The current environmental degrading conditions of the world are clear indicators of very bad days- ahead waiting for us. Â A wildfire is an unplanned fire that starts in a natural area- forests, grasslands, etc. Wildfire is becoming common now due to the rapid increase in atmospheric temperature, droughts, etc, due to global warming. According to the report of WHO, we have sent 2400 human lives to the mouth of these uncontrolled fires. The environmental, economic, and social losses are also remarkable and had affected each nation badly. Wildfire today has become an issue as cases of these fires are attaining their peak day by day and severely damaging the natural resources, destroying the ecosystems, and creating an imbalance in the environment.
What is Fire?
Fire is a rapid chemical reaction that consumes fuel, oxygen, and heat. The basic definition does not include the chain reaction in its triangle, as it is included in the updated definition to form a fire tetrahedron.
Types of wildfire?
There is a difference between the classification of fire and the types of wildfires. The classification of fire may include Class-A, B, C, D, E, F, or K in European and American standards. But here we are talking about the types of wildfires, studies showed these are the most common types of wildfires.
Ground Fires
The fire typically erupted usually on the ground; vegetation became the fuel in this type of wildfire. These are common in those places which have no canopy cover and the ground is mostly used for vegetation. This fire could be natural or arsenal depending upon the case.
Surface Fire
This wildfire usually burns the dry leaves, branches of trees, and plants in a forest or any other ecosystem having these as fuel. These are common in forest areas and usually remained for several weeks.
Crown Fire
This type of wildfire burns with huge flames and has intense heat and power. It spreads very quickly with winds as it can burn the adult trees. These remain for several weeks and required urgent attention of authorities to stop the propagating environmental, economic, and financial losses. The wildfire smoke map pattern can help the firefighting agencies to recognize the growing pattern.
Spotting Fire
The crown fire rises in height to several feet even beyond the heights of trees. The wind act as the fuel in the crown type of fire. This rising crown firefly off the pieces of fire with rising smoke and ash in the air which falls at different spots even away from the main seat of the fire- spotting fire. So, in this way, the next areas fall under fire i.e amazon forest fire
Impacts of wildfire
Wildfires have affected about 6.2 M people just within the period of 19 years (1998-2017) with 2400 deaths from suffocation, injuries, and burns. The main accelerator of this rise is of course global warming.
The regions, like conifer forests of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, are at big risk due to these wildfires. Wildfires that burn near communities can become dangerous and even deadly if they grow out of control. For example, the 2018 Camp Fire in Butte County, California destroyed almost the entire town of Paradise; in total, 86 people died. Moreover, Hotter and dry conditions in the ecosystem cause the extinction of many species in the world. Finally, Environmental pollution and degradation cause significant health- physical, mental, and social, effects on human beings.
Hi, I am John Smit a Captain in Fire Department City of Newyork with over years of experience in the field of Firefighting and HSE. My passion for fire safety started when I was a young boy and witnessed a neighbor’s house go up in flames along with precious lives. Since then, I had dedicated my life to ensuring the safety of buildings, properties, and individuals in case of a fire and medical emergencies.