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- Dictionarywildfire/ˈwʌɪl(d)fʌɪə/
noun
- 1. a large, destructive fire that spreads quickly over woodland or brush.
- 2. a combustible liquid such as Greek fire that was readily ignited and difficult to extinguish, used especially in warfare. historical
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A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire ( in Australia ), desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, prairie fire, vegetation fire, or ...
- What Is A Wildfire? / Defining A Wildfire
- How Does A Wildfire Burn?
- Are Wildfires Natural?
- What Types of Scientists Study Wildfires?
- How Do Scientists Predict, Study, and Measure Wildfires?
- Who Fights Wildfires?
- Where Do Forest Fires occur?
- When Are Wildfires Most Common?
- Why Do Wildfires Happen?
- Why Are Wildfires Getting Worse?
The definition of a wildfire is a large outdoor fire that includes burning vegetation in wildland or rural areas, but may also include or spread into communities with structure and infrastructure. There are two related terms that help answer the question “what is a wildfire” – wildland fire and wildland urban interface fires, known as WUI fires for...
In a typical wildfire in North America, a wildfire burns because the heat from the flames heats up the wood or other type of fuel - in this case fuel could be anything flammable – trees, brush, leaves, grass, etc. That fuel is then chemically converted into gaseous fuels that then feed the flames – sustaining the flames, which then heat up and igni...
Wildfires can be both natural and human made. For most wildland areas, there is a natural cycle of wildfire occurrence, and it is natural for there to be wildfires every so often. But, in the natural realm these fires would be low intensity wildfires that would remove excess fuel and prevent a large wildfire from happening. These smaller, natural w...
There are many different types of scientists who study wildfires and their impacts. The main types of scientists are fire ecologists, fire engineers, climate scientists, social scientists, and public health scientists. Urban’s scientific research falls under the fire engineering umbrella. His research focuses on the physical processes of wildfire b...
There are many ways, but at WPI researchers use experiments ranging from a very small scale -for example, a single tree branch, to the very large scale – researchers can burn one to three trees at a time in the university’s large-scale laboratory. However, sometimes even the university’s large lab is not big enough, and for those situations WPI res...
The people who fight wildfires include urban firefighters and specialized wildland firefighters. Fighting wildfires requires a different approach. In urban fires, the general approach is to control and eventually suppress the fire, primarily using water or other suppression agents. In a small wildfire, this same method may work before the fire grow...
In short, forest fires occur everywhere. The places where wildfires occur depend on the weather and local ecosystem. In areas that are prone to wildfires, plants have adapted to their occurrence. In the United States, wildfires happen more frequently in the western part of the country, but they can happen anywhere. Generally, wildfires are more int...
Wildfires are most common when a region is in what is called a fire season. That is when conditions are most conducive to fire. Recently, fire seasons have been growing to be longer in duration. Local weather is also an important factor in when wildfires are most common. In California – the Diablo winds in the northern part of the state and the San...
Wildfires happen when an ignition source or heat source ignites fuel. “When the conditions are dry and there are high winds, wildlands and WUI areas become like a tinder box, and all you need is a heat source to ignite them” said Urban. In addition to power lines, fireworks, overheating catalytic converters touching tall grass, and even golf clubs ...
Wildfires are getting worse because of the fire paradox. In the United States, there is a large effort to suppress any type of wildfire, which leads to the build up of fuels, and thus when there is a fire, it can be large and severe. The effects of wildfires are also getting worse because more people are moving into WUI areas. Because of that, more...
A wildfire is an unplanned fire that burns in a natural area such as a forest, grassland, or prairie. Wildfires are often caused by human activity or a natural phenomenon such as lightning, and they can happen at any time or anywhere.
A wildfire is an uncontrolled, destructive fire that spreads rapidly through woodland, heaths, grassland and farmland. Wildfires are unpredictable and can change direction, posing a real threat to people, wildlife, property and the environment.
Jul 25, 2022 · On a hot summer's day when drought conditions peak, something as small as a spark from a train wheel can ignite a raging wildfire. Sometimes, fires occur naturally, ignited by heat...
Oct 19, 2023 · A year-old forest will have a different set of flora and fauna inhabiting it than a forest that is 40 years old, and according to wildlife biologist Patricia Kennedy, “a lot of species require that reset,” which comes from a fire. Everything you need to know about wildfires.
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Apr 2, 2024 · A wildfire is an uncontrolled burn of vegetation, which includes the burning of forests, shrublands and grasslands, savannas, and croplands. Wildfires can be caused by human activity — such as arson, unattended fires, or the loss of control of planned burns — and natural causes, such as lightning.
