Wildfires are natural disasters that devastate forests, prairies, or other wild areas in no time. However, they also follow a specific pattern. If you spend any time in the great outdoors, it’s wise to familiarize yourself with a wildfire’s behaviors to ensure your safety and perhaps even stop a fire before it starts. Here are the stages of wildfires and how they spread.
Ignition
Every fire begins with an ignition. Ignition happens due to natural causes such as lightning strikes, spontaneous combustion of vegetation, excess sunlight, and the like. More often, wildfires start because of unnatural reasons, such as leaving a campfire unattended, carelessly discarding lit cigarettes, high heat emanating from a vehicle’s chassis, sparks from sundry devices, and more. The heat from these sources begins to burn fuel, such as dry leaves and wood or dead trees and brush. Dry weather and low moisture in the fuel compound these objects’ ignitability.
Growth
During the growth stage, the fire spreads rapidly, consuming any available fuel and expanding in size. Wildfires are especially dangerous during this phase since the fire can grow swiftly and uncontrollably. The wind tends to pick up and carry sparks and embers, spreading the fire further. Topography also plays a hand in this process, as wildfires move faster uphill than downhill. Fuel load is the final factor in a wildfire’s growth. Areas that are dense with dried vegetation provide more fuel, letting the wildfire expand exponentially.
Full Development
The wildfire has reached peak intensity and size at this stage. Flames may reach towering heights. Fire tornadoes and flammagenitus (or fire) clouds may form, carrying flames further or creating lightning that starts new fires, respectively. Heat radiation may further prime surrounding vegetation through preheating, drying out plant life and making it more likely to catch fire.
Decay
All things come to an end. The fire loses intensity as it runs out of fuel or wildland firefighters suppress it. The fire’s growth slows down as it begins to die out. Decay may occur due to changes in the weather—rain and cooler temperatures, for example. Wildland firefighters, of course, spray flames with water, dig firebreaks, and perform other tasks to slow and stop the fire. Inevitably, every fire runs out of fuel. Once a fire consumes all its available fuel, it dies, though rarely soon enough.
Extinction
The flames and smoldering materials are absent at this stage, and areas affected by the fire begin to recover. However, a wildfire’s aftermath has long-reaching effects, and wildland firefighters must take the necessary steps to truly extinguish it.
Those are the stages of wildfires and how they spread. Mind local fire rules and regulations, thoroughly extinguish campfires with a bucket or collapsible water storage tank, and be mindful of conditions that could lead to future configurations to prevent wildfires from happening. Awareness and preparation are the best defenses against wildfires, whether hiking, camping or simply exploring nature.