Dozens of conflagrations have raged across more than five million acres in Oregon, California and Washington in the US since August, laying waste to several small towns, destroying thousands of homes and killing at least 36 people.

The region’s increasingly dry and overgrown forests have become large-scale tinderboxes over decades while wildfires have become more frequent, more intense and more deadly.

US President Donald Trump blames poor forest management mainly a failure to cull overgrown forests — for the increasing number and intensity of fires. The governors of California and Oregon — the states worst hit this season — say climate change is largely responsible. Scientists say both factors are at work.

Recent incidents of forest fires

Almost 1,000 firefighters and 15 water-dropping aircrafts battled a major wildfire in central Portugal last week, as strong winds pushed the flames through dense and hilly woodlands. The blaze was in central Portugal around Proenca-a-Nova, 200 kilometres north of Lisbon. The fire’s perimeter stretched more than 55 kilometres. Large wildfires occur each year in Portugal, where poor forest management has been blamed for repeated outbreaks. Two major blazes killed 106 people in 2017.

In Greece, a wildfire fanned by strong winds forced the evacuation of a boarding school and six residential areas southeast of Athens. The settlement of Feriza and five more areas about 45 kilometres from Athens were evacuated. Greece often experiences wildfires during its dry summer months. Temperatures have remained high for the season, and authorities warned this week of a high risk of blazes.

In May, forest fires were reported in Guerrero on Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Over one billion animals – mammals, reptiles, birds, and frogs – were killed or displaced by Australia’s devastating 2019-20 bushfires. More than 30 people lost their lives and over 17 million hectares had been burned. 

In Brazil, home to the biggest share of Amazon rainforest, blazes nearly doubled in 2019 compared with 2018.

Canada is also plagued by a spate of fires. Since 1990, wildland fires across Canada have consumed an average of 2.5 million hectares a year, the government said. These fires occur in forests, shrublands and grasslands.

What is wildfire?

A wildfire is an unplanned fire that burns in a natural area such as a forest, grassland or prairie. Wildfires are often caused by human activity or a natural phenomenon such as lightning. They often begin unnoticed. They spread quickly and can damage natural resources and destroy homes. It impacts wildlife and biodiversity. 

The risk of wildfires increases in extremely dry conditions, such as drought, and during high winds. Wildfires can disrupt transportation, communications, power and gas services and water supply. They also lead to a deterioration of the air quality.

Wildfires or forest fires can have significant impact on mortality and morbidity depending on the size, speed and proximity to the fire, and whether the population has advanced warning to evacuate.

The size and frequency of wildfires are growing due to climate change. Hotter and drier conditions are drying out ecosystems and increasing the risk of wildfires. It also simultaneously impacts weather and the climate by releasing large quantities of carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter into the atmosphere. Resulting air pollution can cause a range of health issues, including respiratory and cardiovascular problems. 

Wildfire smoke is a mixture of air pollutants of which particulate matter is the principal public health threat. Infants, young children, women who are pregnant, and older adults are more susceptible to health impacts from smoke and ash, which are important air pollutants. Smoke and ash from wildfires can greatly impact those with pre-existing respiratory diseases or heart disease.

Forest fires in India

In India, forest fire is a serious problem in the hilly states, especially in summers. A recent analysis done by the Forest Survey of India (FSI), shows that nearly 36 per cent of the country’s forests are prone to fires and of this, over 10 per cent are highly fire prone. Most of the fire prone forest areas are found in the northeastern region and the central part of the country.

According to the India State of Forest Report 2019, over 30,000 incidents of forest fires were reported in India in 2019. The ministry of environment, forest and climate change said that areas covering 93,273 hectares were affected by forest fires in 2019.

It has been estimated that annual loss from forest fire in the country is more than Rs 550 crore. Also, there are many intangible losses such as loss of biodiversity, ozone layer depletion, loss of habitat for wildlife, soil erosion, etc.

Types of forest fires

Forest fires are generally of three types.

1) Surface fire: It is a very fast moving fire, which consumes small vegetation and surface litter along with loose debris. This type of forest fires are mostly common in India.

2) Crown fire: It advances from top to top of trees or shrubs without any close link with surface fire. It is the fastest way of spreading fire and most destructive for trees as well as wildlife. It is rarely observed in India.

3) Ground fire: A true ground fire is not easily predictable as it spreads within, rather than top of organic matter. It consumes organic matter like duff, musk or peat present beneath the surface litter of the forest floor. It has the unique characteristic of having a smouldering edge with no flame and little smoke. Ground fires are most hard to tackle. 

Tackling forest fires

Forest fires in India are largely of anthropogenic origin and therefore preventable to a large extent. Apart from public awareness and their participation in controlling forest fires, use of all the technological options for prevention, detection, early warning, fire fighting and damage assessment should be employed under a scientifically prepared forest fire management plan for each district or forest division. 

Geospatial technological tools and techniques have been very effectively used in the forest fire management around the world in the last couple of decades. 

FSI also took an early initiative in using geospatial technology in forest fire applications in the country. First ever burnt area mapping at the national level using satellite data was undertaken during 1995-97. Near real time forest fire detection and dissemination of alerts was started in 2004. 

FSI has been alerting State Forest Departments of forest fire locations detected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard Aqua and Terra Satellites of NASA since 2004.

Modern technological tools, particularly geospatial technologies, hold great promise in forest fire monitoring and control in the country. 

The FSI Forest Fire Alerts System (FAST) has undergone periodic changes to facilitate not only foresters but also common people in a better way. The upgraded version of the Forest Fire Alert System version 3.0 (FAST 3.0) was released in 2019. 

National Action Plan on Forest Fires

Recognising the need to revamp forest fire management in the country, the ministry of environment, forest and climate change has come up with the National Action Plan on Forest Fires, 2018.

One of the main objectives of the action plan is to reduce the incidences of fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivising them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments (SFDs).

The plan also aims to reduce the vulnerability of forests against fire hazards across the diverse forest ecosystems in the country, enhancing the capabilities of institutions in fighting fires, and accelerating the recovery after a fire incidence. 

Forest Fire Prevention and Management Scheme

The Centre supplements the efforts of state/UT governments in prevention and control of forest fire by providing financial assistance under the centrally sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FPM) scheme.

Objectives of FPM scheme are:

• Minimise forest fire incidence and assist in restoring productivity of forests in affected areas.

• Institutionalise the partnership with forest fringe communities for forest protection.

• Contribute to the larger goal of maintaining environmental stability.

• Prepare fire danger rating system and devise forest fire forecasting system.

• Encourage the states/UTs for optimal use of modern technology, such as remote sensing, GPS and geographic information system (GIS) in planning, developing and operationalising fire prevention and management systems. 

• Develop knowledge on impacts and dynamics of forest fire, etc.

Manorama Yearbook app is now available on Google Play Store and iOS App Store