http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/wildfires/ Learn about the science of wildfires -- risk factors, smoke emissions, effective controls, role in forest ecology and long-term problems. en-us Sat, 17 May 2008 02:05:01 EDT Sat, 17 May 2008 02:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/earth_climate/wildfires/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516094431.htm Preliminary findings in one of the first landscape-scale experiments on how forest management affects western Ponderosa pine ecosystems have been completed. The results suggests that in the absence of treatments like thinning and controlled burns, old-growth characteristics will be lost as a result of lower growth rates and higher tree mortality. The scientists reached this conclusion by evaluating decades of growth data obtained on the experimental forest. Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080516094431.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071218113501.htm The Forest Service's Eastern Forest Environmental Threat Assessment Center recently launched its forest threats summary viewer, a tool that will provide images, threat distribution maps, additional forestry contact information, and brief descriptions about forest threats throughout the eastern US. Wed, 02 Jan 2008 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071218113501.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071230211952.htm The year 2007 is on pace to become one of the 10 warmest years for the contiguous U.S., since national records began in 1895. The year was marked by exceptional drought in the U.S. Southeast and the West, which helped fuel another extremely active wildfire season. The year also brought outbreaks of cold air, and killer heat waves and floods. Meanwhile, the global surface temperature for 2007 is expected to be fifth warmest since records began in 1880. Mon, 31 Dec 2007 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071230211952.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071203135742.htm Beetle droppings -- known in the scientific world as frass -- are crucial to forests recovering from fire.Armed with a pair of tweezers and a handful of beetle droppings,researchers have discovered why bug-sized dung is so important to areas ravaged by fire. Tue, 11 Dec 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/12/071203135742.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071101202302.htm The state of California is adopting new building and fire codes, effective January 2008, that will primarily affect new construction. But homeowners with existing homes to worry about can take independent action to safeguard their dwellings in the event of a wildfire -- an eventuality that is, or ought to be, top-of-mind for those who own or live in housing vulnerable to such a catastrophe. Tue, 06 Nov 2007 23:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071101202302.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071031152918.htm Far removed from streams of gas-thirsty cars and pollution-belching factories lies another key player in global climate change. Circling the northern hemisphere, the conifer-dominated boreal forests -- one of the largest ecosystems on earth -- act as a vast natural regulator of atmospheric carbon levels. Mon, 05 Nov 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071031152918.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071101085029.htm Large-scale fires in a western or southeastern state can pump as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a few weeks as the state's entire motor vehicle traffic does in a year, according to a new article. Thu, 01 Nov 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071101085029.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024094644.htm More than 2,000 members of the interagency wildland firefighting community mobilized through the National Interagency Coordination Center are engaged in a wide range of wildfire response efforts to several fires in Southern California. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024094644.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024103856.htm The catastrophic fires that are sweeping Southern California are consistent with what climate change models have been predicting for years, experts say, and they may be just a prelude to many more such events in the future -- as vegetation grows heavier than usual and then ignites during prolonged drought periods. Wed, 24 Oct 2007 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071024103856.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071022202629.htm Images from NASA satellites illustrate how quickly wildfires have spread throughout Southern California. Powerful Santa Ana winds have fueled more than 10 large wildfires stretching from Santa Barbara to San Diego. Tue, 23 Oct 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071022202629.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071017131817.htm Fires in the US release about 30 percent as much mercury as the nation's industrial sources, according to initial estimates by NCAR scientists. Fires in Alaska, California, Oregon, Louisiana, and Florida emit particularly large quantities, and the Southeast emits more than any other region, according to the new study. Fri, 19 Oct 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071017131817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071003131101.htm The recent wildfires raging throughout the Southern California region have already caused plenty of devastation, leaving lost lives, charred homes, property destroyed and families displaced. But what people may not know is that the wildfires are also causing damage on an "elemental" level -- that is, in increased amounts of elements such as iron, aluminum and mercury accumulating in watershed systems after a fire. Enhanced concentrations of such elements in stream water adversely affect the quality of downstream water supplies and the rate of vegetation regrowth. Mon, 08 Oct 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071003131101.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070921100324.htm Cleanup and rebuilding teams responding to the devastation across Greece caused by this summer's deadly fires are getting help from space. A series of crisis map products based on satellite acquisitions of affected areas are being provided to aid damage assessment efforts following the activation of the International Charter on Space and Major Disasters. Sun, 23 Sep 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070921100324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070914105557.htm Crackling embers and glowing firebrands might make for a romantic evening in front of the fireplace, but for homeowners in high fire-risk areas, windborne fire material is the stuff of nightmares. To learn how to mitigate such threats, researchers have built a firebrand generator that can be used to study the way firebrands ignite structures. The unique device allows for the generation of controlled and repeatable firebrands that can be adjusted to be representative of typical firebrands produced from burning vegetation. Mon, 17 Sep 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070914105557.