General Info
Define Wildfires
An uncontrolled fire that burns in Wildland vegetation
Which park was to be protected?
National YellowStone Park
Name a few easy ways humans can prevent wildfires from occurring.
Safer campfires, avoid fire activities when it is very dry and hot, don’t burn dangerous things, don’t leave coal in the open and keep vehicles off of grass.
Humans in the U.S. cause nearly __% of wildfires
90%
What are 2 types of wildfires?
Ground and surface fire
Which program was started to manage wildfires?
Natural Fire Management Program (NFMP)
How do governments handle these wild fires
Governments balance the fire companies they invest in
What kind of health conditions can wildfires cause?
Respiratory and cardiovascular
When might wildfires occur
When fire thresholds (ignition, fuels and drought) are crossed
How did the government handle the issues of wildfires?
Allowed some fires to burn, others were controlled.
In what ways are fuel-reduction treatments (prescribed burning, forest thinning, indigenous cultural burning, and mangled wildfires) effective?
These will limit the amount of uncontrollable fires because these treatments only contain necessary fires and taking better care of the land.
As vegetation burns, it releases what into the atmosphere?
Smoke and carbon
In 2022 how many structures were destroyed due to wildfires?
2,717
When was the first time that humans began to get involved with wildfires?
1886
Ironically a chronic lack of fire in Western landscapes also contributes to _________ ____ ________
Increased fire severity
What is wildfire smoke made up of?
Hazardous air pollutants such as the Ozone, aromatic hydrocarbons, or lead/
Why can wildfires be essential to the survival of some plant species?
Some plants and/or trees need to be heated in order to release their seeds; many plants depend on wildfires .
The natural fire zone was restricted to areas _____
Roughly 2,500 feet (2717)
How can we change ecosystems to make safer environments?
More open forests, planting fire-adaptive trees, and cleaning up debris.
Many scientists use tools to do what with wildfires?
Understand and monitor environmental conditions before a fire starts. Also to measure the intensity and development of fires during a burn to estimate the environmental impact afterwards/