Do Animals Need More Help in Escaping Wildfires?

The California Rim fire is still raging around Yosemite National Park in California, and everyone who has heard about it shares health and environmental wellness concerns for those in the area. However, anthropologist and Care2.com writer Cherise Udell not only heard about it last week, she came into contact with the devastating beast.

 

According to Udell, ‘My family was on our way to the Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp…when we were stopped by park rangers: “No traffic is going through the West Gate due to a fire that suddenly exploded from 50 acres to 800 and jumped the highway.” At that point, we had no doubt the fire was not only quickly growing, but also dangerously close, as the darkened smokey afternoon sky was now raining ash upon our car. Turning around was obviously the only option…After a 12-hour drive, I was lamenting the fact that we were only 20 minutes away from Tuolumne Family Camp and yet so far, now that a blazing fire stood between us and a week of fun, when my youngest daughter exclaimed in a very worried voice, “But Mama, where will all of the forest animals go?”

 

For Udell, the answer came easily, but did not sit well with her for long. ‘I told her that animals have much better eyes, ears and noses than we do and when they sensed the danger they quickly fled to safety,’ she says. ‘That is what I guessed to be true anyhow, and it seemed like the best thing to say to a now very anxious 7-year old child watching ash and smoke swirl around us. But silently again, I wondered, where DO all of the animals go? Are they able to escape or do fire-fighters find gruesome carcass after carcass as they themselves chase the fire “mopping” up any hot spots that could flare up again?’

 

This led Udell on a journey to find the answer to her daughter’s question, thankfully finding that her original summation had been pretty accurate; in the aftermath of a forest fire surprisingly few animals are found dead. ‘Animals, whether feathered, furred or scaled have memory of fire embedded in their limbic brains,’ Udell explains. ‘The first hint of smoke, the first whoosh of dry grass going up in flames or the popping of wood are easily registered by wild animals at great distances, so rarely are they completely caught off guard and thus they have plenty of time to flee. The most vulnerable, of course, are the old, the very young and the sick or injured. Those that can flee by wing, foot, hooves or slither, do so, while others not so fast or just too small, burrow underground and wait for the impending disaster to pass overhead.’

 

Udell concludes, ‘Animals, forests and forest fires are all part of a natural healthy cycle – and in fact many plants and animals depend on naturally occurring wildfire to flourish. For example, many pine tree require the intense heat of a forest fire to open their cones and release their seeds. No fire, no new trees. The Red Cockaded Woodpecker, the Swainson’s Warbler, many types of quail, foxes, bears, squirrels and other animals depend on fire to keep undergrowth in check. Consequently, all forest-dwelling plants and animals have co-evolved with the inevitable fires and have found ways to adapt.’ Mike McMillan with the US Fish and Wildlife Service confirms that it’s ‘not really’ necessary for us to help animals escape from wildfires, although he does add that ‘it is up to all of us to take care of our precious public lands, and the amazing creatures that live there.’

Categories: animals, animals depend, California, Family, family camp, forest, nbsp, tuolumne family, udell, wildfires

How Do Fire-Fighters Overcome Devastating Wildfires?

Although wildfires look absolutely awesome, they can be disastrous to environmental wellness. These devastating spectacles, like the Rim Fire raging in Yosemite, California, take only hours to devour large swaths of forest and grassland, which puts the wellbeing of the planet at risk – not to mention that of humans – and requires a special approach by fire-fighters to battle such blazes.

 

In order to combat wildfires, fire-fighters need to combine traditional techniques with newer technologies. This may mean using firebreaks to contain the voracious flames, while utilising drones and satellite imaging to monitor the fire’s progress. According to Julie Hutchinson, battalion chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), for the last five years wildfire activity has been 50% above average which, if uncontained, poses a threat to human wellness and property. She commented, ‘We’re always looking for technology that could benefit the public and fire-fighters and provide an additional layer of safety.’

 

Containing the blaze is obviously the immediate priority for fire-fighters once the wildfire gathers steam. Usually, this involves sending fire trucks and related equipment, ground crews, bulldozers and aircraft. The fire-fighters begin by laying down hoses every 100 feet along the fire’s edge and then the bulldozers create a firebreak or fire line around this perimeter. This is a strip of land or trench in which anything that might potentially fuel the fire – i.e. dry bush or grass – is removed. Hutchinson explained, ‘We don’t want the fire to come out of that area, and the only way to do that is to remove any fuel.’

 

In certain situations, it’s appropriate for fire-fighters to create a controlled burn. This technique, known as “firing out”, involves starting a fire between the wildfire and a natural barrier, such as a road, to direct the blaze and remove any vegetation in the wildfire’s path. Meanwhile, aircraft such as helicopters fly over the fire and maintain an air-attack, dumping water or suppressant foam on hotspots. When the foam is used, it insulates unburned fuels in order to prevent them from catching fire. Airtankers also monitor the fires and feed camera footage and GPS data a computer system to improve models of the fire’s behaviour.

 

Over the Rim Fire, a Predator drone has been deployed for the first time, which is different to a manned airplane in that remotely piloted aircraft doesn’t risk the life of the pilot, and can fly over the fire for much longer. As it stands, the fire-fighters are using the drone’s gathered information to better allocate their ground fire-fighting resources to where they are most needed. The drone is also providing vital information as to critical infrastructure locations, such as power lines, gas lines and water systems that are in the fire’s path. Hutchinson pointed out, ‘Where it becomes important is when you start having multiple fires in a state, and you’re having to allocate resources.’

 

Mark Cochrane, a senior scientist at the Geospatial Sciences Center of Excellence at South Dakota State University, uses satellites data to determine the best techniques for preventing wildfires. He noted, ‘This information helps us understand how what we’ve done on the landscape affects fires now.’ He asserted that the most effective methods – albeit dependant on the region in which the fire occurs – tend to be forest thinning and prescribed burns, as the aim of both of these techniques is to eliminate fire fuel before the fire occurs. Cochrane added, ‘It’s inevitable wildfires will occur. Accepting that fire is part of the landscape, what can we do to inoculate [the land] so that areas where people are living or that are highly valued do not burn?’

Categories: drone, fighters, Fire-Fighters, nbsp, New Drone, Wildfire, wildfires