical studies by exploring far more variation in weather conditions, treatment strategies and ignition location than would be possible from the historical record 26 , 27 , 28 . Simulation modelling facilitates estimates of residual risk: the percentage of maximum bushfire risk remaining, in a given area, following a particular fire management scenario, with maximum typically based on a control scenario with no prescribed burning treatment 29 . Simulation modelling also enables tracking of the trajectory of risk in the aftermath of seasons such as the 2019–2020 one, where very large burned areas might be expected to have reduced landscape fuel loads and hence residual risk.

Here we perform a simulation experiment on the effects of different rates of prescribed burning treatment on area burnt and the risks posed by wildfire to multiple values. We consider life, property and infrastructure across four case study landscapes (Fig. 1 ). In particular, we asked:

How much risk mitigation does prescribed burning provide in the weather conditions of 2019-20 compared to average fire season weather distributions, based on long-term records?

How much subsequent risk reduction did the Black Summer fires provide?

Over what time period will risk reduction be measurable?

Fire behaviour simulations were carried out for four case study landscapes in south-eastern Australia: Casino, Gloucester, Blue Mountains and Jervis Bay. See Table 1 and Study Area in the Methods section for more information. This figure was generated using ArcGIS version 10.8 ( https://www.esri.com/en-us/home ).

The effect of 2019-20 fire weather conditions on risk mitigation from prescribed burning

Fire weather conditions during the 2019–2020 season were markedly different to preceding years (Fig. 2 ). In all four case study landscapes there were fewer Low-Moderate days (Forest Fire Danger Index (FFDI): 0–12) and often considerably more High, Very High and Severe days (FFDI: 12–74). Only in the Jervis Bay landscape were there substantially more Extreme days (FFDI: 75–99) during the 2019–2020 season, while there were no Catastrophic days (FFDI ≥ 100) in any of the landscapes during 2019–2020.

Relative frequency of FFDI categories from half-hourly weather station data during the long-term record (1995–2014 for Casino, 1991–2014 for Gloucester and Blue Mountains, 2000–2014 for Jervis Bay) and during the 2019–2020 season.

The 2019–2020 weather conditions strongly increased the residual risk of area burnt by wildfire and house loss due to wildfire (Figs. 3 , 4 ). For any given treatment rate, the residual risk under 2019–2020 weather conditions far exceeded control conditions (i.e. conditions based on long-term historic weather). For area burnt there was a mean 220% increase in residual risk (range 170–351%), while for house loss the mean increase in residual risk was 244% (range 164–360%). Only under very high rates of treatment was prescribed burning under 2019–2020 conditions able to achieve a residual risk below that of zero treatment in the control scenario, and only for house loss in the Blue Mountains (Fig. 4 ). Elsewhere even the highest rates of treatment (well above rates achieved historically) resulted in a residual risk above that of zero treatment in the control scenario.

Residual risk trajectory of area burnt by wildfire in Casino, Gloucester, Blue Mountains and Jervis Bay. Risk is relative to a scenario with no prescribed burning and long-term weather (the 100% level on the y-axis). Markers represent different annual rates of treatment, colours represent different weather conditions (blue = control i.e. long-term, orange = 2019–2020 fire season).

Residual risk trajectory of houses lost due to wildfire in Casino, Gloucester, Blue Mountains and Jervis Bay. Risk is relative to a scenario with no prescribed burning and long-term weather (the 100% level on the y-axis). Markers represent different annual rates of treatment, colours represent different weather conditions (blue = control i.e. long-term, orange = 2019–2020 fire season).

Prescribed burning resulted in a reduction in residual risk in all landscapes regardless of weather conditions, even though in almost all cases the risk remained higher than for zero treatment in the control scenario (see gradient of markers in Figs. 3 , 4 ). The effect of increasing treatment was much stronger in the Blue Mountains, with a minimum residual risk of area burnt by wildfire under long-term weather conditions of 35%, and a minimum residual risk of house loss of 22%. In the other three landscapes the minimum residual risk was 89% for area burnt and 77% for house loss. The marginal effect of prescribed burning (i.e. the rate of change in risk mitigation with incremental changes in treatment rate) was greater under the extreme 2019–2020 weather conditions, even though the residual risk was much higher as described above. Results for life loss and infrastructure damage were similar (Supplementary Figures 1 –3).

Risk in the aftermath of 2019–2020 fire season

The estimated fuel load reductions due to the 2019–2020 fire season were predicted to cause widespread short-term reductions in residual risk to area burnt by wildfire and house loss, regardless of treatment level (Figs. 5 , 6 ). The potential area burnt by wildfire in 2021 was predicted to be at 30–80% of control (i.e. pre-2019–2020 levels) depending on landscape (Fig. 5 , circles). The predicted reduction in area burnt was greatest in Jervis Bay and Gloucester, which experienced the greatest and second greatest proportion burnt during the 2019–2020 season respectively (Table 1 ). By 2025, the residual risk of area burnt by wildfire climbed to 50–90% of control levels across the four study areas (Fig. 6 ). Results are similar for house loss (Fig. 6 ) i.e. the reductions in future wildfire risk due to the 2019–2020 season are partial and temporary, with residual risk actually exceeding control levels in the Blue Mountains by 2025. The re-accumulation of fuel over time is predicted to lead to greater risk mitigation from prescribed burning by 2025 than by 2021 (compare the gradients of the crosses and the circles in Figs. 5 , 6 ). As with the previous analysis, results for life loss and infrastructure damage were similar (Supplementary Figures 4 -6).

Future residual risk trajectory of area burnt by wildfire in the Casino, Gloucester, Blue Mountains and Jervis Bay case study areas. Risk is relative to a control scenario with pre-2019–2020 fuel load and no prescribed burning (the 100% level on the y-axis, indicated by line). Markers represent different annual treatment rates, colour indicates time period (blue = 2021 i.e. two years after 2019–2020 fire season, orange = 2025 i.e. six years after 2019–2020 fire season). In Jervis Bay the markers for 2, 3 and 5% p.a. treatment reflect edge treatment rates, with landscape treatment capped at 1% p.a. due to the very large area burnt during the 2019–2020 season (81% of the study area).

Future residual risk trajectory of houses lost due to wildfire in the Casino, Gloucester, Blue Mountains and Jervis Bay case study areas. Risk is relative to a control scenario with pre-2019–2020 fuel load and no prescribed burning (the 100% level on the y-axis, indicated by line). Markers represent different annual treatment rates, colour indicates time period (blue = 2021 i.e. two years after 2019–2020 fire season, orange = 2025 i.e. six years after 2019–2020 fire season). In Jervis Bay the markers for 2, 3 and 5% p.a. treatment reflect edge treatment rates, with landscape treatment capped at 1% p.a. due to the very large area burnt during the 2019–2020 season (81% of the study area).

Weather conditions during the 2019–2020 Australian fire season were a substantial risk multiplier compared to long-term weather conditions. The relative risks due to wildfire, quantified in terms of area burnt or house loss, doubled in three of four forested landscapes and more than tripled in the other. While prescribed burning partially mitigated these risks, the effect size was typically dwarfed by the effect of extreme weather conditions. In most cases zero treatment under long-term historic weather conditions yielded a lower residual risk than even the highest prescribed burning rates when combined with the 2019–2020 fire weather conditions. We also found that wildfire risk was likely to be reduced in the aftermath of the 2019–2020 fires, based on the implied fuel reduction associated with the unprecedented area burnt during the 2019–2020 season. However, the residual risk was still substantial in some areas and was predicted to rise steadily in the coming years, regardless of prescribed burning treatment rates.

Prescribed burning can mitigate a range of risks posed by wildfire, however residual risk can be substantial and is likely to increase strongly during severe fire weather conditions 6 , 24 . We found that the risk mitigation available from prescribed burning varies considerably depending on where it is carried out and which management values are being targeted, consistent with previous modelling studies that suggest there is no ‘one size fits all’ solution to prescribed burning treatment 15 , 16 . Of the factors influencing regional variation in prescribed burning effectiveness, the configuration of assets and the type, amount and condition of native vegetation are likely to be important. The Blue Mountains landscape, where area burnt by wildfire responded most strongly to treatment, has a relatively high proportion of native vegetation compared to the other landscapes, particularly Casino and Gloucester which are mostly cleared. The Blue Mountains also has an unusual combination of a high population concentrated in a linear strip of settlements surrounded by forest, which may contribute to greater returns on treatment (Fig. 1 ). Future research could systematically investigate the relationship between risk mitigation and properties of key variables such as asset distribution, vegetation and burn blocks for an expanded selection of landscapes. Although residual risk was greatly reduced in some areas after the 2019–2020 fire season, it remained substantial in other areas and was generally predicted to rise rapidly with fuel re-accumulation over the following five years. More work is needed to understand potential feedbacks between increasing fire activity, fuel accumulation and subsequent fire activity 8 .

