Fire Around the World

Wildfires

Wildfire in Spain (1)

Have you ever learned about fire safety in school? The local firefighters usually come to teach you about having a plan with your family to get out of the house in case of a fire and to stop, drop and roll. These simple house fires are so small! Do you know that there are really big fires called wildfires all around the world. 

Wildfires can grow very very big very fast. The largest wildfire ever recorded in the United States was in 1910, this was called The Great Fire of 1910. It burned more than 3 million acres in Idaho. That is roughly 1,000,000 baseball fields(2)! Most of these fires happen in really dry areas that have a lot of dead bushes. Since the earth has been getting so much hotter because the sun is getting bigger and breaking down the atmosphere. The atmosphere is the layer that surrounds the earth that keeps harmful sun rays from hurting us.                                                                                                                  

Dry Ranch in California (5)

People and their belongings can be seriously affected by wildfires. Houses burn down and all belongings of people. These fires happen in every part of the world except Antarctica(4). Everywhere can be affected and it is important that everyone knows the damage they can do. Wildfires ruin the land that they burn and kills everything around it. Planting becomes extremely difficult for landowners who want to plant food for their families. The fires also burn through houses and leave people homeless and some do not even make it out of the houses. What is really sad is when the animals on the land get hurt. The fires can box the animals in and leave them trapped! The fires leave so much destruction and it is so sad! You may be wondering how you can help!

There are a few ways that wildfires can hurt less people, if the world works together. First the upkeep of land needs to be taken care of. The land should be burned in a controlled way every so often so that way there is not a lot of brush to catch fire. If we get rid of it, there is a lot less to burn. People who own homes in places where a lot of fires happen have to follow steps to make sure they stay safe! They have to stay alert and awake if they know that there fire near by. They need to listen outside to hear any sounds they don't always here or to hear boulders(which are big rocks) smacking together. If the person wants to leave to get to somewhere safe they have to be very careful and aware when driving. If you live in an area where it is really hot and dry maybe talk to your parents about wildfires and see if they do these things to keep your family safe.

Remember to always be on the lookout of a fire and report it if you see it! Fires as you have learned are very serious and they are a huge risk to the environment. Talk to teachers and family to find out if you live in an area where wildfires are a risk to your community. Also ask what you can do! Stopping wildfires is something we should all work towards! Listen to smokey the bear...

Smokey The Bear (3)

References

1) Torres, S. Thousands evacuated as forest fires rage near Marbella on Costa del sol [Photograph]
    Retrieved from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/9511829/Thousands-
         evacuated-as-forest-fires-rage-near-Marbella-on-the-Costa-del-Sol.html                  
2) Baker, T
         Build it right and they will come. Retrieved from Baseball         
         Web:http://www.hsbaseballweb.com/build_a_field.htm

3) Enamel Smokey the Bear Slogan Pin
         Retrieved from: http://westernheritagestore.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=WHC&Product_Code=SB201&Category_Code=Smokey
4)Hendrix, H. V. (2016). Wildfires. Salem Press Encyclopedia
5)Vinneault, S. Stock Photo of Ranch on Dry Land in California [Photograph]
Retrieved from: https://www.123rf.com/photo_5470663_ranch-on-a-dry-land-in-california-united-states.html