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829143607.htm Greece has experienced more wildfire activity this August than other European countries have over the last decade, according to data from ESA satellites. The country is currently battling an outbreak of blazes, which began last Thursday, that have spread across the country killing more than 60 people. Mon, 03 Sep 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829143607.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070828110719.htm Why do some forest fires spread rapidly over large areas, destroying and damaging many homes, while others are contained with minimal damage? New research shows a major factor is whether homes are fireproofed. There is more flammable material in a house per square yard than in a forest. Thu, 30 Aug 2007 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070828110719.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070827094741.htm Large parts of the Greek countryside - from the island of Evia north of Athens to the Peloponnese in the south - have been ravaged by some of the worst wildfires in living memory. Firefighting services are stretched to the limit, with new fires erupting almost hourly, fanned by strong, dry winds known as Meltemi. Authorities are currently battling some 170 blazes from the Ionian Sea in the west, Ioannina in the north and the Peloponnese in the south. Water-bombing aircraft from France, Italy and Canada are in action, with more international aid expected. Mon, 27 Aug 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070827094741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070731191203.htm Catastrophic forest fire outbreaks in Siberia are happening more frequently because of climate change, new research suggests. In Central Siberia alone, fires have destroyed 38 000 square kilometers in the extreme fire year of 2003. In that year the smoke plumes were so huge that they caused air pollution as far as in the United States. An international team of scientists believes that Siberian fires are influenced by climate change. Sun, 05 Aug 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070731191203.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070727115847.htm Highlighting the extreme weather conditions hitting Europe, space sensors aboard ESA's Envisat satellite have detected the worst floodwaters to hit Britain for 60 years and deadly fires raging through southern Europe. Mon, 30 Jul 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070727115847.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709111405.htm According to the first global assessment of forest fire control effectiveness in tropical parks, poverty and corruption correlate closely with lack of fire protection in tropical moist forests. A better understanding of the links between corruption, poverty and park management will help conservationists and policy makers create sophisticated strategies to conserve tropical ecosystems. Thu, 12 Jul 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709111405.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070702084228.htm Researchers have developed a new way to predict when vegetation dries to the point it is most vulnerable to large fires in the Santa Monica Mountains near Los Angeles. This year's forecast says the highest-risk fire period will begin July 13 -- weeks earlier than usual. Yet the study also shows that global warming hasn't caused any apparent long-term trend toward early fire seasons in the Santa Monicas. Wed, 04 Jul 2007 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070702084228.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070611185236.htm The Biscuit Fire of 2002 burned more severely in areas that had been salvage logged and replanted, compared to similar areas that were also burned in a 1987 fire but had been left to regenerate naturally, a new Oregon State University Study concludes. Tue, 12 Jun 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070611185236.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070605120919.htm Earthquakes and explosions grab the headlines when structures are toppled, but often the Achilles' heel of engineering is fire. Fire is the follow-up act in disasters. Yet in a research world awash in data keeping skyscrapers, bridges and buildings upright and safe in disaster, fire remains largely unstudied. Sun, 10 Jun 2007 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070605120919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530134625.htm Scientists are producing daily smoke forecasts which help communities determine potential health risks caused by current wildfires across south Georgia and north Florida. Thu, 31 May 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070530134625.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509235740.htm New-onset sarcoidosis of the lung is on the rise among Ground Zero firefighters, according to a new study. Thu, 10 May 2007 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509235740.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509081650.htm Using data from the SCIAMACHY instrument aboard ESA's environmental satellite Envisat, scientists have determined that the carbon monoxide hovering over Australia during the wildfire season largely originated from South American wildfires some 13,000 kilometres away. Wed, 09 May 2007 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070509081650.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070423100903.htm Forest Service researchers have developed an adaptive strategy to help natural resource managers in the southeastern United States both prepare for and respond to disturbance from major hurricanes. These scientists based their work on the effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Tue, 24 Apr 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070423100903.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070409164810.htm A new study on the effects of timber harvest following wildfire shows that the potential for a recently burned forest to reburn can be high with or without logging. This study demonstrates that the likelihood of a severe reburn is affected by the timing -- not just the amount -- of fuel accumulation after fire. Thu, 12 Apr 2007 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070409164810.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327095218.htm Scientists are reporting new evidence from experiments with laboratory rats that high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide gas -- inhaled for even very brief periods following fires, explosions of military munitions or detonations of terrorist devices. Wed, 28 Mar 2007 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070327095218.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070301102531.htm Scientists using NASA satellite and rainfall data have linked the recent El Nino to the greatest rise in wildfire activity in Indonesia since the record-breaking 1997-98 El Nino. Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070301102531.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070109172159.htm Forest fires release more mercury into the atmosphere than previously recognized, a multidisciplinary research project at the University of Michigan suggests. Wed, 10 Jan 2007 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/01/070109172159.