Our conclusions are dependent on a number of assumptions associated with our fire behaviour simulation approach, including the foundational premise that fire spread is a function of fire weather, fuel load and factors such as topography. Fire behaviour simulators built on these assumptions have known biases and perform better when these are addressed, although their tendency to underestimate extreme fire behaviour suggests our results may be conservative 30 , 31 , 32 . The approach also assumes that both wildfires and prescribed burns consume equivalent quantities of fuel and that this fuel starts to re-accumulate after fire as a negative exponential function of time since fire, eventually stabilising at an equilibrium amount. In fact fuel consumption rates vary considerably within a given fire but also between wildfires and prescribed fires, which consume less fuel 33 , 34 . This also points towards our results being conservative due to potentially overestimating the mitigation effect of prescribed burning. Furthermore the accumulation of fuel post fire depends on the vegetation type, soil and climate 35 . Our experiments on the trajectory of risk after the 2019–2020 fire season may be limited by the relatively short amount of time allowed to elapse, which may be insufficient for prescribed burning treatment effects to become apparent. More broadly, our study design involves repeated instances of a single wildfire and thus does not capture the fire regime i.e. the effects of multiple fires in space and time, nor does it factor in future changes in climate, fuel or fuel moisture 36 . We did not model suppression, which is a complex function of fuel type, fuel load, fire behaviour, weather, topography and fire management decision making 37 . Suppression can reduce a range of risks although it is less effective under extreme weather conditions 38 , 39 , 40 .

Fire-prone landscapes around the world have experienced increasingly severe fire weather conditions 20 , 41 . The extreme conditions of the 2019–2020 fire season are projected to occur more frequently in the 21st century 42 . Our results suggest that climate change could seriously undermine the role played by prescribed burning in wildfire risk mitigation, as found in previous studies 43 , 44 . Using landscape simulation modelling in the Blue Mountains and the Woronora Plateau (about 100 km north of our Jervis Bay landscape), Bradstock et al. 43 found that the rate of prescribed burning treatment would need to quintuple or more by 2050 to counteract the effects of climate change on risk mitigation in terms of measures such as area burned and intensity of unplanned fire. Our study assumes that similar or greater treatment rates will be possible in future, which may not be the case depending on the prevalence of suitable prescribed burning weather conditions 45 , 46 . These findings demonstrate that there can be no wildfire risk mitigation without effective climate change mitigation 47 . Our research reinforces the need for comprehensive, transparent and objective evaluation of the effectiveness of existing attempts to mitigate wildfire risk across a range of management objectives, with future work potentially targeting additional management values such as smoke production and associated health impacts, agriculture and tourism impacts, and more nuanced measures of environmental impact. Such an evaluation could inform the trial and implementation of a range of locally tailored risk mitigation measures that address the full complexity of fire across preparation, response and recovery phases, such as prescribed burning, mechanical fuel reduction, anthropogenic ignition management, suppression, planning, construction and community engagement.

We selected four case study landscapes that were extensively impacted during the 2019–2020 fire season: Casino (69,362 ha burnt), Gloucester (132, 281 ha), Blue Mountains (119,626 ha) and Jervis Bay (137,049 ha) (Fig. 1 ; Table 1 ). All landscapes are forested, have considerable Wildland Urban Interface (WUI), and have a history of both wildfire and prescribed fire. Case study landscapes were approximately 200,000 ha (Table 1 ), intended to align with the upper limit of the size distribution of wildfires in local ecosystems (During the 2019–2020 fire season the Gospers Mountain fire, the result of mergers between several large fires in the Blue Mountains World Heritage Area and neighbouring areas, had a final burned area of over 500,000 ha).

The dominant land cover in the Casino landscape is cleared or modified vegetation (58%). The main native vegetation is dry sclerophyll forest with a shrub/grass understorey (17% of the study area) followed by wet sclerophyll forest with a grassy understorey (9%). The Casino area has a population of about 12,000, mostly concentrated in the town of Casino with a small number dispersed on semi-rural properties. Cleared or modified vegetation is also the dominant land cover in the Gloucester landscape (60%). The main native vegetation is wet sclerophyll forest with a grassy understorey (23% of the study area) followed by wet sclerophyll forest with a shrubby understorey (8%). The population is about 30,000, most of which live in the town of Taree on the eastern edge of the landscape with the remainder in smaller towns and semi-rural properties. The main native vegetation in the Blue Mountains landscape is dry sclerophyll forest with a shrubby understorey (63% of the study area) followed by dry sclerophyll forest with a shrub/grass understorey (9%). About 11% of the landscape is cleared or modified vegetation. Around 100,000 people live within the area, mainly living in a string of suburbs along a highway which bisects the region. The main native vegetation in the Jervis Bay landscape is dry sclerophyll forest with a shrubby understorey (40% of the study area) followed by wet sclerophyll forest with a grassy understorey (17%). Around 14% of the landscape is cleared or modified vegetation. About 50,000 people live within the area, mostly in the township of Nowra in the northeast with most of the remainder in coastal suburbs in the southeast.

All four landscapes are examples of the temperature eucalypt forest fire regime niche, characterised by high-productivity, with infrequent low-intensity litter fires in spring and medium-intensity shrub fires in spring and summer 48 . Fire intensity typically ranges from 1000 to 5000 kW m −1 , although extreme weather conditions may support crown fires where fire intensity can reach 10,000–50,000 kW m −1 . Fire interval is around 5–20 years, although can be as long as 20–100 years 48 . Contemporary prescribed burning rates average 2.5% p.a. in the Blue Mountains landscape and range from 0.4 to 0.6% p.a.in the Casino, Gloucester and Jervis Bay landscapes.

Phoenix fire simulator

Fires were simulated using PHOENIX RapidFire v4.0.0.7 49 , which is commonly applied in operations across south-eastern Australian states, including NSW 17 . Fire growth and rate of spread are calculated from Huygens’ propagation principle of fire edge 50 , a modified McArthur Mk5 forest fire behaviour model 51 , 52 and a generalisation of the CSIRO southern grassland fire spread model 53 . A 30-m resolution digital elevation model was included to allow PHOENIX to incorporate topographic effects on fire behaviour. Vegetation mapping and fuel accumulation models for major vegetation types of the case study landscapes were supplied by the NSW Rural Fire Service. Simulations were run at 180m grid resolution and model output included flame length, ember density, convection and intensity.

Scenario parameterisation

PHOENIX estimates fuel loads using separate fuel accumulation curves for combined surface and/near-surface, elevated and bark fuels 54 . These curves are based on a negative exponential growth function and varied among vegetation types 55 . The treatable portion of each case study landscape was defined as all fuels except crop, farm and urban landcover, and comprised 38% of the Casino landscape, 52% of the Gloucester landscape, 70% of the Blue Mountains landscape and 83% of the Jervis Bay landscape. Treatable fuels were separated into two types of management-sized ‘burn blocks’. Edge blocks were adjacent to property and settlements, while landscape blocks were more remote and larger. For edge blocks, a minimum burn interval of 5 years was used as it reflects what is feasible for agencies to achieve while allowing fuel recovery after burning. For landscape blocks, the minimum burn interval is the minimum tolerable fire interval for the majority of the vegetation type within each block, as represented by NSW Department of Planning and Environment mapping. In each case study landscape, 1000 ignition locations were selected based on an empirical model developed and tested for similar forest types 56 . Individual fires were ignited at 11:00 h local time and propagated for 12 h, unless self-extinguished within this period. This time period provides a standardised approach for risk estimation 15 , 57 and was chosen as a compromise between a sufficient amount of time for significant wildfire impacts to be realised 58 , while avoiding the factorial multiplication of weather conditions spanning multiple days. We tested seven combinations of equal edge and landscape treatment (0, 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 15% p.a.), resulting in a range of fuel age classes for each simulation (Supplementary Figures 7 –10). Half-hourly weather data was drawn from the full record of observations at the nearest Bureau of Meteorology automatic weather station for each case study landscape (Casino 1995–2014, Gloucester 1991–2014, Blue Mountains 1991–2014, Jervis Bay 2000–2014). Simulations were repeated for each of the fire danger categories that had been recorded during the fire season (Spring-Summer) in each case study landscape i.e. Low–Moderate (0–11), High (12–24), Very High (25–49), Severe (50–74), Extreme (75–99) and in Jervis Bay only, Catastrophic (100+). The results from the simulated fires were used to estimate the impact on five management values (see “ Impact estimation ” section below) and then adjusted for the frequency of fire weather conditions contributing to ignitions and fire spread to estimate annualised risk (see “ Risk estimation ” section below).

Two sets of simulations were run to explore the effect of 2019–2020 fire weather conditions on prescribed burning effectiveness: (1) with weather drawn from the long-term historical record of fire season observations, referred to as "control”, (2) with weather drawn only from the 2019–2020 fire season, referred to as “2019–2020”. For Casino the period of active fire in the 2019–2020 fire season was September 2019 to December 2019, for Gloucester and the Blue Mountains this was October 2019 to December 2019, and for Jervis Bay this was December 2019 to January 2020. The relative frequency of fire weather conditions in each scenario was incorporated into risk estimation through a Bayesian decision network (see “ Risk estimation ” section below).

