Extensive research has proven that wildfires are occurring five times more often in recent decades. Here are some tips for fire safety while hiking.
We are all shocked at the horrifying pictures and videos appearing more frequently on the media of wildfires causing massive destruction. When I first wrote this post, in November 2018, the Californian town of Paradise was in the news, following its devastation by the deadliest wildfire in the state’s history. Since then, many other places around the world have been destroyed by wildfires.
Unfortunately, research is showing that wildfires are occurring five times more frequently now than last century. Moreover, forest fires are burning six times the land area when compared to past occurrences, and lasting almost five times longer. Every year, wildfires globally burn an astonishing 350-450 million hectares of forest and grassland, an area corresponding to approximately 4% of the earth’s land surface.
Forest fires and climate change
According to scientific research, climate change and global warming are the two main culprits to be blamed for the sudden increase in frequency and intensity of wildfires.
Greenhouse gas emissions are causing the global temperature to increase. Warmer temperatures increase evaporation, which means the atmosphere draws more moisture from soils, making the land drier. A warmer climate also leads to earlier snowmelt, which causes soils to be drier for longer. And dry soils become more susceptible to fire.
Drier conditions and higher temperatures increase not only the likelihood of a wildfire starting, but also its duration and severity. This means that when wildfires break out, they expand faster, burn more area, and move with greater unpredictability.
What Causes a Forest Wildfire?
Forest fires can erupt due to natural causes like friction due to the rubbing of trees or lightning that further causes combustion of debris. It can also happen due to human actions like smoking and cooking in the countryside. More forest fires happen due to human neglect than natural causes.
Forest fires are based upon something known as the fire triangle. A forest fire needs heat, oxygen, and fuel to spread. Destroying the supply of any one of these elements will help extinguish the forest fire.
Forest fires can be classified into three main categories based on the part of the forest in which they occur.
- Ground fires occur at the ground level, beneath the branches
- Surface fires can be about 1.3 meters high
- Crown fires generally spread through treetops. These are the most dangerous. They might be fuelled by surface fires.
Fire safety while hiking
The prevalence of wildfires in Belgium is rather limited, although when they occur they often affect biologically valuable nature areas. In 2011, for instance, 2144 hectares of land burnt within the Natura 2000 network of protected nature areas.
However, it’s still essential that any responsible hiker prioritizes fire safety during hiking, whether in a low risk or high risk area. As many of my readers hike not only in Belgium but elsewhere around the world, I thought it was appropriate to address some fire safety practices while hiking. For this I am indebted to Arun Kumar of Riderstrail.
Avoiding and dealing with a wildFire
- Always assess the wildfire threat level of a hiking destination as well as the fire restrictions in place in the region.
- Campfires carry a high-risk factor and hence might be banned at several campsites. Always consult the official before setting up a campfire in a rural area.
- Stoves that use natural fuels like wood and twigs carry greater risk of causing fires than liquid, canister stoves.
- An emergency wildfire survival kit may be useful, consisting of non-perishable food items, bottled water, face masks and a fire extinguisher.
- Avoid smoking in the countryside and in campsites; in many areas smoking is forbidden anyway.
- For longer hikes, make sure you carry the top 10 hiking essentials with you, in case of emergency. These are navigation (map and compass), sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen), insulation (extra clothing), illumination (headlamp/flashlight), first aid supplies, waterproof matches or lighter, repair kit and tools, extra food, extra water, and whistle.
What to do in a wildfire
Here are a few tips to implement, should you get caught in a wildfire:
If a bad scenario turns even worse and you find yourself surrounded by a wildfire, try and remember these tips.
These are just a few tips to reduce the risk of starting a wildfire, and to help you escape one if you are unfortunate enough to be caught up in a wildfire. This post is mainly geared to hikers. If you live in an area that is highly susceptible to wildfires, this more extensive Wildfire Safety Guide might be useful. For children and young people, this free educative cartoon eBook might be useful.
Dealing with PTSD
Paramedics, EMTs, police officers, firefighters, and rescue workers are often the first to respond to emergencies. This often involves exposure to life-threatening situations and stressful experiences, which can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among first responders. Boca Recovery Center, a free web resource and 24/7 helpline, provides information about addiction, pregnancy, eating disorders, and mental health issues. They have recently created a comprehensive PTSD & addiction resource guide. Please take a look if you are interested. It contains a wealth of important information.
Stay safe and enjoy your hiking!
Good reminder that California is not the only area affected by wild fires.
This is quite an eye-opening site: https://fires.globalforestwatch.org/map/#activeLayers=viirsFires%2CactiveFires&activeBasemap=topo&activeImagery=&planetCategory=null&planetPeriod=null&x=0.000000&y=40.000000&z=3
We’re just coming into bushfire season. It’s a scary thought.
Take care then Carol. I hope your summer’s travels around NSW and elsewhere are enjoyable,
Thank you!
Goodness Denzil. These figures are scary. Thank you for the tips. I learned a lot that was contrary to the expected.
Yes, these are concerning times with so much being related to climate change.
I never gave a thought to coping with forest fires, until a college trip to the Southwest, where we dodged around, looking at Anasazi sites, etc. and changing the route all the time, due to a number of fires. I’d imagine Belgium is like NY, where the fires are fairly rare, but they do happen.
Yes over here wildfires are mainly heath fires. I had to look up “Anasazi”. Thanks for the education Robert!
It’s devastating and heartbreaking what is going on with the fires here in California. It really boggles my mind how quickly this Paradise fire must have approached to catch people this much off guard costing them their lives and all their belongings. Crazy!
Here in California, we are devastated and fearful of the forest fires around our state, especially of the fire that destroyed the town of Paradise and killed so many people. What has shocked me is how many people around the world are aware of of state’s fire crisis. This is what blogging has made possible – not necessarily the spread of news, but the awareness that other folks know so much about events around the world, especially things that seem to be local problems. That’s a great thing, of course, and it points up how small our planet really is. We’re only a click away from any doorway.
So I want to thank you and Arun Kumar for providing a service to people everywhere about how to be safe and protect ourselves from fire. And I especially want to thank you for caring.
Just so you know, I am not near any of these fires. However, our younger son and his family live in a town about 170 miles southeast of Paradise, and they’ve been breathing dangerous air that’s making them choke and flaring up allergies.
We celebrated Thanksgiving a few days ago and while we enjoyed our bounty of family, food, and joy, we were aware of the many thousands of people around the globe who didn’t eat that day and didn’t sleep safely in their beds. Thank you, Denzil, for a most worthy post.
It’s good to know you are safe Sharon. Your comment about your son breathing in the polluted air even though they don’t live in the immediate vicinity of the fire reminds of the post I made recently about the aftermath of the First World War. Even when a crisis is over, the consequences are considerable and long-lasting. Paradise may be out of the news now, but I can’t imagine the horrors facing the inhabitants as they return to the shells of their houses and start to pick up their shattered lives.
excellent and really useful advice . . . . .another tip I have read is wear natural fibres as synthetic can melt especially underwear!
Sound advice Becky! Thanks.
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