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061226134700.htm Western U.S. wildfires are likely to increase in the coming decades, according to a new tree-ring study led by the University of Comahue in Argentina and involving the University of Colorado at Boulder that links episodic fire outbreaks in the past five centuries with periods of warming sea surface temperatures in the North Atlantic. Sat, 30 Dec 2006 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061226134700.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061220143843.htm NASA data from earth observation satellites is helping build the capability to determine when and where wildfires may occur by providing details on plant conditions, according to a recent study. Fri, 29 Dec 2006 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061220143843.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116081859.htm As wildfires put more and more human lives and property at risk, people are looking to fire managers for protection. Thu, 28 Dec 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116081859.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061212212632.htm Oak forests may be approaching extinction, but lightning fires may play a vital role in their regeneration, according to Case Western Reserve University biologists. Fri, 15 Dec 2006 05:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061212212632.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061201105724.htm In October of 2003, multiple wildfires raged throughout Southern California. Now, researchers at the University of Southern California report that residents without asthma in wildfire-endangered regions suffered as much as those with asthma. Mon, 04 Dec 2006 08:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/12/061201105724.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061117130944.htm Countering hypotheses that forest fires in Alaska, Canada and Siberia warm the climate, scientists at UC Irvine have discovered that cooling may occur in areas where charred trees expose more snow, which reflects sunlight into space. Fri, 17 Nov 2006 11:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061117130944.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061110080741.htm University of Cincinnati environmental health researchers have determined that firefighters are significantly more likely to develop four different types of cancer than workers in other fields. Their findings suggest that the protective equipment firefighters have used in the past didn't do a good job in protecting them against cancer-causing agents they encounter in their profession, the researchers say. Fri, 10 Nov 2006 14:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061110080741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060921094440.htm Scientists using NASA satellites and other data including computer models and ground sensors have demonstrated that pollutants traveling even thousands of miles can impact air quality. The study concludes that ozone pollution levels increased significantly in the air above Houston on July 19 and 20, 2004. Researchers attribute this increase in part as a result of smoke transported into the area over the course of a week from forest fires raging in Alaska and Canada. Thu, 21 Sep 2006 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060921094440.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060901164053.htm Scientists from the USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station will help forest managers in the Southeast quickly measure fuel loads across extensive areas of hurricane-damaged forests, the first step in deciding where to remove downed trees in order to prevent devastating wildfires from inflicting even more damage to hurricane ravaged areas in the Southeast. Sat, 02 Sep 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060901164053.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060828074840.htm In separate comments published in the journal Science, two groups of researchers from Oregon State University and the USDA Forest Service will exchange perspectives on the issue of post-wildfire salvage logging, forest regeneration and fire risk that were the source of considerable controversy earlier this year. Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060828074840.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060822101752.htm Climate change appears to be contributing to the waking of a dangerous sleeping giant in the most northern wetlands of North America -- mercury. Released into the atmosphere most prodigiously with the launching of the industrial age, the toxic element falls back onto Earth, and accumulates particularly in North American wetlands. A Michigan State University researcher finds wildfires, growing more frequent and intense, are unleashing sequestered mercury up to 15 times greater than originally calculated. Wed, 23 Aug 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060822101752.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816083231.htm As temperatures rise with global warming, an increased risk of forest fires, droughts and flooding is predicted for the next 200 years by climate scientists from the University of Bristol, UK. Thu, 17 Aug 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060816083231.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060810211036.htm Forest fires don't just have an impact on the environment, but on human health, according to a new study from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada. Thu, 10 Aug 2006 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060810211036.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060731113650.htm Early Sunday morning, July 23, an abandoned campfire in Cleveland National Forest erupted into a 7,000-acre wildfire that continues to spread. Now known as the Horse Fire, it threatens more than 1,500 homes and 100 commercial properties near San Diego, Calif. Mon, 31 Jul 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060731113650.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710084004.htm Large forest fires have occurred more frequently in the western United States since the mid-1980s as spring temperatures increased, mountain snows melted earlier and summers got hotter, according to new research. Almost seven times more forested federal land burned during the 1987-2003 period than during the previous 17 years. In addition, large fires occurred about four times more often during the latter period. Mon, 10 Jul 2006 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060710084004.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060707093644.htm A new study led by scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego implicates rising seasonal temperatures and the earlier arrival of spring conditions in connection with a dramatic increase of large wildfires in the western United States. The new findings point to climate change, not fire suppression policies and forest accumulation, as the primary driver of recent increases in large forest fires. Fri, 07 Jul 2006 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060707093644.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060530175532.htm Different disasters require different responses and, in turn, multiple technological solutions, which is a costly duplication of resources. REMSAT II, a project supported by ESA's Telecommunications Department, has, however, successfully extended its forest fire fighting capabilities to the domain of flood relief, saving both resources and lives. Tue, 30 May 2006 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060530175532.htm