Three sets of simulations were run to explore the trajectory of risk in the aftermath of 2019–2020 fire season: (1) with a fire history excluding the 2019–2020 fire season and with no prescribed burning, referred to as “control”, (2) with a fire history including the 2019–2020 fire season, and with prescribed burning and fuel accumulation through to 2021 i.e. 2 years after the 2019–2020 season (“2021”), and (3) the same as (2) except through to 2025 (“2025”). Due to the very large area burnt during the 2019–2020 season, prescribed burning treatment rates (edge and landscape) were capped at 5% p.a. for Casino, Gloucester and the Blue Mountains. In Jervis Bay, where 81% of the study area was burned by the 2019–2020 fires, edge treatment was capped at 5% p.a. and landscape treatment rate was capped at 1% p.a.

Impact estimation

Effectiveness of prescribed burning at mitigating wildfire impacts was assessed base on area burnt and four management values: house loss, loss of human life, length of powerline damaged and length of road damaged. Area burnt was a direct output from the fire behaviour simulations. The probability of house loss was calculated as a function of predicted ember density, flame length and convection as presented in 59 . House loss was calculated per 180-m model grid cell and then multiplied by the number of houses in that grid cell to estimate the number of houses lost per fire. Statistical loss of human life was based on house loss (using the house loss function), the number of houses exposed (using simulation output) and the number of people exposed to fire 60 . House location and population density data were derived from national datasets ( 61 , Australian Bureau of Statistics) and combined to give the total number of people exposed to fire. Road and powerline location data was supplied by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. In the absence of empirical data a simple threshold of 10,000 kW/m was used to classify roads or powerlines within each 180-m grid cell as damaged by fire or not. Impacts were estimated from simulation output and the datasets described above, resulting in a distribution of area burnt and impacts on the four management values, corresponding to different weather, treatment and ignition scenarios.

Risk estimation

Building on previous studies 15 , 57 , a Bayesian Decision Networks (BDN) approach was used to generate residual risk estimates and hence evaluate the risk mitigation available from prescribed burning. We adopted the recommendations of Marcot et al. 62 and Chen and Pollino 63 in designing our BDN. A conceptual model was adapted from previous studies of fire management 64 and used to create an influence diagram. In this model fire weather affected ignition probability; fire weather and treatment option (a decision node) affected the distribution of fire sizes; and fire weather, fire size and fire management affected the amount of loss for a given management value. To translate the influence diagram into risk estimates, probability distribution tables were populated for the fire weather node (based on weather station data) and the fire size and management value impact nodes (based on the impact estimation step described above) of the BDN. The BDN then generated output values for each of the different prescribed burning treatment scenarios, based on the influence diagram.

Continuous data were discretised on a log scale across the range of values iteratively to get a relatively even distribution across non-zero values. For each FFDI category, we calculated the average maximum daily FFDI during the fire season for each study area, using the same weather station data used to drive PHOENIX. FFDI values were then separated into fire days (fire recorded within 200 km of the weather station) and non-fire days. The relative frequency of fire days was then used to drive ignitions in the BDN. Raw risk values were the expected node likelihoods for area burnt, house loss, life loss, length of powerline damaged and length of road damaged. These raw values were converted into residual risk values by dividing them by the risk value associated with the zero edge, zero landscape treatment scenario. These risks can be validly compared between regions because they reflect the observed distribution of fire weather conditions in each area. Further details of fire behaviour simulations, impact estimation and risk estimation can be found in 15 , 57 .

Data availability

The datasets generated from fire simulation and risk estimation for the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. Weather data is available from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology ( http://www.bom.gov.au ). Vegetation mapping and fuel accumulation models are available from the NSW Rural Fire Service ( https://www.rfs.nsw.gov.au ). Fire-sensitive vegetation, road and powerline location data is available from the NSW Department of Planning and Environment ( https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au ).

Code availability

Code to prepare the plots is available on request.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the New South Wales Government's Department of Planning & Environment for providing funds to support this research via the NSW Bushfire Risk Management Research Hub. Thank you to the NSW Rural Fire Service and NSW Department of Planning and Environment for providing data. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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Clarke, H., Cirulis, B., Penman, T. et al. The 2019–2020 Australian forest fires are a harbinger of decreased prescribed burning effectiveness under rising extreme conditions. Sci Rep 12 , 11871 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-15262-y

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Friday essay: living with fire and facing our fears

Senior Research Fellow in Creative Writing, Flinders University

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Danielle Clode previously received a State Library of Victoria fellowship while writing her book A Future in Flames. She was previously employed by the Country Fire Authority.

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It is only mid-November but we have to walk early to avoid the heat. A northerly wind picks up clouds of dust and pollen, sending dirty billows across the paddocks. The long limbs of the gum trees groan overhead. Leaves and twigs litter the road. We stop to pull a branch off to the side.

Not even summer yet and already we are facing our first catastrophic fire rating of the season. Normally, I don’t even worry much about fires until after Xmas. In the southern states, it is January and February that are the most dangerous.

We live in the Adelaide Hills and never schedule holidays away from home in those months, even though it is hot and unpleasant. Now I’m worried we will have to cancel our pre-Christmas holiday plans. Winter will be the only time we can leave.

We cross paths with a friend walking her dog. We share mutual exclamations about the weather and the risk and she reminds me about the neighbourhood fire group meeting. I should go. I know, better than most people, just how important and lifesaving they can be. But I just don’t want to.

On the weekend, my husband had made us start the fire pump. It’s good to make sure it is all working, but I harbour a vague, irrational resentment at having to be taught how to do it every year. I know why. Mike has all that mechanical knowledge embedded in his brain like a primary instinct, but the information trickles out of mine like water through sand. I cannot rely on remembering what to do in an emergency.

I know my limitations. I’ve attached a laminated, labelled diagram to the pump with numbered instructions on it. Leave nothing to chance. My daughters are running through the pump this year too – in case they find themselves home alone.

Fuel on, throttle on, choke on.

I worry that the pull cord will be too hard, but my youngest yanks at it with practised determination and the pump starts first go.

Choke off, throttle up, water on.

The sprinklers fire up a dull, thudding rhythm around the verandah, spraying a mist over the garden and the cat while Mike runs through the finer details of protecting the pump with a cover and sprinkler in the event of a fire.

I watch the garden soaking up the unexpected bounty and notice that some of the plants have gone a bit leggy. Their undergrowth is woody with age. I’ll have to cut that back, prune off the old growth. Some of them may have to go. Much as I love Australian plants and their waterwise habits, I can’t have many in the garden. Most of them are just too flammable.

Everything we do here, every decision we make, is shaped by fire risk: the garden, the house, our holidays, our movements, where we park the cars, our power and our water supply, even our telecommunications.

It is relentless. A friend of mine who went through Ash Wednesday said she was just tired, after 45 years, of the constant worry. She wanted to move somewhere safer. But she couldn’t bring herself to leave the bush.

Perhaps it would be easier not to know the risk, to live in ignorance.

My local fire brigade had an open day a few weeks ago. The volunteers were busy for days, cleaning the shed, preparing the sausage sizzle. Lots of new people have moved into the area, mostly from the city, and chances are they don’t appreciate the risks of living in a bushfire-prone area.

The brigade put up signs, distributed flyers and knocked on doors with invitations. On the open day, I wander over and ask how many people have turned up.

“Oh about half a dozen,” says the captain brightly, before adding, “Well, maybe four actually. And only two of those are new.”

Someone asks about a family who has moved into a property down the road, a younger couple with kids and a stay-at-home dad. Would he be interested in joining the fire brigade?

“Said he was too busy. Maybe later when the kids are older.”

There are more and more people moving into the high risk urban fringes of our major cities, where houses mingle with flammable vegetation. Fewer and fewer people have the time or inclination to join their local volunteer fire brigade.

Many of them commute for work. They think fire-fighting is what happens when you ring 000. They don’t seem to realise that outside of the city, it is every community for itself. We have to fight our own fires.

Read more: Grim fire season looms but many Australians remain unprepared

I’m watching the news filled with images of the fires in New South Wales. Traumatised householders stand in front of the twisted wreckage of their homes. Tumbled masses of brick and iron are all that remain of a house full of memories.

“We never expected….”

“I’ve never seen….”

“I never imagined….”

No matter how well prepared we are for fires, we always underestimate the scale of the loss – the photos, the family pets, the mementos and heirlooms, or simply the decades of work building a house, a property, a business.

Looking at the television screen, I can’t help but notice the blackened tree trunks next to the ruins of their homes. I worked for a while in community safety for the Country Fire Authority when we lived in Victoria, researching and writing reports , and later a book , on how people respond to bushfires.

I’m well versed in the risk factors – proximity to native vegetation, fuel loads, clearance around houses, house construction and maintenance and most importantly of all, human behaviour.

Leaving is not easy

I used to live in a forest too, with mature eucalypts surrounding my house. We always knew this was a risk. We cleared the undergrowth and removed any “ladders” of vegetation that could allow ground fires to climb the trees. We removed new saplings growing close to the house.

We did as much as we could to make our 1970s home fire safe: installing sprinklers, sealing the roof, covering all the timber fascias in metal cladding.

In an average fire, we probably would have been fine. But when the Kinglake fires approached from the north on Black Saturday, I was no longer sure we would survive. A last-minute wind change swept the fire away from our home.

Like many people, in and around the impact zone, the fires uprooted us and disconnected us. There were so many deaths, so many people and houses gone. And yet so many are still living in the same risky buildings, often rebuilt in the same risky locations. As if we never learn.

