1. Living with Natural Hazards
Geography Revision
Living with Natural Hazards
What are the causes and effects of wildfires and how do people prepare for and respond to them?

2. You need to be able to answer the following questions:
Describe the primary and secondary effects of wildfires (make sure you know how both people and the environment are impacted).
What are the natural causes of wildfires?
What are the human causes of wildfires?
Using an example, explain whether wildfires are a natural thing or not.
Describe a range of strategies which can be used to reduce the effects of wildfires (include evacuation, education and the role of emergency services)?
Why do some people think that wildfires could happen more often and in more places in the future? (include the effects of increasing numbers of people living in and using semi-arid (dry) areas, increased frequency of drought due to climate change)
Why should areas which are prone to wildfires be protected?

3. 1. Describe the primary and secondary effects of wildfires Page 80 - 81
Use the notes on page to complete this table
Primary Effects
Secondary Effects
Social
Economic
Environmental
Physical

4. 2. What are the natural causes of wildfires. 3
2. What are the natural causes of wildfires? 3. What are the human causes of wildfires? Page 82-83
Sort these into natural and human causes of wildfires:
Lightning Arson Spontaneous heating Broken bottles magnify the sun’s rays
Accidents (not putting campfires out properly) Slash and burn farming Sparks Volcanic eruptions
Put these words in a sentence to explain how wildfires can spread very quickly:
Hot, dry weather Steep slopes Fallen branches and dry leaves Santa Ana Winds fuel
Natural
Human

5. 4. Using an example, explain whether wildfires are a natural thing or not. Page 80 - 82, page 85
California 2007
Greece 2007
Cause of wildfire
Why did it spread?
Primary effects?
Secondary Effects?
How did authorities try to reduce damage?
You need to be able to explain if wildfires are a natural thing or not, fill in the table above for one natural and one human caused wildfire
California:
Greece:

6. What is this? How does it reduce the effects of wildfires?
5. Describe a range of strategies which can be used to reduce the effects of wildfires (include evacuation, education and the role of emergency services)? Page
Write around the picture of Smokey Bear how the following things can help reduce the effects of wildfires:
Education (Smokey Bear – this is part of your California case study)
Defensible spaces
Emergency Services (air drops, fire lines etc)
Volunteer groups
GIS
What is this? How does it reduce the effects of wildfires?

7. Highlight 5 important things for homeowners to do to make a defensible space (note this is for California)

8. Describe the graph, natural cycle or global warming?
6. Why do some people think that wildfires could happen more often and in more places in the future? (include the effects of increasing numbers of people living in and using semi-arid (dry) areas, increased frequency of drought due to climate change) Page
Natural cycle (look at pattern of increase/decrease)
Global warming (look at the straight lines that show a steady increase)
Describe the graph, natural cycle or global warming?

9. 7. Why should areas which are prone to wildfires be protected? Page 87
Look at the NASA image showing wildfires – which places need to be protected and why?
Label them on your map (think about where many people live, where major economies are based)

10. Key words Define the following keywords
Definition
Physical effects
Social effects
Economic effects
Drought
Santa Ana winds
Spontaneous heating
Arson
Tinder
Pulaski
Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
Wildfire intensity
Wildfire Season
NASA
Wildland-urban interface
Defensible space
Arid