Zap - Quick Bushfire facts

Hi guys today's ZAP Post is about... Bushfires/Forestfire.

This Zap was requested by some viewers so here you go!

Bushfires are a big threat in dry climates and many of them can take peoples lives. Some of them are started by humans and some by accident. Here are some facts about bushfires.

1. In the year 2009 the Australian state Victoria, 173 lives were lost and it is now referred to as black Saturday.

2. The U.S has the highest fire deaths in the industrialized world. In 1998 the U.S fire death was 14.9 deaths per million in the population! Source:http://www.gohsep.la.gov

3. House fires are also much more likely to occur during the winter when heating methods such as fires, heaters and electric blankets are in regular usage. Source: www.newhamsfire.com

4.  In the United States they used to have a policy of putting out all forest fires. However, in the 1960s they realised that they were no new Giant sequoia trees growing. Giant sequoia trees grow in the western part of the United states. It is bigger then any other area just for trees.

5. Forest fires are a crucial part of the forests life-cycle  Take the sequoia trees for example. The fire sends up warm air to the cones and allows them to split in order to drop their seeds. http://www.nhm.ac.uk

6. Fires also clear all the undergrowth allowing the new seeds to germinate. http://www.nhm.ac.uk

7. Lightning is the most important natural cause of fires, especially
if it is followed by a dry season. http://www.nhm.ac.uk

8.  Surface fires can prevent larger, more serious crown fires (large
uncontrolled fires that burn many tree tops) from occurring.
Therefore, the people from forest  services sometime carry out
what they call ‘controlled  burns’ of undergrowth and leaf litter.
 http://www.nhm.ac.uk

9. Climate change (warming of the  climate) is believed to cause
longer, warmer and drier summer seasons, which provide
conditions favorable for occurrence of forest fires. We need more
research data to establish a reliable relationship between climate
warming and forest fires. http://www.nhm.ac.uk

10. We can decrease the number of forest fires by being careful and
avoiding fire related accidents.

11. Surface fires are different from crown fires. Surface fires burn the undergrowth and leaf litter. This clears way for animals such as
moose, deer etc. http://www.nhm.ac.uk

12. Heat from one fire season can take a long time to cool down.
Even when we do not see flames, and the land gets covered with
snow, sometimes there is enough  that remains trapped in the
burn areas, for a fire to start again when the snow melts away
and it starts to get warmer. 

13. Fire spreads quickly because of the wind. Some fires spread along the dead leaves and branches at the bottom of trees. Some fires spread when the leafy canopy catches fire. Also, burning leaves and branches can get blown ahead of the main fire causing smaller fires to start. 
 
14. Forest fires happen mainly in the summer and autumn. They are particularly destructive when there is a drought because branches and twigs die and dry out, creating plenty of fuel for the fire. http://www.nhm.ac.uk

15. Some bushfires can get up to 1200 degrees C




Thank you for reading!