We no longer felt so attached to our home. When the opportunity to leave arose, we took it. When we moved to South Australia, we still wanted to live in the bush, despite the fire risk. But it seemed impossible to find a home that had been built for bushfire safety.

A real estate agent showed me an elevated timber home that looked out to the south-west across vast hectares of native forest. A death trap if ever there was one.

“Yes,” agreed the agent. “I’ll just have to find a buyer who doesn’t mind about that.”

Our new house is built of stone, steel and iron, with double-glazed windows and a simple roofline surrounded by sprinklers and hard paving. Every crack and crevice is sealed. And it sits in the middle of a cleared paddock surrounded by a low-flammability garden. We look out over the bushland from a safer distance.

When my children were small, I packed them up and took them into town on every or total fire ban day. It was the prevailing advice from fire authorities. I cannot recall anyone else who did so – it is too hard, too disruptive and too inconvenient. And what do you do with the pets and horses and sheep? Let alone farms and businesses whose assets are practically uninsurable.

Besides, there are so many total fire ban days and they are getting more and more frequent. We’d be leaving for all of summer soon and not everyone has somewhere safer to go.

My former colleagues at the CFA confirmed that few people take this advice to leave on total fire ban days . When the fire risk categories were upgraded to include “catastrophic”, people simply recalibrated their fire risk range to suit.

Now total fire ban days are everyday, ordinary events and people only talk about leaving if the risk is catastrophic or “code red”. And even then, few of them do.

That’s why fire agencies continue to put so much effort into teaching people how to stay and defend their homes – because that is where they are going to end up, no matter what they are told or what they say. After the shocking deaths on Black Saturday, urban politicians thundered in self-righteous fury.

“Why don’t you just tell people to leave?”

Like it is that easy.

Other people’s fates

I’m reminded of the neighbourhood fire safety programs . These are groups of neighbours in fire risk areas who meet up regularly to undertake training in fire preparation. They run in several states, such as Community Fireguard in Victoria, Community Fire Safe in SA and Community Fire Units in NSW.

Some of the groups in Victoria have continued for years, often meeting annually just before the fire season to run through their plans and discuss issues they might be having. They share advice on how to protect properties, what to do when things go wrong, whose house offers the safest refuge, who is leaving and who is staying. They establish phone trees to warn everyone of imminent dangers and to stay in touch.

I know these programs work . I surveyed many of the fireguard groups who survived Black Saturday and compared them to neighbours who weren’t in groups.

The active members of fireguard groups were more likely to defend their houses. Active members’ houses were also more likely to survive, even when they were not defended. A handful felt their training had not prepared them for the severity of the fires they faced. In truth, I don’t think anyone, not even the most experienced firefighter, expected the severity of those fires. But the vast majority were certain their training helped, and had saved their lives.

In every group, there are people who do the work and those who don’t. There are always neighbours who are too busy for the training and just ask for the notes, which they never read. They want to be on the phone tree, even though they have not prepared their property and have not thought about what they will do in an emergency. These “inactive” members do not seem to benefit from training. Their houses have the same loss rates as people who aren’t in fireguard groups.

No matter how much other members of the group support them and encourage them, it does not help. I’ve tried to help before, running a fireguard group, but I don’t want to do it again. I don’t want to hold myself responsible for other people’s fates. It is enough to take responsibility for myself and my family.

I remember the fireguard trainers who blamed themselves, who were blamed by others, when neighbourhoods they had worked with suffered deaths and house losses. They often targeted the riskiest locations, areas that were virtually indefensible. Their information was not always accepted.

Trainers, some of whom had lost friends, neighbours and houses in the fires themselves, felt criticised for advice that had not been given, and also for advice that had not been taken. You cannot defend yourself against such angry grief, particularly when you are carrying so much of your own. You just have to listen. A court of law, which looks only for someone to blame, is no place to resolve the complexities of bushfire tragedies .

I had originally thought, when I wrote my book about bushfires , that it would be a simple analysis of the lessons we had learnt. After the Black Saturday fires, I had to write a completely different book. I realised it wasn’t about lessons learnt (even though there are many), it was about our failure to learn from history, our astonishing capacity to repeat the mistakes of the past.

Harder and harder to protect people

The same things are said after every fire. Blaming a lack of prescribed burning in distant parks when we know that preparation within 100 metres of our own homes is far more important.

Waiting for an “official” warning, as an evil-looking, yellow-black cloud streams overhead and embers land sizzling in the pool beside you.

Politicians with slick, easy point-scoring ways that divert attention from their own policy obstruction.

The hopeful denial that bad things only happen to other people and won’t happen to us.

We’ve just experienced the hottest year on record, and the second driest year on record . We have lost rainforests that have not burnt for millennia and may not recover. With climate change, fires have become more frequent across all the Australian states, and with more extreme weather events, they are likely to become even less predictable and more dangerous .

There is no avoiding the fact that for the next few decades, we face an increasingly dangerous environment. We have more people living in more dangerous areas, in a worsening climate. Our volunteer firefighters are ageing, and local brigades struggle to entice new members to join. It’s getting harder and harder to protect people.

It would be nice if there was a silver bullet to protect us. If broad-scale prescribed burning in parks actually protected houses and lives, or if we had enough fire trucks and water bombers to save us all.

It would be great if we had a cohesive suite of integrated bushfire policies across states, strong enough to survive from one generation to the next. They could include adequate building standards and access to materials , effective planning and development codes , integrated municipal, state and federal strategies incorporating education, health and safety campaigns. We could create a culture of fire-awareness, rather than panicked responses to disasters followed by a long, inevitable slide into apathy and ennui.

Perhaps one day we will. But in the meantime, our best protection lies in our own hands, safeguarding our own property and making carefully considered plans in advance as to how to save our own lives. It is not an easy path, and one none of us wants to take. But in the end, we are the only ones who can do it.

To preserve anonymity the anecdote about a local fire brigade open day is based on multiple conversations in different brigades at different times. It represents a typical discussion had in brigades across the country and should not be taken to represent the views or behaviour of any brigades or individuals in particular.

Views expressed are the author’s own and do not reflect or represent those of the CFA or any other fire agency.

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Forest Fires: Causes, Types and Effects

Last updated on February 11, 2024 by ClearIAS Team

The incidence of forest fires is increasing year by year. Read here to know the cause, effects, and mitigation efforts for it.

Wildfires are a natural occurrence within some forest ecosystems, but in a few years, the fires are becoming more extreme and widespread. Hotter and drier weather caused by climate change and poor land management create conditions favorable for frequent, larger, and high-intensity forest fires.

The fire in the Amazon rainforest during 2019-21 razed millions of acres of the world’s largest tropical forest.

Table of Contents

Forest fires

Forest fires can be defined as any uncontrolled and non-prescribed combustion or burning of plants in a natural setting such as a forest, grassland, brushland, or tundra, which consumes the natural fuels and spreads based on environmental conditions (e.g., wind , topography).

Fuel, Oxygen , and heat sources help the spreading of wildfires:

• Fuel is any flammable material surrounding a fire, including trees, grasses, brush, and even homes. The greater an area’s fuel load, the more intense the fire.
• Air supplies the oxygen a fire needs to burn.
• Heat sources help spark the wildfire and bring fuel to temperatures hot enough to ignite.

In nature, especially in higher latitude forests, fires help maintain a healthy forest ecosystem by releasing important nutrients into the soil and aiding seed dispersal.

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In tropical forests, local and indigenous communities have used fire for ages to clear land for agriculture.

Causes of forest fires

• Natural causes like lightning can set fires on trees which may be spread by wind. Sometimes, High atmospheric temperatures and dryness (low humidity) offer favorable circumstances for a fire to start.
• Man-made causes are usually the ones that become dangerous. Fire is caused when a source of fire like naked flame, cigarette, electric spark, or any source of ignition comes into contact with inflammable material.
• Other human-led causes are land clearing and other agricultural activities, maintenance of grasslands for livestock management, extraction of non-wood forest products, industrial development, resettlement, hunting, negligence, and arson.

Types of forest fires

There are three basic types of fires:

Crown fires

• This type burn trees up their entire length to the top.
• They burn through the canopy, spreading from treetop to treetop.
• These are the most intense and dangerous forest fires as they are very difficult to contain.
• It needs strong winds, steep slopes, and a heavy fuel load to continue burning.

Surface fires

• They burn only surface litter like dried leaves, twigs, and grasses.
• These are the easiest fires to put out and cause the least damage to the forest.
• Parched grass or fallen leaves often fuel surface fires.

Ground fires

• These are sometimes called underground or subsurface fires.
• They occur in deep accumulations of humus, peat, and similar dead vegetation that become dry enough to burn.
• These fires move very slowly but can become difficult to fully put out, or suppress.
• Ground fires can smolder for a long time, even an entire season, until conditions are right for them to grow to a surface or crown fire .
• Underground fires spread slowly and are hard to detect, hence they may burn for months destroying the vegetative cover of soil.

