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Fires in nature (Impacts of wildfires (loss of vegetation/farms,…
Fires in nature
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Weather conditions
frequent heatwaves and droughts, El Nino
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El Nino - occurs approx every seven years, water warms above average, changes ocean currents, changes air currents, patterns of temp and rainfall become much hotter and drier
primary impacts
environmental - loss of wildlife and habitats, loss of animal life, increase in CO2
social - loss of life and injury, homelessness, loss of power
political - emergency services, pressure to co-ordinate aid effectively
damage and destruction of buildings, businesses destroyed, farmland destroyed
secondary impacts
environmental - food chain impacts, leading to global warming in long term, disruption of species and biodiversity
social - unemployment, fear of where you live, lower quality of life
political - long term development plans, regulations, law reviews
economical - cost of repairs and replacement of machinery, cost of future mitigation
Alberta 2016
causes - most likely to be human, 15km away from Fort McFurray, hot and dry air mass was in lace over Northern Alberta, temp was 32.8, 72km/h winds
towns power grid was damaged, 2,400 structures destroyed, waterways - 90% loss of homes, insurance payouts predicted to cost $9billion if everything was rebuilt
responses - declared state of emergency, australia mexico and russia offered help but it was declined by the prime minister, less than a week after of being deployed the south africans went of a strike over wages,
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Causes continued
wildfires are aided by the heat transfer process, which describes how vegetation is preheated by an approaching fire making it more susceptible to burning
direct causes
wind - changes or directs the direction of the ire to newer areas with fresher fuels, feeding the fire
slope - fires move faster downhill, steeper slope = faster fire
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times and seasons - seasons such as summer are hotter and drier and there is richer oxygen in summer
fuels - the ease at which wildfires spread also depends on fuel composition e.g. moist trees and vegetation aid slow burning/no burning
space between fuels - burn faster in closer proximity, can backburn to create space around a fire
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preparedness - at risk on interface, rural firefighting teams are staffed by volunteers, warnings are released, fire bans, from weather service and fire dept, graded warning systems, self reliance and preparation
to prepare homes for wildfires they can thin the vegetation, move debris away, clear fuel, stack firewood away from home - to create a defensible area
As of December 11th 2016 in California there had been half a million acres worth of Forest fire damage