More Rain = More Fire

More Rain = More Fire

      Last year, floods and high rainfall affected many regions of the nation, including large tracts of the dry interior. A wet year, following extended dry spells, has resulted in rapid growth of grasses and herbs. This leaves a relatively dense and continuous layer of ground cover blanketing what is often bare ground.

      Such conditions are the precursor to major fires, particularly as herbaceous ground cover begins to dry or “cure”. Once cured it is then available as fuel to burn.

      For much of the year, these litter fuels are unavailable to burn ( they are too wet ). But periodic, prolonged and widespread droughts dry this fuel enough that fires can readily ignite and spread. Such circumstances-as in 2003 and 2009-can result in fires that cause major losses of life and property on the margins of our largest cities and towns.

      Most years, fires don`t happen because there is something stopping them. We call these things “key limitations”. When limitations break down, fire takes hold. Where fire follows rain, as in dry ecosystems, the mass of fuel is normally too low and patchy to enable fires to spread. In wet years this limitation is overcome, as often-dormant plants start to grow.

      In the dry country, big wet years typically occur a decade or more apart, with exceptional, extensive years-such as 2011-occuring less frequently.

      In wetter forests, major drought may occur as often as twice a decade. In cooler regions, droughts may be a decade or more apart. Do you have any idea how to stop this condition ? what do you think the cause of fire ?

sumber : Buku Paket Bahasa Inggris kelas 8