FIRE

Causes of fires Fire is only caused naturally in the environment by lightning and lava 94 % of bushfires are caused by humans with the other 6% being naturally occurring These unnatural fires are caused by either agricultural, accidental, or arson.

Effects of fire on the environment Immediate effects of fire on the Community: Loss of vegetation Reduction of leaf litter Decrease in animal numbers The degree to which this changes the populations of species present in a habitat depends on the kind of fire(canopy, understory or both), and its intensity and scope.

Impacts on interactions in a Community. Ash from the fire creates nutrient-rich soil New open space offers more light availability. Vulnerable to the effects of drying out in hot areas. Changes in amount of rain can be both beneficial or not depending on amount and intensity. Species of bottlebrush, hakeas, some acacias and eucalypts regenerate from fire released seeds.

Fire damage stimulates regrowth in other species and smoke particles signal growth in others. New growth attracts many mobile species such as wallabies, birds and small mammals and insects. New growth also helps support species such as wombats and echidnas that have survived in underground burrows.

Fire is rapid and dramatic, but even though ecosystems change, they can potentially re-establish over many years. Natural disturbances are followed by succession.

Black Saturday Black Saturday was a series or bushfires which were ignited or were burning across the state of Victoria on Saturday 7 February 2009 and resulted in Australia's highest ever loss of life from a bushfire 173 people died and 414 were injured .The fires occurred during extreme bushfire-weather conditions

The worst bushfire-weather conditions ever recorded in Victoria The worst bushfire-weather conditions ever recorded in Victoria. Temperatures in the mid- to high 40 degrees, wind speeds in excess of 100 km/h and almost two months of little or no rain Also on the first day of the Victorian bushfires there was an intense heat wave which fanned the fires These conditions were classified as a Very High fire danger

The majority of the fires were ignited by fallen or clashing power lines, or were deliberately lit Other suspected ignition causes include lightning strikes, sparks from power tools and cigarette butts

Prevention The only methods of preventing a cataclysmic fire from occurring such as Black Saturday is the household preventative measures such as keeping trees away from power lines and removing leaves from gutters but these methods are not enforced

Prevention Control burning was not used by the state of Victoria which caused an abundance of leaf litter to build If control burning was to occur in Victoria authorities agreed it wouldn’t have been as devastating. Fire breaks are areas which have been cleared of all fire fuel so the fire slows or is extinguished by lack of fuel