Geography A-Level - Physical - Wildfires
- Created by: Noah_S
- Created on: 02-06-21 16:50
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- Wildfires
- General Theory
- Formation
- Conditions
- Fuel Characteristic
- Fine, dry material catch fire and burn the most easily
- Vegetation Type
- Thick undergrowth / closely spaced trees allow fire to travel easily
- Some trees have a lot of oil / shed strips of bark which aids the fire
- Fire Behaviour
- Fires can throw out burning debris (firebrands) that help the fire spread
- Climate and Weather
- The area usually has a dry season, where rainfall is low for a significant time
- Strong wings provide more spread to burning embers
- Fuel Characteristic
- Types
- Ground Fire - Where the ground itself burns. It's slow, with no flame and little smoke
- Surface Fire - Where leaf litter and low-lying vegetation burns. Can be low or high intensity
- Crown fire - Where fire moves rapidly through the canopy. They are intense and fast-moving
- Conditions
- Impacts
- Primary
- People may be killed or injured if they don't evacuate
- Habitats are destroyed, and soils are damaged due to the fire removing organic matter
- Destroys buildings and businesses, and the cost of fighting a wildfire is huge
- Secondary
- Wildfires can cause health problems, like breathing difficulties due to the smoke produced
- Wildfires may discourage tourists from visiting, if tourism is built on the environment
- Smoke causes air pollution, and water sources can be contaminated with ash.
- Primary
- Responses
- Short Term
- Evacuations and diverting the fire away from settlements will reduce the amount of social damage
- Attempting to put out the fire and spraying water onto roofs of houses can mitigate the amount of economic and environment damage
- Long Term
- Prevention - Using public education to reduce human causes for wildfires, and using thermal cameras to get rid of starting fires help stop wildfires from starting
- Preparedness - Emergency plans and emergency shelters can help reduce the impacts a wildfire could have
- Adaption - Individuals can change the way they live to help themselves with wildfires. Using non-flammable building materials and creating fire breaks are examples
- Short Term
- Formation
- Case Study - Australia (2009)
- Impacts
- 173 killed, with many more suffering from stress and depression (Social)
- AUS $4 billion worth in damages + 60 businesses destroyed (Economy)
- 4300 km^2 of land was burned, including many habitats for animals, birds, and rare species (Environment)
- Pre-Disaster
- Severe wildfires burned for a month in the state of Victoria
- Environment conditions added to the intensity of the fire - as they were followed ten years of drought + strong winds
- Lack of management (e.g. controlled burning of forest litter) meant that there was a large amount of very dry oil-rich fuel
- Several fires caused by faulty power lines
- Severe wildfires burned for a month in the state of Victoria
- Responses
- Australian Bureau of Meteorology predicted where the fires would spread, and told residents to evacuate (Short Term)
- 20,000 firefighters and volunteers helped in combating the fire and aid (Short Term)
- AUS $400 million donated to help build more resistant houses (Long Term)
- Improvements to emergency shelter, warning systems and more (Long Term)
- Impacts
- General Theory
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