Consequences of Wildfires

• Wildfires emit billions of tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which causes harm to climate and living organisms.
• This can also impact the carbon cycle due to excess CO 2 and loss of vegetation.
• High-intensity forest fires destroy flora and fauna.
• Wildfires can impact the economy as many families and communities depend on the forest for food, fodder, and fuel.
• It burns down the small shrubs and grasses, leading to landslides and soil erosion.
• It can change the microclimate of the area with unhealthy living conditions
• Excessive forest fires can also add to the ozone layer depletion process.

Forest fires in India

India has also witnessed several episodes of wildfires in recent times very recently Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand have had major wildfire breakouts.

Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tripura, Mizoram, and Odisha also report frequent forest fires annually.

• Mizoram has had the highest number of wildfire incidences in the last two decades, with more than 95% of its districts being forest fire hotspots.

In the Indian context, the causes of fire are a combination of natural and manmade-

• Natural causes such as lightning or rubbing of dry bamboo with each other can sometimes result in fires, but forest officials maintain that almost all forest fires can be attributed to human factors.
• Setting up a temporary hearth to cook food by the herdsman and minor forest produce gatherer may leave behind a smoldering fire which can develop into a forest fire.
• Also, when people burn their fields to clear them of stubble, dry grass or undergrowth, the fire sometimes spreads to the adjoining forest.
• A spark can also be produced when dry pine needles or leaves fall on an electric pole.

Mitigation measures by the government

The incidence of forest fires in the country is on the increase and more area is razed each year. The major cause of this failure is the slow and gradual approach to the problem.

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Both the national focus and the technical resources required for sustaining a systematic forest fire management program are lacking in the country.

Important forest fire management elements like strategic fire centers, coordination among Ministries, funding, human resource development, fire research, fire management, and extension programs are missing.

Taking into consideration the serious nature of the problem, it is necessary to make some major improvements in the forest fire management strategy for the country.

The Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change has prepared a National Master Plan for Forest Fire Control. The Forest Survey of India (FSI) monitors the incidence of wildfires.

This plan proposes to introduce a well-coordinated and integrated fire management program that includes the following components:

• Prevention of human-caused fires through education and environmental modification. It will include silvicultural activities, engineering works, people participation, and education and enforcement.
• It is proposed that more emphasis be given to people’s participation through Joint Forest Fire Management for fire prevention.
• Prompt detection of fires through a well-coordinated network of observation points, efficient ground patrolling, and communication networks.
• Remote sensing technology is to be given due importance in fire detection.
• For successful fire management and administration, a National Fire Danger Rating System (NFDRS) and Fire Forecasting System are to be developed in the country.
• Fast initial attack measures and vigorous follow-up action.
• Introducing a forest fuel modification system at strategic points.
• Ensuring the availability of Fire fighting resources

Global news on Forest fires

• In France, Greece, Portugal, and Spain, blazes destroy thousands of hectares of land.
• It is the second heatwave engulfing parts of southwest Europe in weeks. Scientists blame climate change and predict more frequent and intense episodes of extreme weather such as heatwaves and drought.

Related posts

• Fire Safety in India
• Industrial and chemical disasters

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17 Biggest Pros and Cons of Controlled Forest Fires

When you think about the sounds or smells of a fire, what damages come to mind? It is not unusual for people to have a wide range of reactions to the stimulus. As Cal Fire notes, this is rather surprising because fire is one of our most significant tools, but it is also one of our most distractive forces that we battle each year. That is never more evident than the times when we must battle a forest fire.

Is fire an enemy? Could it be our friend?

When we look at the possibilities of a forest fire, then we are observing a way for nature to clear a way for new life to occur. It can reduce debris in forests, manage grasslands, and even improve the health of the soil. Then we see what fire does to a town like Paradise, CA, when it sweeps through with its destructive speed and wonder how it could ever provide a beneficial process to society.

When forest fires are kept under control, we typically get to experience the many benefits that it provides. If it escapes the boundaries of what we want it to do, then we must handle the disadvantages which occur.

That is why these forest fires pros and cons are so important to review.

List of the Pros of Forest Fires

1. Forest fires help to clean the forest floor. Forest fires how to remove the low growing underbrush that exists underneath the canopy. It works to clean the forest floor of debris that can develop over time through the natural growing processes of the trees. It clears away the unhealthy trees to allow others to grow in its place. There are times when it may even return nutrients to the soil. By keeping the floor clean, it becomes possible to reduce the risk of a future fire that could grow out of control.

2. Forest fires promote healthier trees. When we look back at the history of forest management, we can see that the forests from centuries ago had fewer trees, but they were taller and stronger. The modern forest has more trees, but it also has and additional inventory that are not as healthy or large as they could be. Established trees are forced to compete for resources with the undergrowth and one another to grow as they should. Forest fires might kill off the weak plants, but it also allows the surviving trees to maximize their strength to promote a healthier biome.

3. Forest fires help to increase water availability. When a forest fire removes a thick stand of shrubs, then it reduces water consumption levels in the biome. When there are fewer plants absorbing water, then the streams and creeks that flow through the area remain fuller throughout each season. That makes it easier for the forest to support wildlife. More water makes it possible for all of the remaining plants and the animals in the biome to benefit from its availability. Fire also promotes the growth of new grasses that can provide habitat and food for the local wildlife.

4. Forest fires help to kill disease that can impact the biome. Forest fires help to kill the diseases and insects that like to prey on the trees in the biome. In any given year in the United States, more trees die because of pests or disease than they do because of fire. An infestation can cause a forest to struggle in only a few years. Bark beetles and pitch canker are significant problems that we are attempting to manage right now. By introducing the element of fire to the situation, it becomes an easier task to keep the unaffected portions of the forest health.

5. Forest fires help to encourage change in the biome. Did you know that some species of plants and trees are dependent on the presence of fire for their survival? They must experience a forest fire at least once every 25 years to preserve life. Some species require one every three years. Although the heat can damage some of the trees in the forest, some have bark that is fire-resistant. Their cones require the heat to open, which then releases their seeds to allow for generation. Chamise, scrub oak, and manzanita all fall into this category.

Some of the plants even encourage the development of forest fires because they produce flammable resins with their leaves. If we didn’t have a periodic forest fire, then these species would succumb to old age and never produce a new generation.

6. Forest fires can help to stop wildfires. Over 129 million trees died in California in 2018 because of infestation and drought. That means there is a threat for a wildfire even when it isn’t the fire season. One of the most effective ways to prevent this issue is to create your own forest fire first. By consuming the dead and dying materials of the forest, it becomes possible to remove the fuel that wants to ignite at a moment’s notice. State officials in CA burned roughly 31 square miles, with clearing crews working in another space of a similar size, to reduce the risk of a 2019 fire season being as bad (or worse) than what 2018 brought.

7. Forest fires can help wildlife return to the forest. When the forest floor becomes littered with debris, then it can drive some animals away from their natural habitat. The difficulty in moving along the undergrowth causes them to look for alternative options, which can disrupt other sensitive ecosystems that are not used to the presence of the additional wildlife. A forest fire helps to remove the overgrowth that prevents life from happening, allowing the flora and fauna to return in a state that is closer to “normal.”

8. Forest fires can maintain diversity levels in the biome. Tall Timbers Research Station in Tallahassee, FL, ran an experiment on the local forest biome for over 40 years. They managed a 23-acre space where no burning was permitted during the assigned time. Researchers discovered that plant diversity decreased by 90% over this period. One of the local bird species left the area entirely. Although forest fires can be destructive, this natural process is necessary because it also gives us the opportunity to create life in return. When we take a proactive approach to this solution, the cost of managing the forest biome with fire is roughly $28 per acre, which is much less than alternative forms of management.

List of the Con of Forest Fires

1. Forest fires can be overly destructive in their work. Although there are many ways for forest fires to be beneficial to the biome, this advantage does not come without significant risk. Climate change is not helping matters either. Forests are dryer for longer periods of time then arguably at any other point in recorded history. Temperatures in the western United States have risen an average of 1.9°F since 1970. Snow is melting up to 4 weeks sooner than in previous decades. Each element described above increases the potential risk of a forest fire growing out of control.

2. Forest fires can burn more than trees. One of the most significant dangers of a modern forest fire occurs when they are present in an urban-wildland interface. These are the places where homes and developed areas border the forest biome. When this event occurs, it is not just the trees and underbrush with that will begin to burn. Any structures that are in the way could be lost as well. When the 2018 fire that went through Paradise, California, had finally burned out, over 14,000 homes were lost in that town alone.

3. Forest fires can create health problems for people. When you are around a forest fire, then the smoke from this event can be problematic to your house. One of the first issues that you will encounter is a stinging of the eyes. Breathing in the heated smoke can create respiratory system problems or worsen chronic heart and lung diseases. People with asthma are at a severe risk of experiencing an attack when they are exposed to these conditions. Smoke inhalation can even lead to a heart attack or stroke if enough of it gets into your body. Unless your job requires you to fight the fire, the best way to avoid this particular disadvantage of forest fires is to get away from it.

4. Forest fires can trigger mudslides, landslides, and other forms of erosion. When hillsides are stripped bare from their vegetation, then it creates the potential for a mudslide or landslide to occur. After the forest fire goes out, precipitation can cause the ash and soil from the event to begin washing downward. In 2017, Santa Barbara County experienced such an event where waist-high mud came down and 35 mph, killing at least 17 people and its wake. Rushing water also picks up debris, rocks, and even vehicles on its way down to create more damage.

