Bushfires

Bushfires are devastating disasters that occur all over the world. They can cause a lot of damage to people, animals and the environment. Bushfires can be deliberately set by humans or can occur naturally.

Basically a bushfire is a wildfire that occurs in the bush. A bushfire is a natural disaster that can sometimes get out of control. If a bushfire does not occur in the bush then it is not a bushfire. They can reach temperatures of about 1000 Degrees Celsius.

One of the reasons bushfires are caused is because careless people drop their cigarette buds on the floor. Fires can be deliberately set by people. They can also be caused by lightening strikes that can set fire to grass or trees. Even a camp fire that goes out of control can start a bushfire.

Bushfires affect people and the environment because bushes are destroyed and trees are damaged. Also our wildlife are injured or killed and their habitats are destroyed. Our houses are burned and we will have no shelter or electricity. People will also be killed or badly injured. The smoke from the fire will pollute the air and people will die from breathing in smoke.

Bushfires can start during hot dry weather. You need fuel to start the fire and wood to keep it going. Fires can also start by lightening strikes. A fire needs oxygen to stay alive, just like we do. Without oxygen the fire will go out.


· In 2001 there was a bushfire in NSW on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

· There was also another bushfire in NSW in 1994 with temperatures of about 40 Degrees Celsius.

· In 1983 there was a terrible bushfire on ash Wednesday.72 people were killed including 15 Fire fighters. More then 2000 houses were burnt down. This fire started in Victoria on the 16th February and ended in South Australia on the 18th of February.

· On 8th January 2003 there was another terrible bushfire in Canberra caused by a lightening strike.530 homes were burnt down and 4 people died. $280 million was needed to fix the damage.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT BUSHFIRES

· Bushfires manly occur in summer or autumn when the weather is hot.

· Bushfires also occur in drought where the grass is dry.

· There are 2 main types of bushfires: SURFACE BUSHFIRES burn in grass, shrubs or litter and are easy to control. But CROWN BUSHFIRES is when the heat and the flames of the fire spread rapidly to the tops of trees. This makes it hard to control.

· There is about 15,000 bushfires in Australia each year.

· If you deliberately start a fire you could go to jail.

· Some bushfires can travel faster than 25km/h, so that doesn’t give you much time to run away.

· The massive Indonesian Bushfires of 1997-1998 created a smoke cloud that covered much of south East Asia. The thick cloud caused a passenger airliner to crash, killing all 234 people on board.

· Fire fighters use a variety of equipment yo control fires.

· Australia has over 250,000 volunteer fire fighters.

· Major Bushfires may continue to burn for months or days until they either run out of fuel or are extinguished by changes in the weather or efforts of people.

Bushfires

What is a bushfire?
A bushfire is the burning of wood, forest and leaves.

How Do Bushfires Occur?
For a bushfire to occur, there needs to be fuel and a fire starter.

The fuel can be leaves, wood, branches and paper. The fire starter can be a natural starter like lightning or it can be a cigarette or a match.

Why Do Bushfires Occur?
Bushfires can occur by two main reasons. One is by accident, for example a lightning strike or somebody not putting out a campfire or cigarette. They can also occur by people purposely starting a bushfire.

Examples of Bushfires Around Australia
One of the worst fires in Australian history is called the Ash Wednesday Fire.

The fire started on 16th of February 1983 and burnt through southern Victoria and in South Australia. There were 75 people killed, 2,600 people injured and 9,000 homes lost or damaged.

How Do Bushfires Affect People and the Environment?
Bushfires can actually be very good for the environment. For example some native trees need smoke and heat to open their seeds.

Bushfires are bad because they damage property and can kill people.

What are Some of the Ways People Can Prepare their Homes and Communities Against Bushfires?
By building their houses away from the bush. By also keeping grass and leaves away from their homes and by putting sprinklers around their homes.

BUSHFIRES

Bushfires are amazing Natural Disasters. There are many different reasons why they happen. It can be dry weather, high temperature or even flammable vegetation. Bushfires can even be started by lightning strikes when they hit the ground

Most fires happen in Australia. This is because we live in on of the driest countries and we have high temperatures. It is also because of the weather patterns Australia gets. Bushfires usually occur in places where there are lots to burn or it won’t stay alive very long.

Fires can cause lots of damage and deaths. Wildlife are usually killed by the smoke, the fire and also from their homes being destroyed and not having any where to live people can also be killed along with their homes being burned down. People can die from breathing in lots of the smoke. Power lines, forests and buildings can also be knocked over.

Fires need three different things to start. It is called the fire triangle which has oxygen, fuel a heat sources. Fires will not go even if one of these things is missing. The oxygen helps to burn he fire. The oxygen gas is in the air. Wind moves the air with the oxygen which will move the fire. Fuel is what bushfires burn. It can be stuff like leaves, grass, twigs or wood. If a fire runs out of fuel it will dry up very quickly. The heat sources are what start the fire. It can start by volcano eruptions, sparks or lightning strikes. Even if fires crackers or bombs go wrong they can start fires too.

Fire fighters spray water over smaller fires with a hose but with larger fires that are really big helicopters pour water to cool down the fire. They sometimes also put foam on the fires to stop the oxygen from getting to the fire. The helicopters pour it from high in the sky so that it will spread as its falling. Sometimes the chemicals are red so that the pilots can see where the chemicals are falling.

The safest way to get out of a fire is to do the method STOP, DROP, ROLL. You should always do this if your cloths or you skin is on fire. The rolling stops the oxygen from getting to the fire. If the fire doesn’t get oxygen it will more then likely dry up. That means that you will be safer then in danger.

There has been many different fires in history like the large fire in Chicago on October 8th 1871. the heat from the flames were so hot that it was burning the hair on the people standing at the nearby river called the Michigan Lake. Some people were even in the Michigan Lake to escape the heat and to avoid their hair being burned. This fire burned the water system pipes that were deep under ground. The fire only stopped when there was nothing left to burn. More then three hundred people died. It cost two hundred million dollars to rebuild the city of Chicago.

There was the deadliest fire in the United States also on October 8th 1871 People also were in the river to escape the heat and the fires flames. Many people died from breathing in to much smoke or burned to death. The fire storm ripped off the roofs off houses. The fire killed more then one thousand two hundred people and burned more than two thousand four hundred acres of the Wisconsin Forests. This fire burned down the entire city.

Bushfires are very interesting and have many interesting facts about.
- Fires can be fueled by flammable gases like Petrol.
- Bush fires are solar energy that is out of control.
- Fires can be good as much as bad.
- A crown fire is when the fire is on the tops of trees.

I got my information from four different books and websites
- Fires-By Tami Deedrick
- http://clearyexplained.com/nature/earth/disasters/05extrainfo.html
- http://library.thinkquest.org/10136/bushfire/bushtqu.htm
- http://www.kidcyber.com.au/