Fires
Wildfires are a growing natural hazard in many regions of the world, posing a threat to life and property, particularly where native ecosystems meet developed areas. However, because fire is a natural (and often beneficial) process, fire suppression can lead to more severe fires due to the build-up of vegetation, which creates more fuel. In addition, the secondary effects of wildfires, including erosion, landslides, introduction of invasive species, and changes in water quality, are often more disastrous than the fire itself.
The current increase in instances of wildfire can be explained by four key factors:,
1. Past fire suppression policies, including one of “total suppression,” which allowed for the accumulation of fuel in the form fallen leaves, branches, and excessive plant overgrowth in forest and wild land areas.
2. Increasingly dry, hot weather.
3. Changing weather patterns across many regions
4. Increased residential development in the wild land/urban interface.
As the climate warms, the atmosphere can hold more moisture, and precipitation is likely to increase in winter, but with more falling as rain rather than snow. Increased melting of snow further adds to the likelihood that snow pack in the mountains and on the plains is less as spring arrives, making less melt water as the summer looms. Drier soils mean less evaporation and so the heat goes into higher temperatures, less recycled moisture in the atmosphere, and hence less rain during summer. With increased drying, it is a recipe for increased intensity, frequency and duration of drought. Increased heat waves and risk of conflagration follow.
