Forest Fires

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Review of Literature

I. Introduction- Forest Fires

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, Wildfire means “a sweeping and destructive conflagration esp. in a wilderness or a rural area.” Also according to the same dictionary, wilderness means “a tract or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings.” Forest Fires happen when there is a drought because branches and twigs die and dry out creating plenty of fuel for a fire. According to the NIFC (National Interagency Fire Center) there are about 105,534 wildfires that occur each year.

Wildfires occur when the climate is moist making trees and shrubs ready to grow and when a dry, hot period occurs a wildfire can occur. Wildfires mostly occur in highly vegetated areas like Australia, Western Cape of South Africa and in the dry forests and grasslands of North America and Europe. They also happen in the United States, Indonesia, and Australia every few years. Wildfires in the forests and grasslands of North America happen in the summer, fall, and winter during dry periods when it’s windy and there is a lot of fuel for fire. When they happen in summer, fall, and winter it is called Wildfire Season. Western U.S. fires happen to be more dramatic during summer and fall seasons while Southern fires are hardest to fight in late winter and early spring seasons when fallen branches, leaves, and other material dry out and become highly flammable. According to Steve Nix of About.com he states, “" The Wildland urban interface" is a growing zone of transition between developing areas and undeveloped wildland. It makes fire protection a major concern for state and federal government. Most of the world’s worst wildfires have occurred in Australia and The United States of America.

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...d fight the Yellowstone Fire. In 1989, more than 2,600,000 people came to Yellowstone National Park that year, the highest annual visitation rate of the 1980s.

There is a rule that if there is a fire they can let it put it out as long as it’s not hurting anyone. Some people think they let it burn to long and they should of put it out quicker. This fire burned 1.2 million acres of land.

My sources were: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/booming/lessons-from-the-yellowstone-fires-of-1988.html?_r=1&

http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/wildlandfire.htm

http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/special-reports/yellowstone_fires/article_e253b09a-2dc1-5107-811f-1ebf5d6c150c.html

http://forestry.about.com/b/2013/06/24/forest-fire-basics-and-the-behavior-of-forest-fires.htm

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fire/figh_nf.html

http://www.nps.gov/yell/index.htm

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