5. Forest fires can devastate the ecosystem. When a forest fire goes out of control, then it has the potential to completely devastate the ecosystem. This outcome can adversely impact the animals, insects, soil, and water in the region. The water may even receive pollution from the smoke and ash, which can harm marine life the biome as well. Without fish, there are fewer food options for animals. This cycle continues until there is either nothing left, the biome starts restoring itself, or everyone leaves because the resources are so few.

6. Forest fires can start on their own. Although a managed forest fire can create positive results, many of the distractive events we’ve witnessed over the past decades involving this process happened because of a natural event, such as a lightning strike. Most forest fires are caused by lightning. When it strikes a forest that is hot and dry, then the brush or leaves can quickly create a spark that makes the entire event grow out of control before anyone even knows that it is there. Some insurance companies may even decide not to cover losses from such an event because it fits into the “act of God” category.

7. Forest fires are a costly experience, even if they are set for positive reasons. The estimated cost of the Camp Fire in 2018 was $16.5 billion, making it the most destructive wildfire in the history of the state. It was also the deadliest event of its type since the 1918 Cloquet fire in the U.S. and one of the worst fires ever suffered in world history. Over $4 billion in losses were uninsured. That outcome is only one cost to consider.

Fire prevention measures for this biome also have a cost to consider. Although the goal is to save money now by preventing fires later, California spent over $70 million on clearing, control, and prevention tactics.

8. Forest fires under control can still burn other structures. Even when every element of control is taken to prevent a forest fire from becoming a wildfire, there is still a risk that it could damage property and structures. Mike De Lasaux, who is a forester at the University of California’s Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, says that the risk of a controlled burn causing this type of damage is less than 2%. A 2000 fire set by U.S. Park Service officials at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico raced through the community of Los Alamos to consume over 400 homes.

9. Forest fires cause old trees to never come back. When an old-growth forest loses its foundational members, then there is no way for them to return. Future generations then lose the chance to study these older trees, enjoy the biome they create, and the other benefits that such a forest provides. Although some of them may be near the end of their life, a forest fire prematurely terminates what time they would have left. That is why we often try to balance the benefits of fire with its potential disadvantages to avoid this potential outcome.

In Conclusion

After the California wildfires in 2018, President Donald Trump offered this comment about the event. “There is no reason for these massive, deadly, and costly forest fires in California except that forest management is so poor,” he said. “billions of dollars are given each year, with so many lives lost, all because of gross mismanagement of the forests. Remedy now, or no more Fed payments!”

The pros and cons of forest fires do show that responsible management can create positive results, but it is also possible for a well-managed fire to become out of control quickly. The Camp Fire in 2018 burned over 108,000 acres, and it was only one of several events during the season. By understanding these key points, it is possible to know what to do to support our forests and protect our homes at the same time.

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Essay on forest fires | forestry.

Here is an essay on ‘Forest Fires’ for class 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on ‘Forest Fires’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Forest Fires

Essay # 1. introduction to forest fire:.

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In India, about 55 per cent of the forest area, which is predominantly covered by deciduous forests, is prone to fires every year causing loss of about Rs. 440 crores (approximately 104 million dollars). It is estimated that proportion of forest areas, prone to forest fires annually ranges from 33 per cent in some of the states to over 90 per cent in other (FSI 1987). Despite the natural fires, the major sources of forest fires in India are anthropogenic, which include shifting cultivation practices, controlled burning, deforestation, fire wood burning and others.

Besides conventional methods of fire control systems like fire line, fire watch tower, block lines and other manual fire control systems, application of remote sensing with GIS is also used to address the problem with good scientific and technical strength in a time effective and cost effective way.

Forest fires in the country area mostly experienced during summer months from April to June. The extent and type of fire varies from state to state based on type of forest as well as climatic conditions like prolonged spell of dry conditions or delay in arrival of monsoon, etc. Forest fires not only causes loss of biodiversity, loss of valuable timber, degradation of natural forests and water catchment areas but also result in depletion of carbon sinks, reduction in water table level, global warming, ozone layer depletion and also loss of agricultural production.

Essay # 2. Classification of Forest Fires:

Forest fires can be classified into two categories viz.:

A. On the basis of causative factors.

B. On the basis of the place of their action.

A. On the Basis of Causative Factors:

I. Natural Causes:

The natural causes may be lightning, rolling stones or rubbing of dry bamboos with each other. It comprises about 5 per cent of total occurrence of all fires.

II. Anthropogenic (Man-Made) Causes:

About 95% of the fires in the country are caused by man. Man may cause these fires either unintentionally i.e., by his carelessness or deliberately and intentionally.

III. Accidental Fires:

The fires that are caused unintentionally by man are called “accidental fires” as they are caused accidentally by his carelessness.

The accidental fires may be due to the following causes:

i. Leaving fires burning by cart men or travelers, lighted by them for cooking their mid-day meal or spreading of fire from labour camps

ii. Throwing of burning match stick, or bidi or cigarette stumps in the forest by grazers or other travelers

iii. Throwing of glowing coal pieces by trains speeding through the forests

iv. Throwing of torch wood by villagers while passing through the forest in the night

v. Falling of dry needles or leaves on electric poles giving out sparks

vi. Burning of fields or grass lands in the villages adjacent to the forest and leave such fires to spread in the forest area and

vii. Accidental spread of fires in the forest while burning fire lines departmentally.

IV. Deliberate or Intentional Fires:

Often forest fires are caused by man deliberately and intentionally. These fires are therefore called deliberate or intentional fires.

The main causes of such fires may be any of the following:

i. Burning the undergrowth and grass to collect Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFP) such as horns, which otherwise is not easily visible

ii. Inducing new shoots of grass in summer by burning the dry grass

iii. Burning undergrowth and grass in the forest to search for injured wild animals or even to trap wild animals

iv. Scaring away wild animals from nearby villages

v. To drive bees/wasps from trees

vi. Burning forest in the charge of a particular official out of enmity with him and

vii. Destroying or at least charring the stumps of illicitly felled trees in a forest

B. On the Basis of the Place of their Action:

On the basis of the place of their action forest fires are classified into four categories:

i. Creeping fire.

ii. Ground fire.

iii. Surface fire.

iv. Crown fire.

i. Creeping Fire:

It’s defined as a forest fire spreading slowly over the ground with low flame. It usually occurs in forest floor covered with a layer of dry leaves which burns slowly in absence of strong wind.

ii. Ground Fire:

It’s defined as a forest fire that burns the ground cover only, i.e., the carpet of herbaceous plants and low shrubs, which covers the soil.

iii. Surface Fire:

It’s defined as a forest fire which burns not merely the ground cover but also undergrowth.

iv. Crown Fire or Top Fire:

It’s defined as a forest fire which spreads through the crowns of trees and consumes all or part of the upper branches and foliage. This usually occurs in coniferous forests.

The above classes of forest fires are not exclusive and independent of each other. Usually one kind of fire may start and may develop into some other class depending upon the circumstances such as conditions of wind, presence of under growth, lichens and dry climbers and other factors forming fire environment.

Essay # 3. Fire Environment:

Fire occurs as a result of certain circumstances which constitute its environment. The following factors make up fire environment.

i. Weather:

High temperature, low humidity and hot strong wind together prepare an environment in which the fire risk is maximum.

ii. Inflammable Material:

Even in a favourable fire environment, fire occurs only when there is inflammable material/fire hazard on the forest floor. Grass, dry leaves and dry fallen wood constitute inflammable material in any forest. In chir forests when resin tapping is in progress, it adds to the inflammable material. If the grass and shrubs, fallen leaves, fallen wood, etc., have all been control burnt in the forest floor before onset of summer by early burning, even high temperature and dry hot winds, cannot produce fire in the area.

iii. Topography:

Topographic features of hilly terrain vary from place to place and affect not only the fire environment but also the behaviour of fire when it occurs. Altitude and aspect both have a great effect on temperature, rainfall, etc. and thus affect the formation of fire environment. As the southern or south western aspects are hotter and drier, there is greater fire risk on these aspects when compared to northern or north eastern aspects.

As temperature falls with increasing altitude, lower altitudes have a greater risk of fire. Also, fire spreads very fast while travelling up a hill slope, but its speed slows down considerably when it travels downhill. Similarly aspect and elevation influence fire behaviour through their combined effects on fuel moisture and on ambient weather conditions.

Essay # 4. Occurrence of Forest Fire, Its Behaviour and Dynamics:

From the place of ignition, the direction of spread, speed, extent and shape of fire depend upon wind, inflammable material and topography.

i. Direction of Spread:

Fire spreads fast in the direction of wind and in the direction where more inflammable material is present. Fire also spreads fast uphill and slowly downhill. Normally fire spreads along the ground in horizontal plane but presence of dry climbers on trees, resin channels in chir forests or lichens in deodar forest, induce it to spread at planes at right angles to the normal plane i.e. along the crowns of trees.

ii. Spread of Fire:

Spread of fire is proportionately influenced by speed of wind and also the quantum of dry inflammable material present. The spread of fire is greater during the day when temperature is high and strong winds blow and is comparatively lesser during night when the temperature falls and the wind slows down.

iii. Extent:

The extent of fire depends not only on wind, inflammable material and topography but also on the promptness with which the fires is extinguished. The greater the delay in detecting the start of a forest fire and to control it, the greater will be the area affected by it.

iv. Shape of Burnt Area:

The shape of burnt area is generally irregular. However, at least some of the sides of burnt area can be straight lines because counter-firing is done from artificially cut and cleared fire traces in the form of straight lines.

