Wildfire Quiz PDF

**A Wildfire originated from an unplanned ignition, such as lighting volcanos, unauthorized and accidental human caused fires, and prescribed fires that are declared wildfires** **Soil Charcoal in the Great Smoky Mountains provided evidence,** that fires have burned on this landscape for millennia....

**A Wildfire originated from an unplanned ignition, such as lighting volcanos, unauthorized and accidental human caused fires, and prescribed fires that are declared wildfires** **Soil Charcoal in the Great Smoky Mountains provided evidence,** that fires have burned on this landscape for millennia. **Paleoe-conlogical results:** from Horse Cove Bog Indicate that during most of the last 4000 years Native Americans played an important role in determining the composition of the southern Appalachian vegetation through the selective use of fire. **Results:** Recorded fires as far back as 1729 Average time between fires in pine-oak forests 5-15 years Less frequent fires at higher elevation sites. **BAER-Burned Area Emergency Response** **Next, wildland firefighters usually focus on establishing a fire line. A fire line is a break in fuels created by removing all vegetation up to an existing barrier. The barrier can be:** - Bare mineral soil - A natural feature (such as a rock outcrop, creek, or other body of water) - A constructed surface (such as a road or driveway) The fire **ignition triangle** describes the elements necessary for starting a fire: oxygen, heat, and fuel. All three must be present: - ***Oxygen* (air)** - to start and sustain combustion. Air supply can be increased by windy conditions. - ***Heat** -* to raise fuel temperatures to their ignition point and to ignite fuels. Common sources of heat are lightning and human activities. - ***Fuel** -* to sustain and/or carry flames. Combustible materials include trees, shrubs, grasses and structures. Once fuels are ignited, **heat is transferred in three ways**: - ***Conduction*** transfers heat from a warmer object to a cooler object until both temperatures are the same. ( Not that important in the wildland fires) - ***Radiation*** transfers heat through air by short energy waves (infrared rays), which preheat and dehydrate fuels to their ignition point. (slightly more important in wildland fire) - ***Convection*** transfers heat through the movement of liquid or gas. Wildfires generate gases that rise in columns, usually accompanied by sparks, embers and burning twigs. These convective columns move downwind, ahead of the fire front, carrying embers that start spot fires. (Very Important in wildland fires) The ICS consists of five working units: **The Incident Command System** - ***Command*** is in charge of the wildland fire incident. It is established by the first officer on the scene, who assumes the role of Incident Commander (IC). The IC immediately establishes priorities, objectives, and strategies and is responsible for monitoring safety and for managing organization by delegating authority to units as needed. - ***Operations*** carries out the plans established by the IC and Operations staff. It is responsible for fire suppression and rescue. Operations staff are made up of both commanders and firefighters working on the fire. - ***Planning*** is responsible for collecting, evaluating, and distributing data and publishes the Incident Action Plan, which is used by everyone working on the fire. The Incident Action Plan includes all related plans of action---which firefighters and resources are assigned to the fire, where they are assigned, contact information for the ICS staff, safety information for firefighters, and maps of the fire and surrounding area. - ***Logistics*** provides services and support to firefighters---communication equipment, medical supplies, clothing, accommodations, food, restrooms, showers, and vehicle maintenance. - ***Finance*** tracks all money associated with the fire incident, including personnel time, contracts, and workers\' compensation and claims. **Why is it called the Chimneys Tops 2 Fire?**\ A: It was the second fire in the Chimney Tops area. The first occurred November 13-16, 2016. It was fully suppressed by fire crews and totaled 1/4 of an acre. The two Chimney Tops fires are not connected. **The Fire Regime:** The average characteristics of fire behavior and timing for a given ecosystem or location over a given period of time. **Two different ways of define fire behavior:** **Fire Intensity --** characteristics measured as fire occurs: heat release, flame length, rate of spread **Fire Severity** -- Fire\'s impact on vegetation or soils **Three Broad Categories of Fire Behavior:** **Surface Fire**, fire spread by combustion of fuels on or above the soil surface **Crown Fire**, fire spread by combustion of crowns of trees or shrubs **Ground Fire**, fires spread by combustion of subsurface organic fuels **Fire Triangle** **Where does plant biomass come from?** Mainly out of thin air **Fire Behavior** **Surface-to-Volume** Ratio is very important for characterizing fuels **Fine dead fuels:** react quickly to short-duration precipitation **Large Dead fuels:** react more slowly to precipitation; require long-duration precipitation to absorb moisture, or long-duration drought to dry out enough to burn