This site Sponsored and Maintained By the For the FireReport Newsletter

Literature Review—(continued)

David Partin, a firefighter with the Florida Division of Forestry, related a severe wildfire experience that occurred on February 15, 1991 (Partin, personal communication, May 6, 1991). The 500-acre wildfire occurred in Orange County, with sustained winds of 23 miles per hour and relative humidity of less than 40%. These conditions were similar to those that existed on May 17, 1985, when disastrous wildfires burned across the state, destroying over 600 homes (Whitson, 1990). The wildfire that Partin was fighting ran into a 1,250-acre prescribed burn that he conducted in 1990. Less than 0.1 acres was burned by the wildfire in the area previously burned by prescribed fire. The fire was spotting 300 to 400 feet ahead of the fire front. If the wildfire had not run into the prescribed burn, he estimates that the fire would easily have tripled in size before the next defensible barrier.

Not all of the literature reviewed reflects prescribed fire as a fire prevention tool. James K. Brown (1989) raised the question "Could a program of prescribed fires have eliminated the undesirable consequences of wildfire in Yellowstone National Park in 1988?" Brown determined that the 1988 fires in Yellowstone could not have been avoided with a program of prescribed burning. Between 1972 and 1988, whenever weather conditions allowed, he analyzed fuel characteristics, fire prescriptions, logistics, and costs to implement prescribed burning. Brown concluded that starting a program in 1972 with considerable additional funding would not have significantly changed the amount of acreage burned. However, the threats to villages may have been prevented and the escapes on the east and west sides of the park would have been significantly reduced, although not eliminated.

Climatic research has been conducted over the past 10 years on the effects that weather has on wildfires. The most recent has explored the links between the El Nino/Southern Oscillation phenomena in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean, and apparent climate anomalies in other parts of the world. Periods during which sea surface temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean are higher than normal, associated with the Southern Oscillation, are referred to as "El Nino." When the surface sea temperatures are lower than normal, they are referred to as "La Nina" (Philander, 1983). Brenner (1991) found a strong correlation between La Nina events and total acreage burned by wildfire in Florida. The correlation was strongest using measurements of surface sea temperatures from the central Pacific between January and May. Brenner shows that when the average surface sea temperature drops below the mean, there is a corresponding increase in the acreage burned in Florida by wildfire. The converse is true when the temperature rises above the mean. He concludes that there is a strong "teleconnection" between the negative sea surface temperature and pressure events in the central Pacific Ocean, which can be used to forecast periods when a significant fire season is more likely to occur in Florida.

Bailey (1988) best summarizes the literature reviewed by saying, "We can never eliminate completely the destruction of fire, but it is in our best power to reduce the human suffering, economic cost and damage to natural resources." Homes in the wildland/urban interface do not have to burn, nor do we have to continue to sacrifice our natural resources to protect them. We have the technology and the management skills to reduce wildfire destruction dramatically. We can build fire-resistant structures, landscape to reduce fire hazard, and modify wildland fuels to reduce fire intensity. We can also prevent many fires from starting. "The catalyst to this process is a commitment to exert the leadership needed to build effective fire loss reduction programs" (Bailey, 1988).

Throughout the literature, many references were made to the intrinsic benefits of prescribed burning to prevent wildfires or reduce their size and intensity. However, little was quantified on the tangible benefits of prescribed burning. This lack of information caused the author to review statistics in his fire district for the benefits of prescribed fire as a wildfire prevention tool.

This Comprehensive Training Section Will Continue In The Next Issue.

FireReport Newslleter
Editor: Kathy Willis
firereport@earthlink.net 

Page 2