Project Report

On
“WILDFIRE”

SUBMITTED BY: GROUP 3

NAME ROLL NO
Abhinandan Shetty PA 26
Soham Shinde PA 23
Vedant Shinde PA 04
Deepak Shirgire PA 25

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

SR No. TOPIC Page No.

1. Introduction 3

2. Causes 4

3. Consequences 7

4. Potential Areas 8

5. Control Measures 10

6. References 12

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 INTRODUCTION
Fire plays a critical role in nature. It is both a source of new life,
and represents one of the most destructive forces on Earth.
In some ecosystems, fire is a necessary agent of change and
renewal. But a century of fire suppression has reduced the
frequency of fire in fire-adapted forests, unintentionally
increasing fuel loads and modifying forest structure. These
changes, combined with a warming climate and drier fire
seasons, have led to large, intense, destructive wildfires that are
difficult to contain and cause lasting damage, especially in the
West. Ecosystems can quickly bounce back from moderate
burns, but catastrophic fires alter soils, forest species
composition, wildlife habitat, and water quality.
Depending on their frequency, intensity, and extent, wildfires
can have either positive or detrimental effects. Scientists and
managers are seeking the right balance between using fire to
restore forest health in fire-adapted ecosystems and preventing
catastrophic events that harm both forests and nearby
communities—a difficult task, given development in and around
wildlands.

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 CAUSES
People, not lightning, trigger most wildfires in the United States.
Between 1992 and 2012, human-started wildfires accounted for
84 percent of all wildfires, tripled the length of the fire season,
burned seven times more area than lightning fires, and were
responsible for nearly half of the total area burned.
Human causes are both inadvertent (untended campfires,
burning of debris, discarded cigarettes) and intentional (arson).

 Slash and Burn Farming :

Certain agricultural practices like the slash and burn method or
shifting agriculture involve the intentional lighting of wildfires
by humans. Such fires are lit to clear the land of vegetation so
that cultivation can be carried out in the cleared space. As the
land becomes infertile due to over-farming or other improper
farming practices, the people shift to newer locations where they
can carry repeat the act.

 Arson:
A significant number of wildfires are caused by the intentional
act of people to gain something out of the disaster. Such an act is
called arson. For example, people might set fire to their own
property to gain money from insurance. Such fires could become
uncontrollable and destroy large areas of forestland and
farmland.
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 Cigarette Butts :
The careless attitude of a cigarette smoker can claim the lives of
hundreds to thousands of animals and plants as well as humans.
Cast-away cigarette butts that are still burning are one of the top
causes of wildfires. It is very important for smokers to behave
responsibly to ensure that a negligence on their part does not
cause an adverse impact on the environment.

 Irresponsible Logging Activities :

Clearance of forest land for logging purposes can encourage the
dominance of flammable gases. Also, logging roads that have
been abandoned might be populated by such vegetation and act
as fire corridors.

 Fireworks :
Fireworks displays must be held at safe locations. Often, an
irresponsible act by an amateur person can lead to devastating
consequences. If there is even a little chance that fireworks
might start a wildfire at a particular venue, the activity must be
avoided.

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The red dots on the map (left) show where people are the primary
cause of wildfire; larger dots indicate more fires. In central and
Southern California, the Pacific Northwest, and most of the East, more
than 80 percent of fires were caused by humans. Even in Florida, which
has many lightning strikes, 60 to 80 percent of wildfires were caused by
people. In the forests of the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest,
lightning was the major cause.

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 CONSEQUENCES
Large, severe fires are changing landscapes and ecosystems at
all scales. Besides causing human casualties and damaging
vegetation, wildlife, aesthetic values, and infrastructure,
catastrophic fires affect soils, air, and water.
Severe fire, for example, is associated with loss of soil nutrients,
making plant life slow to recover. Soil crusting, caused by fire,
reduces infiltration and ground storage of rainwater.
Burning vegetation emits greenhouse gases—carbon dioxide,
methane, and nitrous oxide.
Large fires can degrade the water quality of streams and lakes,
especially where water is scarce. In the Southwest, surface water
flowing from burned areas has carried hazardous chemicals into
streams, lakes, and reservoirs

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 POTENTIAL AREAS
Warming temperatures and variable precipitation have caused
severe forest droughts. The stress weakens trees, making them
more susceptible to insects and diseases, and diebacks then
create fuel. Fires are more likely to escape control during
drought years, affecting more acreage. In the mountainous
West, fires have burned large areas because of drier forest
conditions. In the Great Plains, large fires have occurred in
spring, following shorter and warmer winter seasons .

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The map (left) shows the wildfire hazard potential across the country,
with red and dark red representing areas with a higher probability of
experiencing torching, crowning, and other forms of extreme fire
behavior. The map is based primarily on 2010 landscape conditions.

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 CONTROL MEASURES
Hazardous fuels are accumulating three times faster than they
can be removed. Reducing the build-up of hazardous fuels is
important for reducing the extent, severity, and cost of wildfires.
Federal and state agencies have implemented fuel management
programs to reduce the risk of wildland fire and improve the
resilience of forests and rangelands. Fuel treatments remove or
modify wildland vegetation to reduce the potential for severe
wildland fire, lessen postfire damage, enhance threatened and
endangered species habitat, and limit the spread of invasive
species and diseases.
Treatments include prescribed fire, mechanical thinning and
removal, herbicides, and grazing. In addition to improving the
health and resilience of our forests, fuel management also raises
communities’ awareness of wildfire risks, and improves
firefighter’s chances of managing a fire effectively.
Since 1998, the annual number of acres treated for fuel
reduction with prescribed fire has quadrupled, from less than 1
million in 1998 to 4 million in 2016.
Between 1998 and 2016, federal and state agencies reduced
fuels on about 45 million acres, treating an average of 2.3
million acres per year. Almost half the total area was Forest
Service land. Currently, there are 80 million acres in need to be
treated.

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Between 1998 and 2016, federal and state agencies reduced
fuels on about 45 million acres, treating in average 2.3 million
acres per year. Currently there are 80 million acres in need to be
treated.

Federal and state agencies shares of total area treated for fuel reduction
in the year 2016 is shown below.

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 REFERENCES
 Abell, R., et al. 2017. Beyond the source: The
environmental, economic and community benefits of
source water protection. Arlington, VA: The Nature
Conservancy.
 Aregai, T., and D. Neary. 2015. Water quality impacts of
forest fires. Journal of Pollution Effects and Control 3(2).
 Bagdon, B., and C-H. Huang. 2016. Review of economic
benefits from fuel reduction treatments in the fire prone
forests of the southwestern United States. Southwest Fire
Science Consortium.
 Balch, J.K., et al. 2017. Human-started wildfires expand the
fire niche across the United States. PNAS 114(11).
 Brown, J.K., and J.K. Smith. 2000. Wildland fire in
ecosystems: Effects of fire on flora. General Technical
Report, RMRS-GTR-42-vol. 2. Ogden, UT: U.S. Forest
Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.
 California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Benefits of fire. Fact sheet.

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