How do forest fires take place?
Forest fires always start by one of two ways – naturally caused or human caused. Natural fires are generally started by lightning, with a very small percentage started by spontaneous combustion of dry fuel such as sawdust and leaves. On the other hand, human-caused fires can be due to any number of reasons.
What constitutes a wildfire?
A wildfire is an uncontrolled fire that burns in the wildland vegetation, often in rural areas. Surface fires, on the other hand, burn in dead or dry vegetation that is lying or growing just above the ground. Parched grass or fallen leaves often fuel surface fires.
Why is it so hard to fight fires?
There are a few reasons why wildfires are so devastating. First, they are incredibly hard to contain. Humidity is an enemy of forest fires and without the aid of the weather, humans end up combatting these fires on their own. This makes them even harder to control.
Why is it so hard to stop wildfires?
Many factors affect how a wildfire burns and how difficult it may be to control. The three sides of the fire behaviour triangle are weather, topography and fuels. To put out a fire, heat, fuel or oxygen must be removed. Putting dirt and water or retardant on fire removes the oxygen from the fuel.
Can sea water be used for fire fighting?
Yes, salt water can be used to put out wildfires. Thus, using salt water may not be a wise first choice in firefighting methods in certain environments. It can also be impractical to use saltwater, if the fires occur far from the coast.
Can ocean water catch on fire?
“Seawater puts out fire just as well as fresh water, and although seawater is tougher on pump equipment than fresh water, proper maintenance and flushing of the systems would limit their corrosive properties on our pumps,” Capt.
Can crude oil catch fire?
Unlike the gasoline that is distilled from it, crude oil has a relatively high flash point of 140°F. The flash point is the temperature at which a substance can vaporize to form a ignitable mixture in air. In order to sustain combustion the crude oil must be maintained at or above the flash point.
Why does salt put out a fire?
Salt will form a barrier from the fire to the air. Depriving the fire from any one of the three things will extinguish it. As a bonus interesting fact, water mostly attacks heat from that triangle, but can attack all three.