Forest fires: causes, types and consequences

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:44

Before describing the causes of forest fires, I would like to note that many people are dying from uncontrolled fire today and entire villages are suffering. This element is the most terrible misfortune of mankind, because of which people, all living and inanimate nature suffer hardships. Nowadays, as before, this is a fairly common problem.

Globalism

Fire causes great harm to the entire environment around us. To the state, enterprises and personally to a person a threat to life. Often the cause of the fire is the person himself. Any careless handling of fire or sources of ignition. For example, with an electrical appliance, a cigarette, an unextinguished match, a gas stove or electric welding. Violation of technological processes, rules for handling electrical equipment - this can already be the cause of a disaster for many people. Every year the number of fires increases significantly. If you do not carry out fire fightingevents, there will only be more.

In our country, forest fires are very common, the causes of which will be discussed a little later. Russia lost many sites in 2010. The fire engulfed vast areas of the forest. According to statistics, more than 300 thousand hectares die annually.

Characteristic

It is worth noting attention before analyzing the causes of forest fires. There are two types of the latter. Grassroots and riding.

In the first case, the entire forest floor burns out, lichens, small trees, mosses, and the trees remain mostly intact, only the bark burns at the trunks (below, at the roots).

When a crown fire mostly burns out the upper part of the trees. It is very dangerous, as the fire spreads through the tops of the trees by the wind formed from the thermal convective currents of the fire. Such a whirlwind can carry even the trunks of burning trees over long distances.

Threat Elimination

If a ground fire in a forest is extinguished with water from tank trucks or other transported containers, as well as by plowing the forest by knocking down the flame with branches and earth, then the mounted fire is eliminated by means of aviation with water.

There are exceptions. They direct the flame to the fire, which is created artificially. To prevent its spread, aircraft are careful not to fall into the convective flow. That is, into the hot air from the fire. If you are not careful, the plane or helicopter may fall into the fire.

Anthropogenic causes

That is, those that are associated with a person. In fact, forest fires are most often caused by people. The reasons are as follows:

• Careless handling of fire. This includes the carelessness of hunters and tourists who do not put out matches, fires and cigarette butts. Sometimes even a spark from the muffler of a car is enough to ignite a blade of grass, with which the flame will spread further.
• Creating fires on peat bogs.
• Forgotten bottles in the forest or uncollected fragments. Light passes and refracts perfectly through them, which triggers the lens effect (the principle of setting fire to paper through a magnifying glass).
• The use of wads (again, we are talking about hunters) from those materials that are extremely flammable.
• Uncontrolled agricultural burns (burning of grass on distant pastures or hayfields) in autumn and spring.
• Ignoring fire safety regulations. A simple example: a man was driving along a forest in a car, stopped to fill a tank from a canister. He wiped his hands with a napkin, threw them on the ground, and went on. Another driver drove by, who was just finishing his cigarette, and threw a cigarette butt out of the window. He gets on a napkin soaked in gasoline, and a fire occurs. Which extends to the forest.

These are the main causes of forest fires. Unfortunately, not all people think about the consequences. And many simply have no respect for nature.

Natural factors

They also need to be mentioned when talking about the main causes of forest fires. In most cases, of course, the person is to blame, but natural factors also take place. Here is a list of them:

• Dry thunderstorms.
• Zippers.
• Tornado.
• Earthquakes.
• Storms.
• Tornados.
• Hurricanes.
• Spontaneous combustion of a peat bog.

The first phenomenon is worth paying attention to. Dry thunderstorms are rare, but they pose a great danger. They are cumulonimbus clouds with precipitation. Which do not reach the ground, but evaporate. Everything is accompanied by thunder and a powerful electric discharge falling into the trees. And since there is no moisture (thunderstorms are dry), a fire occurs. Speaking about what are the causes of forest fires, it is worth noting that this phenomenon entails the most horrifying consequences. Since it is not known how much lightning one such dry thunderstorm can entail.

Peat fires

They also need to be mentioned. Peat is a product resulting from the incomplete decomposition of plant matter. Moreover, in conditions in which excess humidity reigns and there is not enough aeration. That is why this product is the most moisture-intensive of all existing solid fuels.

What are the causes of forest fires, it was said above. And what factors provoke the ignition of peat? The main ones are:

• Mishandlingfire.
• Spontaneous combustion (occurs if the external temperature is above 50 degrees).
• Lightning strike.

Fire specifics

Most often, a peat fire occurs for the second reason mentioned. No wonder, because in the summer in areas of central Russia, the soil warms up to 52-54 degrees. And since peat is made up of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen atoms, ignition at this temperature is not long in coming. It all starts with smoldering, and grows into a large-scale flame.

Of course, the causes of forest and peat fires can be identical. But listing them again does not make sense. It is only worth noting that “columnar swirls” of dust and ash are often formed above the places of peat fires, which are carried over long distances by a strong wind and eventually cause new foci. It also causes a lot of burns in animals and people.

Consequences

When discussing the main causes of forest fires, it is worth referring to the data of the Russian Emergencies Ministry. It contains very important information. It is said that these incidents are the main factors that determine the dynamics and condition of the forest fund throughout our country. In particular, the regions of the Far East and Siberia. There, the areas of dead plantations and burnt areas are many times greater than the volume of clearings. The same applies to the European part of the country, but to a lesser extent.

The statistics are really horrifying and make you wonder what are the main causes of forest fires to doeverything possible to prevent them. Why? Because forests cover 22% of the entire country! And annually in the Russian Federation at least 10,000 fires are registered. And as a maximum - 35,000. And this is only in the forests. And they cover truly gigantic areas - from 500,000 to 2,000,000 hectares. Needless to say about the damage, estimated at 20 billion rubles. At the same time, up to 1/3 of the losses are accounted for by forestry (loss of timber).

About industrial fires

The causes of forest and peat fires were listed above. Finally, at the end of the topic, I would like to briefly talk about man-made. After all, they are especially dangerous.

These include fires at nuclear power plants, power plants and places where there is a lot of chemical industry, in oil storage facilities and oil refineries. And also in weaving factories, where the collected dust can ignite spontaneously. The consequences are global, because burning cotton is very difficult to put out, since it contains oxygen in large quantities, and even lowering a burning bale of cotton into the sea, it will not be possible to extinguish it. It will continue to burn underwater at the bottom.

How are such fires eliminated? Through the following substances:

• Water. The most common fire extinguishing agent.
• Sand. Used to extinguish small fires.
• Extinguishing powders, foaming agent, carbon dioxide.

When choosing a substance, care must be taken. For example, a foaming agent with water is used to extinguish oil products. Herthe addition is mandatory, as it forms an insulation against the entry of oxygen into the tank with a burning oil product. However, it is impossible to extinguish oil products only with water, since alone it will not create protection against the ingress of oxygen and itself at high temperatures will decompose into oxygen and hydrogen, which will lead to an explosion.

Well, fire spares no one. In connection with numerous fires, it should be noted that you need to be very careful with nature and electrical appliances. We must be vigilant. Seeing a burning cigarette or a bottle lying in the sun, it is better to remove it in order to save life for yourself, nature and the people around you. After all, most fires most often occur due to human fault. And one could be convinced of this based on everything that was said earlier.