Essay # 5. Forest Fire Monitoring in India:

Forest Survey of India has started the monitoring of forest fires across the country since the year 2005 using data from web fires mapper (using inputs received from MODIS satellite system, a joint collaboration of NASA and Geographic Department of University of Maryland).

The coordinates of active fire location from this site are projected on the forest cover map of India to select active forest fire locations lying within the forest cover. The information is then disseminated to the State Forest Departments. From March 2010 onwards the information is being sent through e-mail/ SMS to the registered users through its website www(dot)fsi(dot)nic(dot)in.

Any user can register for the next system by providing his/ her mobile number and e- mail address and the names of district/ state/UT for which the information is sought. Every day, between 11:00-12:00 hours e-mails/SMS alerts reach the registered users giving a summary of total number of forest fires detected in their chosen areas.

Presently, there is a time lag of 12 to 24 hours in the reporting of these fires owing to late availability of this data. Efforts are on to reduce this time lag so as to provide information on near real-time basis. A total of 13,898 fire incidences have been reported by FSI to different states in the year 2010- 11 (FSI 2011).

The on-going exercise has helped in identifying the forest fire prone areas in the country and also the critical time period of fires occurrence for each state and UT. The identification of fire sensitive zones as well as the fire seasons is likely to help in formulation of effective forest fire control strategy in term of prevention, alertness, mitigation, fund allocation and deployment of personnel and equipment. The work has generated basic data on the pattern of forest fire in the country which can be used for preparing national level strategy for early warning and burnt area assessment (FSI 2011).

The detailed geo-coordinates of the forest fire point locations are also made available on the FSI website. All the archival forest fire data is also available on the website. The service was widely publicized amongst the SFDs and the feedback received from them indicated that the forest fires detection has accuracy over 95 per cent.

Essay # 6. Damages Caused by Forest Fires:

1. Damage to the Trees:

Damage to trees varies with species, age of trees, their condition and the season. The species with thick bark when compared to the species with thin bark; the broad leaved species when compared to conifers are generally more fire resistant. Younger trees when compared to the older trees of the same species are more fire sensitive due to their relatively smaller poles, thinner bark, lower height and lesser diameter.

The green trees are usually less damaged. However, burning of the bark and cambium layer causes serious injury to the tree stem and reduces their growth and vitality. Consequently, the chances of their getting attacked by insects and fungi are increased. Deciduous forests particularly during summer season are more vulnerable to fire.

The condition of the grass i.e., whether it is dry or green, also affects the damage caused by fire. Fires in summer season are not only common but also destructive because of high temperature, strong wind, dry undergrowth and ground cover and thick layer of dry fallen leaves.

2. Damage to Regeneration:

Even a surface/ground fire is sufficient to wipe out the young regeneration completely. Repeated fires in natural regeneration areas make it difficult to satisfactorily complete the regeneration within the regeneration period. If the species possesses coppicing power and in case the roots of seedlings have not got damaged due to fire, regeneration in the form of seedling coppice appears. If, however, the species does not possess coppicing power, the regeneration is completely destroyed.

3. Damage to Soil:

Destruction of organic matter affects the structure of the soil adversely and soil is laid bare to the action of elements viz., sand, wind and rain. Fire also makes soil compact and impervious. Consequently, soil erosion starts resulting in loss of top fertile soil.

4. Damage to Productive Power of the Forest:

Repeated fires degenerate an evergreen forest into inferior deciduous forest or even grass lands in extreme cases. Valuable species disappear and are replaced by inferior fire hardy species. Density and increment of forest is reduced and it affects the yield. As timber becomes defective, it fetches lesser price in the market.

5. Damage to Protective Power of the Forest:

Forest can discharge its protective functions when it is a forest in the real sense, i.e., it has not only trees but also grasses, shrubs, small trees, etc. As already stated, even an ordinary fire burns down the ground cover and undergrowth completely and therefore, it affects the protective power of forest. When protective power of forest is reduced, the result is increase in soil erosion and run-off. Fire increases flood havoc as it destroys the protective cover of the watershed. Heavy rains on newly denuded slopes result in devastating floods.

6. Damage to Wild Animals:

Forest fires result in enormous loss to wild animals, birds, insects and other fauna. It burns not only the eggs or young ones but sometimes even the bigger animals also. As the destruction of fauna destroys a valuable part of the eco-system, natural equilibrium is seriously affected with consequent adverse effect on vegetation itself.

7. Damage to the Recreational and Scenic Value:

As fire destroys the greenery of the forest, it destroys its recreational and scenic value. The forest, no longer remains a fit place for recreation as the ground is littered with ash and the blackened stem of the shrubs and lower portions of the boles of bigger trees make the entire place desolate.

Essay # 7. Methods of Extinguishing Forest Fire:

In India, fire is usually extinguished by one of the following methods:

i. By water.

ii. By earth.

iii. By beating.

iv. By counter firing.

i. By Water:

This method cannot be applied on a large scale in our forests because of dearth of water. Water is, however, used, after the fire has been controlled, in extinguishing burning stumps near the line of control as sparks from such stumps, which may keep smoldering for weeks, can start fresh fires.

ii. By Earth:

Though earth can be dug out at site, it is a time-consuming operation. Therefore earth is also not used to extinguish fires. Like water, it is only used to extinguish smouldering stumps near the line of control after the fire has been extinguished.

iii. By Beating:

The best way to extinguish all mild surface fires is to beat them out. For beating out fires, brooms are made by cutting branches of shrubs and then men standing near the fire beat it back with the brooms. Brooms should not be struck vertically as this often results in spreading sparks in unburnt area. They should be struck in a slanting manner so that the fire is pushed inside the burnt area. As already stated this method can be used in case of fire which is mild and therefore fire extinguishing men can stand close to it.

iv. By Counter-Firing:

When the fire is so fierce that men cannot stand close to the burning front to beat it out, it is extinguished by counter-firing which is defined as an attempt to extinguish an advancing fire by deliberately burning the forest from the opposite direction. When a fire is started some distance away from an advancing fire and is made to proceed towards it, the two fires meet and get extinguished.

This happens because the advancing fire finds before it a burnt strip and therefore gets extinguished. In order to counter-fire, a fire trace is made. A fire trace is defined as a cleared (often burnt) line used as a base from which to counter-fire.

Related Articles:

• How to Control Forest Diseases ? (Measures) | Forestry
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27 Ways to Describe a Forest Fire: Words and Tips

Last Updated: September 19, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Lydia Stevens and by wikiHow staff writer, Luke Smith, MFA . Lydia Stevens is the author of the Hellfire Series and the Ginger Davenport Escapades. She is a Developmental Editor and Writing Coach through her company "Creative Content Critiquing and Consulting." She also co-hosts a writing podcast on the craft of writing called "The REDink Writers." With over ten years of experience, she specializes in writing fantasy fiction, paranormal fiction, memoirs, and inspirational novels. Lydia holds a BA and MA in Creative Writing and English from Southern New Hampshire University. There are 19 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 25,665 times.

Forest fires are among nature’s greatest spectacles, which means that describing them can pose some challenges. How do you capture their color, heat, and intensity on the page? What words should you use? We’ll give you 27 strong words and synonyms to use when describing a blaze, as well as tips and samples to help you tame that fire and put it into writing.

Things You Should Know

• Use strong adjectives to convey the scene, like "blazing" or “scorching.”
• Including descriptions of the fire based on the 5 senses can help ground a reader. Describe how the fire and the area around it looks, smells, feels, sounds, and tastes.
• Study how other writers write about forest fires to inform your own writing and give you inspiration.

Words to Describe a Forest Fire

• You can also compare the forest fire to a place like Hades, a mythical setting that really establishes a vibe for a reader.

• Other good words are “conflagration” and “combustion.”

• “Searing” is a similar word that conveys the heat and damage a forest fire can do.

• Other effective figurative phrases like “ocean of fire” or “wall of flame.”

• Try something like “The forest fire devoured everything in its path” brings it to life and makes it more animated, like it has a mind of its own.
• Also try describing the fire as “hungry” or “greedy,” to give it a sense of personification and action.

• A similar term is “apocalyptic,” which is a strong adjective that offers a sense of doom.

• Words like “renewing” or “natural” help to convey a forest fire’s beneficial aspects.

• Another idea is to describe the trees or embers as “exploding,” to lend a more violent tone to the scene.

• Forest fires also “gleam” or are “blinding.”

• For example: “The forest fire’s smoke emitted a smoggy haze over the city that sat downwind of the blaze.”

• “The smoke from the fire stifled the fleeing animals and caused them to choke.”

• You might also say a fire “glowed” or “churned.”

