By: Brandon Head

Wildfires

A wildfire is a massive fire caused in the forest. Wildfires destroy huge amounts of land and can cause a large amounts of casualties.

What is a Wildfire?

The answer to that is that we don’t have a scale used to measure wildfires. We just see how much it burned.

How do we measure it?

Wildfires usually happen during early spring or summer. However, wildfires can happen at any time conditions are right.

When it happens

People start most wildfiresContact local fire department to learn fire

safety lawsCreate a 30-100 ft safety zone around your

yardAlways listen to local fire officials

How can you stay safe?

Wildfires can happen anywhere that there is low moisture and has lots of flammable grass or wood.

Common places for wildfires

fire

An average of 1.2 million acres of U.S woodland burn every year

4 out of every 5 wildfires are caused by people

Surface fires-most common type of wildfire, move slowly across land

Ground fire-usually caused by lightning, burn through root system

Crown fire-spread by winds along tops of trees

Facts about wildfires

Meteorologists study wildfires only for right conditions.Scientists cannot predict when wildfires will happen because most wildfires are caused by a person’s actions.

Studying wildfires

June 3rd, 2007 Sequoia National Park in California

September 5th, 1881 Lower peninsula of Michigan

June 22nd, 1988 Yellowstone National ParkApril 16th, 2007 Georgia and Florida1983 Victoria, Australia

Past wildfires

Ask.comGoogle.comCliparthttp://www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/home_fire_pr

ev/wildfire/http://www.weather.com/ready/fire/facts.html

Sources