| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
A wildfire, also known as a forest fire, vegetation fire, bushfire (in Australasia), is an uncontrolled fire in wildland often caused by lightning; other common causes are human carelessness and arson.
Drought and the prevention of small forest fires are major contributors to extreme forest fires.The word "wildfire" originally meant a mediaeval European weapon substance somewhat like napalm; the word got its present meaning by people misunderstanding the expression "spread like wildfire".
Wildfires are common in many places around the world, including much of the vegetated areas of Australia, forest areas of the United States and Canada, where the climates are sufficiently moist to allow the growth of treeThis article is about the biological organisms known as trees. For other meanings of the word see tree (disambiguation). oak tree in Denmark A tree can be defined as a large perennial woody plant. Though there is no set definition of size, it is generallys, but feature extended dry, hot periods when fallen branches, leaves, and other material can dry out and becomes highly flammable. Wildfires are also common in grasslands and scrublands. Wildfires tend to be most common and severe during years of drought and occur on days of strong winds. With extensive urbanization of wildlands, these fires often involve destruction of suburban homes located in the wildland urban intermix.
Today it is accepted that wildfires are a natural part of the ecosystemIn ecology, an ecosystem is a community of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms also referred as biocenose) together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a unit. The term ecosystem first appeared in a 1935 publication by the of wildlands, where, at the least, plants have evolved to survive fires by a variety of strategies (from possessing reserve shoots that sprout after a fire, to fire-resistant seedThis writeup is about biological seeds; for the Buddhist metaphor, see bija. A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants. The importance of the seed relative to more primitive forms of reproduction and dispersal is attested to by the sus), or even encourage fire (for example eucalypts contain flammable oils in the leaves) as a way to eliminate competition from less fire-tolerant species. In 20042004 is a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 2004 calendar), and has also been designated the: International Year of Rice International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition Elections are to be held in 73 co, researchers discovered that exposure to smokeFor the movie starring Harvey Keitel, see Smoke (movie); for the cigar aficionado magazine, see Smoke (magazine) Smoke is a suspension in air of small particles resulting from incomplete combustion of a fuel. It is commonly an unwanted by-product of fires from burning plants actually promotes germinationIn a botanical sense, germination is the process of emergence of growth from a resting stage. We typically think of the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of a flowering plant or gymnosperm. However, the growth of a hypha from a fungal spore is also germ in other types of plants by inducing the production of the chemical butenolide. Most native animals, too, are adept at surviving wildfires.
On occasions, wildfires have caused large-scale damage to private property, particularly when they have reached urban-fringe communities, destroying many homes and causing deaths.
Slash, small, rotten, mis-shapen, or otherwise undesirable wood discarded during logging, has historically provided the fuel for devastating fires such as the fires in Michigan in the 19th century.
The aftermath of a wildfire can be as disastrous if not more so than the actual fire itself. A particularly destructive fire burns away all the plants and trees which prevented erosion. If heavy rains occur after such a fire, landslides, ash flow s, and flash floods are to be expected. Not only does this result in severe property damage for those living in the immediate fire area, but it also affects the quality of the local water supply.
There have been wildfires long before Man evolved. One main component of Carboniferous north hemisphere coal is charcoal left over by forest fires.
Green Knoll Wildfire in Jackson, Wyoming