Forest Fires ~ The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ~

Transcription

1 Forest Fires ~ The Good, The Bad and The Ugly ~

2 Fire Facts ~ Did you Know? ~ Smoke colour can indicate the intensity of a fire: Dark Smoke: hot, active, unpredictable fire White/Blue Smoke: cooler, less active fire Fire can generate winds, which can reach velocities up to 190 km/hr

3 Plant Regeneration Many plants have adaptations that allow them to either withstand fire or regenerate quickly after a fire: Physical Characteristics - thick bark (e.g Douglas fir) Vegetative Sprouting - regeneration from buds found on roots (e.g. Aspen, Willow) Fire Stimulated Seed Release- seeds which need extreme heat to be released (e.g. Lodgepole pine) Fire Stimulated Seed Germination Fire Stimulated Seed Germination seeds that require heat or smoke to stimulate germination

4 What Happens to the Animals? During the Fire: Large animals are able to run from the fire Small animals often escape by moving into rock cliffs or underground boroughs After the Fire: After the Fire: Many animals return to a burned area looking for the new abundant vegetation that has regenerated

5 Fighting Forest Fires ~ Who, How and Why? ~

6 British Columbia Forest Service Protection Program Overview The BCFS Protection Program is a division of the British Columbia Ministry of Forests, specializing in wildfire suppression and prevention

7 British Columbia Forest Service Protection Program Overview In 1994 the Protection Branch of the Ministry of Forests was re-engineered to improve the following: efficiency productivity cost effectiveness Staff and crews were taken out of administrative centres and stationed at attack bases in regions of BC with higher wildfire risk: Smithers Prince George Williams Lake Kamloops Castlegar Nanimo

8 How BC Fights Forest Fires Early Detection Fast Aggressive Initial Attack Aggressive Mop-up Every Forest Fire, regardless of cause, will be brought under control within 24 hours If a fire isn t under control in the first burning period, a Fire Analysis Strategy must be completed by the Incident Commander in consultation with the Land Manger

9 Types of Fire Suppression Crews Initial Attack: access fires by either truck or helicopter 1. Rappattack: Utilize helicopters to access fires in steep remote areas 3 person crew (self sufficient for 24 hours) Access is by rappelling from a hovering helicopter Provide emergency medical assistance to injured persons in isolated areas Helicopters are equipped with hoists for extraction

10 Types of Fire Suppression Crews 2. Parattack: Utilize fixed wing aircraft and parachute deployment to access remote initial attack fires Crew consists 18 Parattack personnel and 1 Command Spotter Crew and fire equipments are deployed by parachute Used mostly in Prince George, Northwest and Cariboo fire Centres Limiting factors will be terrain, tree height, and canopy closure

11 Types of Fire Suppression Crews Unit Crew: 20 person crew utilized for sustained action on larger fires Crew consists of 1 Crew Leader, 4 Squad Boss s and 15 Crew Members Self sufficient for 72 hours Used for mop-up and initial attack on large fires

12 Other Fire Suppression Resources Helitankers: these medium-sized helicopters with a belly tank attached are suited for direct bombing on fires Helitankers generally have a belly tank capacity of 300 gallons Helitanker operations are coordinated by the Rapattack Duty Officer who maintains communications with fire centres and the helicopter operations technicians on board

13 Other Fire Suppression Resources Air Tankers: These aircraft are primarily used for Initial Attack Air Tankers can carry between 700 and 2500 gallons of retardent depending on the type Retardent is not designed to put the fire out, but rather is used to buy time for the ground crews to get in and complete control lines

14 Prevention Through Fire Management Decades of practicing fire exclusion, have caused many fire ecosystems to build up fuel loads beyond their capacity Fuels Management is now the focus: the planned manipulation of forest vegetation whether living or dead to decrease the intensity and rate at which a forest fire spreads this is a proactive way to reduce the threat of catastrophic wildfire to people, property and natural resources

15 Prescribed Burning Definition: Intentionally starting a fire to reduce excess fuels on the forest floor (fuels management or fighting wildfires) Fall Burning: Winter Burning: Waiting for the fall allows enough time for the the dead vegetation to dry out for easy ignition. The weather is also cooler, therefore reducing the chance of igniting surrounding vegetation. If there is very dry conditions during the fall or if large slash piles are being burned, snowy conditions decrease the chance of the fire getting out of control

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