Tips to Describe Fire in Your Writing

• Make a list of adjectives for each of the senses and try to incorporate some of these into your writing to really bring the scene to life.
• A fire might look bright or intense.
• A forest fire might smell like charred wood, or even just like a campfire.
• The area around a forest fire can taste like ash or smoke.
• Forest fires roar and crackle, which are great words to describe the sound.
• Finally, a forest fire is hot, of course–so hot it can scorch or sear whatever it touches.

• If you want the fire to come across as scary, try using words like “devouring” or “apocalyptic.”
• If you’re trying for a lighter or more optimistic mood, try words like “cleansing” or “renewing.”

• Readers make the best writers, because you're learning vocabulary that you may not have known before.

Example Descriptions of Fire

Expert Q&A

• ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/inferno
• ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/blaze
• ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/scorching
• ↑ https://www.thesaurus.com/browse/sea%20of%20flames
• ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cataclysm
• ↑ https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/ecological-benefits-fire
• ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/burst
• ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/glare
• ↑ https://www.mcgill.ca/newsroom/channels/news/experts-forest-fires-and-smog-332148
• ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/smolder
• ↑ https://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/portfolio.newschool.edu/dist/2/14941/files/2017/06/WRITTING_5enses-209gmgv.pdf
• ↑ https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/mood
• ↑ https://selfpublishing.com/setting-of-a-story/
• ↑ https://reporter.rit.edu/views/does-reading-really-improve-your-writing
• ↑ https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shardik/exKEDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover
• ↑ https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/08/20/1007478/california-wildfires-climate-change-heatwaves/
• ↑ https://www.gutenberg.org/files/178/178-h/178-h.htm
• ↑ https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-to-be-better-at-death-ep-450/
• ↑ https://files.gabbart.com/200/little_house_on_the_prairie__pdfdrivecom_.pdf

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Forest Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on forest.

Forests are an intricate ecosystem on earth which contains trees , shrubs, grasses and more. The constituents of forests which are trees and plants form a major part of the forests. Furthermore, they create a healthy environment so that various species of animals can breed and live there happily. Therefore, we see how forests are a habitat for a plethora of wild animals and birds. In addition to being of use to wildlife, forests benefit mankind greatly and hold immense significance.

Importance of Forests

Forests cover a significant area of the earth. They are a great natural asset to any region and hold immense value. For instance, forests fulfill all our needs of timber, fuel, fodder, bamboos and more. They also give us a variety of products that hold great commercial as well as industrial value.

In addition, forests give us a large number of raw materials for various products like paper, rayon, gums, medicinal drugs and more. Other than that, forests are also a major source of employment for a significant population . For example, people are involved in their protection, harvesting , regeneration, raw material processing and more.

Moreover, forests are largely responsible for preserving the physical features of our planet. They monitor soil erosion and prevent it from happening. Further, they alleviate floods by making the streams flow continually. This, in turn, helps our agriculture to a great extent.

Most importantly, forests are a habitat for wildlife. They provide them with shelter and food. Thus, it is quite important to protect forests and furthermore enhance the forest cover for a greener and sustainable future.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Improving Forest Cover

When we talk about forest cover, we do not merely refer to planting new trees but also improving the degraded forest land. To meet the fulfilments of the demand for timber and non-timber forests, we need to have a comprehensive approach to enhance the forest cover.

Forests are being wiped out and trees are being cut down at a rapid rate. To meet the other needs of humans, we are losing sight of the bigger picture. People need to take steps to improve the forest cover rather than decrease it. The government must regulate the cutting down of trees. We must adopt roper methods which ensure the regrowth of trees. This way, we will be able to fulfill both the needs.

Furthermore, we must control forest fires. We must adopt the latest techniques which will help in fire fighting more efficiently. This will prevent further loss of trees and animals. Most importantly, afforestation plus reforestation must be practiced. The people and government must plant new trees in place of the one cut down. Moreover, they must plant trees in new areas to develop a forest.

In short, forests are a great blessing of nature. Various types of forests are home to a thousand animals and also means of livelihood for numerous people. We must recognize the importance of forests and take proper measures to tackle the issue of deforestation.

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May 16, 2024

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Bushfires are changing the 'hidden' understory in Australian forests

by Sabine Kasel, Dr Tom Fairman, Dr Benjamin Wagner and Associate Professor Craig Nitschke, University of Melbourne

Fire is a natural part of the Australian landscape. But the more frequent fires we've seen recently—particularly the high severity bushfires that consume or scorch the canopies of whole forests—are a major concern to our country's ecosystem health, carbon storage and biodiversity.

We often see devastating footage of those eucalypt forests in flames, but we should also be concerned about the effect of bushfires we can't always see—sometimes below ground.

More to forests than trees

Most of our understanding of the impacts of fires comes from the trees that form the overstory of these forests.

For example, we know that more frequent severe fires lead to the loss of fire-sensitive trees like alpine ash and a decline in otherwise fire-tolerant snow gum forests .

The overstory—the layer of vegetation formed by the tallest trees in the forest that typically receive the most sunlight and form the upper canopy of the forest—is where most of the carbon is stored and where we find the hollows for animals to live in.

While the overstory is important, there is much more to forests than its trees.

The understory—the shorter trees, shrubs, and plants that grow beneath the overstory—is where we find most of the plant diversity .

And the soil beneath that is where the "hidden" understory resides—the understory species' seeds lie dormant in the soil seedbank, sometimes for decades—waiting for their opportunity to germinate.

The soil seedbank is a vital extension of aboveground plant diversity.

It represents the legacy of understory plants which may have died long ago, and act as a source of new growth for future generations.

Think of the soil seedbank as an insurance reserve of plant diversity in the event of something calamitous happening to the living understory plants.

In a world of frequent severe fires, that calamity is becoming a reality.

So what happens to these deeper, darker but important parts of the forests in an extreme bushfire? We have started to answer this question in our recent research published in the journal Fire .

Into the 'hidden' understory

In our two recently published papers, with the other being published in Forest Ecology and Management , our team investigated how the plant understory responds to more frequent, severe fires across a range of forest types.

We looked at the dry shrubby forests at low elevations and the montane forests at high elevations , all the way through to the snow gum forests that fringe Victoria's alpine peaks.

Montane forests have higher precipitation, so the forest generally becomes taller, wetter, darker and more dense—forming the most extensive zone in the Australian Alps.

We found across all of these forest types, there was a shift in plant community composition—both in the living vegetation and the soil seedbank—with more frequent fire.

If we look at the living plants of the understory, more frequent severe fires have led to a decline in plant diversity at the lowest and highest elevations.

But the overall character of understory communities also changes. With more fire, there's a shift towards grassy and herb-dominated understories, particularly at higher elevations—as many shrub species fail to cope with frequent fire.

Mountain beardheath ( Acrothamnus hookeri )—a small shrub with white flowers and fleshy red fruit—characteristic of the understory of subalpine woodlands one such species now absent from frequently burnt sites.

In montane and lower-elevation forests, the shrubs that did survive more typically reached reproductive maturity faster, produced seeds that survived in the soil for a long time, and seeds that germinated in response to fire.

Box-leaf Bitter-pea ( Daviesia buxifolia ) is one of the shrubs that has increased with more frequent fire—and is common in both the living vegetation and soil seedbank.

Each of these adaptations helps these plants survive when fires become more frequent.

Across all forest types, we found a decline in the diversity of the soil seedbank—which suggests that the insurance role the seedbank plays is being eroded by frequent fire.

This erosion in the buffering capacity of soil seed banks points to an increase in reliance on other mechanisms for maintaining plant diversity.

These mechanisms—including post-fire resprouting, or long-distance dispersal from areas protected from fire—favor some species over others, producing a shift in the species that make up understory communities.

The changing character of Australian forests

Our research shows that emerging fire regimes are pushing the very character of our forests—not just the trees, but the shrubs, grasses, herbs, and soil seedbank—into new territory.

These changes in the type and diversity of species shouldn't only be a concern for botanists.

When ecosystems become dominated by new or different kinds of vegetation, there are consequences for the animals that rely on that habitat, and more broadly, consequences for the flammability of these systems—which may lead to more fire—which continues to compound the problem.

So how can we manage this?

Currently, when areas of forests are burned by multiple fires, governments often act to resow these areas with the tree species that have been lost. This usually focuses on species like mountain ash and alpine ash, which are killed by fire.

Our research highlights a possible need to broaden this approach.

With more frequent fire changing the composition of our forests' understory, we may need to include important species that are facing being scorched out of existence by frequent fire.

This is a major restoration undertaking , but one we should not shy away from.

The biggest challenge is collecting enough seed. This would require a multi-pronged approach including harvesting seed from the wild as well as establishing seed orchards for a wide range of species.

Another challenge is the scale of the problem.

A recent study on alpine ash forests alone predicted that an average increase of 110 hectares per year would be burnt before the forest was old enough to produce seed and regenerate.

Given frequent fire erodes understory diversity across multiple forest types, the scale of the restoration challenge is much greater than current efforts to restore any single overstory species.

If we wish our forests to be resilient to future fires, we will have to get used to giving them a helping hand along the way.

Emily Duivenvoorden et al, Short-interval, high-severity wildfires cause declines in soil seed bank diversity in montane forests of south-eastern Australia, Forest Ecology and Management (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2023.121627

Journal information: Forest Ecology and Management

Provided by University of Melbourne

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