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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter 7 Fire and the Forest
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter Highlights Ways that fire is both beneficial and destructive Three elements required for fire Surface, ground, and crown fires and fuels Major causes of destructive forest fires Effects of wildfires
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Chapter Highlights (Continued) Use of prescribed burns Methods of fire suppression Government policy regarding forest fires
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Fire as Friend and Foe Benefits of fire Cleans debris (plant material) from forest floor Controls brush and thins stand Destructive fires result from buildup of fuel on forest floor May burn with such heat as to ignite foliage and cause trunks to explode Second only to insects as cause of timber loss
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Three Elements Essential to Fire Interaction of these elements controls the rate and intensity of a fire: Availability and concentration of flammable fuels Heat energy sufficient to raise fuel to combustion temperature Adequate supply of oxygen Change in any ingredient alters nature of fire
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Types of Fuel That Cause Fires Surface fuels: Undecayed dry plant materials and live plants on soil surface Ground fuels: Duff or litter composed of decaying plant material just below surface Peat from bogs where decay is limited
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Types of Fuel That Cause Fires (Continued) Aerial fuels: More than 6 ft. above ground, upper foliage or canopy This type of fire is called a crown fire
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Fires Resulting from Different Fuels Surface fire: moves quickly across surface, seldom intense Reduces risk of more serious fires Ground fire: can smolder for many weeks, limited by amount of oxygen available Crown fire: ignited by intense surface fire
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Major Causes of Destructive Fires Lightning: especially in drought conditions, aggravated by wind Volcanic activity: rare in North America Human activities: campfires, internal combustion engines, etc. Loss of control of planned (prescribed) burns Incendiaries: willfully set; more than one- fourth of all U.S. fires each year
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Effects of Wildfires on Forests Massive damage due to size and unpredictability Most serious in dry regions in periods of drought that follow periods of precipitation Fire intense enough to reach crown kills trees Some wildlife may benefit as forage plants fill in areas of former tree coverage Endangered species at greater risk
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Effects of Wildfires on Forests (Continued) Serious damage to soils as organic matter is destroyed, increasing possible erosion Water quality damaged by resulting ash and silt
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Prescribed Burns Improve Forest Health Best approach to dealing with wildfires is prevention Goal of prescribed burns is to eliminate fire hazards Reduces surface litter, which can fuel more destructive fires as it builds up
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Prescribed Burns Improve Forest Health (Continued) Prescribed burns can be used to cleanse forest Controls losses due to insects and disease However, it may weaken trees and increase susceptibility to insects and disease
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Policy of Short-Duration Fire Cycle Forest Service policy in recent years: broader scale use of prescribed burns Will take many years to return entire forest to a short-duration cycle because of excessive fuel buildup on many forest floors Safer to wait until after next harvest cycle before applying this practice
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Fire Suppression Policy of U.S. Forest Service Congress first funded fire control in 1911, 1924 1935: intense fire suppression policy Impossible to implement for lack of equipment and personnel Mid-1900s: fire priority approach Suppression in high-value timber areas
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Fire Suppression Policy of U.S. Forest Service (Continued) Today: fire management Surface fires allowed to burn if consistent with long-term objectives Cost of suppressing fires versus cost of letting them burn
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Effects of Wind on Fire Wind provides oxygen to fire As wind direction changes, turbulence often evident Can cause surface fire to become crown fire Increased intensity can create strong winds Fire creates its own draft (supply of fresh air) Resulting firestorm may jump natural barriers and fire lines (known as spotting)
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Effects of Wind on Rate or Spread Wind speed of 10 mph increases to 20 mph. How much does the increase in wind speed affect the rate at which the fire can be expected to spread? Calculate R for a wind speed of 10 mph: 1.R = 102 2.R = 100
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Effects of Wind on Rate or Spread (Continued) The rate of spread at 10 mph has an index of 100 Calculate R for a wind speed of 20 mph: 1.R = 202 2.R = 400 The rate of spread at 20 mph has an index of 400 or four times the rate of spread when compared to a wind speed of 10 mph. The rate of spread quadrupled when the wind speed doubled
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Indirect Attack Method of Fire Suppression Indirect attack: isolates fire from fuel supply Create firebreak or fire line in pathway of fire Removal of fuel from a strip of terrain Set backfire to gain control of crown fire A fire set along inside edge of firebreak to burn fuel back toward fire Establishes a wide barrier May force fire to change direction
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Indirect Attack Method of Fire Suppression (Continued) Backfires remove fire fuel from an area, so when an advancing fire meets the burned out area, it will have nothing to feed on
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Direct Fire Attack Water and fire retardant chemicals are applied to fires from aircraft, trucks, and backpacks. It is a common practice to make airdrops of fire retardant chemicals
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Direct Attack Method of Fire Suppression Direct attack: employs water or fire retardant chemicals to suppress fire Lowers temperature of fire below kindling point Interrupts oxygen supply to fire Applied from aircraft, trucks, backpacks
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Direct Attack
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©2013 Delmar Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied, duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. Government and Industry Efforts to Prevent Forest Fires Educating public about forest fire prevention with a themed campaign Keep America Green Smokey Bear Providing educational materials to schools Signs, brochures, other media promotions Elimination of fire hazards in forests
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