Fire Science Basics
This term describes the three essential components required for a fire to ignite and burn: oxygen, heat and fuel.
What is the Fire Triangle?
This type of fire burns organic material (peat, humus and tree roots) beneath the soil surface.
What is a ground fire?
This animal often survives wildfires by seeking refuge in burrows.
What is a badger?
This Disney movie features a forest fire scene where the main characters run away to find a safe place to live.
What is Bambi?
This natural phenomenon is responsible for starting most wildfires in North American forests.
What is lightning?
This type of fire spreads along the forest floor, consuming leaves, grass and small vegetation.
What is a surface fire?
This tree species in Rocky Mountain National Park has thick bark that allows it to survive low-intensity fires.
What is the Ponderosa Pine?
In 2021, this popular video game introduced a mode where wildfires could spread across the map.
What is Fortnite?
This 3-part model explains the critical factors that influence how a wildfire starts and spreads: fuel, weather and topography.
What is the Fire Behavior Triangle?
Firefighters sometimes set these intentionally to remove fuel from an advancing wildfire.
What are controlled burns or prescribed fires?
This insect has killed many trees in Rocky Mountain National Park, increasing the risk of wildfires due to dry branches and needles.
What is the Mountain Pine Bark Beetle?
This 1978 wildfire in the Wild Basin area burned over 1,000 acres and lasted almost 2 months.
What was the Ouzel Fire?
The most effective way for homeowners to protect their property from wildfires is by creating this around their home.
What is a defensible space?
This classification of fire spreads through the canopy of trees, often driven by strong winds and steep slopes.
What is a crown fire?
This tree depends on wildfires to grow when its cones open up and release their seeds.
What is the Lodgepole Pine?
Starting from an illegal campfire in 2012, this fire burned over 3,500 acres in steep terrain.
What was the Fern Lake Fire?
These are strong, dry winds that spread wildfires in Southern California.
What are the Santa Ana winds?
This refers to the movement of flames through the air, carried by wind, which might ignite new fires.
What is spotting?
These cones remain closed until exposed to extreme heat to release their seeds.
What are serotinous cones?
This famous American campaign character was created to teach people about preventing wildfires.
Who is Smokey Bear?