Forest Fires (What cause it)

Jun

Posted by Crys Joan

In 1982-1983 more than 9.1 million acres (3.7 million ha) burned on the island of Borneo before monsoon rains arrived, while more than 2 million hectares of forest and scrub land burned during the 1997-1998 el Niño event, causing $9.3 billion in losses. The fires also produced wide-ranging and severe economic, political, social, health, and ecological damage to Indonesia and the neighboring Southeast Asian nations of Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, and Thailand, already in the midst of an economic crisis. Satellite analysis of the 1997-1998 fires revealed that 80 percent of the fires could be linked to plantations or logging concession holders.

Forest fires.. what do we know about it? What cause it? and the most important thing is, how to prevent it from destroying our forest? Well of course, when we think about fire, automatically we will think fire extinguishers right? So here I will share with you some information about forest fires..

Fire needs fuel, oxygen, and heat to survive. In forests, the fuel is provided by trees and bushes. Oxygen is not hard to find, seeing as it is all around us in the air (it’s everywhere).. And without heat, the fire could not continue. The main causes of forest fires can be divided into two, and they are Man Made Causes and Natural Causes.

Natural Causes

Lightening can burn the trees, but the rain after it extinguishes fire which can reduce the damages.

Oxygen is everywhere, and it is one of the main factors to start fire. At a temperature of 572 degree wood releases a gas that reacts with oxygen present in air and triggers a flame which will give heat to the surrounding woods and the fire will start growing more and more strong. This can also happen in the cold days.

Earthquake in San Francisco in 1906 causes fire.

High temperature and low humidity (dryness) provides favorable conditions to the fire and hence it can start in forests.

Man Made Causes

Negligence :: any source of ignition like cigarette, naked fire which when comes in contact with inflammable things causes fire.

Smokers :: sometimes they drop the lighted cigarettes and matches in the forest which can easily set nearby bushes on fire and further develops into huge forest fire.

Locomotives :: those that powered by wood and coal can set the grass and trees (near the railway lines) to fire with just a spark.

Farmers :: fire lighted by cultivators to burn a patch of forest can go out of control and burning more trees than required.