wildfires
October 3, 2013
In summer 2013 wildfires have been a major problem all over the world. When you think of fires you probably think about all the negative effects, but did you know that in some cases fires can be good? A way that we can help forests is by using a controlled burn or selectively logging. That is how you use a fire positively. That will help the community and the ecosystem. One place I will talk about in specific is Utah.
The first thing I will address is the positive effects that wildfires have on our community. Wildfires help our community. Wildfires help our community by clearing space in the forests for new wildlife to grow. But that will only happen if you use a controlled burn. A controlled burn is when you use a wildfire to burn down the things you don’t want to make room for the new things to grow. Ed Smith, the writer of Catching Fire says “treatments have been a small piecemeal, they’ve been strategically located near towns to limit fires effects on human habitation. Though controlled fires have positive effects they can also have some negative effects on our community.
That brings me to my next topic, the negative effects that wildfires have on our community. A fire is a very destructive and very powerful thing. Something with that intensity can be very bad when it gets out of control and starts to burn houses and buildings. If a fire has nothing controlling it or no one then it is a big issue. A wildfire can knock out a whole block of houses in less than an hour. A wildfire can start spontaneously in the woods or mountains so it will not get to the buildings usually but after a while of burning it could start to effect more than just the mountains and the people on them. There are people who live in those houses in the mountains and you could prevent their house from burning down if you are careful with campfires and fireworks. Not only do these massive fires affect our community but, they also help and hurt our ecosystem.
In summer 2013 wildfires have been a major problem all over the world. When you think of fires you probably think about all the negative effects, but did you know that in some cases fires can be good? A way that we can help forests is by using a controlled burn or selectively logging. That is how you use a fire positively. That will help the community and the ecosystem. One place I will talk about in specific is Utah.
The first thing I will address is the positive effects that wildfires have on our community. Wildfires help our community. Wildfires help our community by clearing space in the forests for new wildlife to grow. But that will only happen if you use a controlled burn. A controlled burn is when you use a wildfire to burn down the things you don’t want to make room for the new things to grow. Ed Smith, the writer of Catching Fire says “treatments have been a small piecemeal, they’ve been strategically located near towns to limit fires effects on human habitation. Though controlled fires have positive effects they can also have some negative effects on our community.
That brings me to my next topic, the negative effects that wildfires have on our community. A fire is a very destructive and very powerful thing. Something with that intensity can be very bad when it gets out of control and starts to burn houses and buildings. If a fire has nothing controlling it or no one then it is a big issue. A wildfire can knock out a whole block of houses in less than an hour. A wildfire can start spontaneously in the woods or mountains so it will not get to the buildings usually but after a while of burning it could start to effect more than just the mountains and the people on them. There are people who live in those houses in the mountains and you could prevent their house from burning down if you are careful with campfires and fireworks. Not only do these massive fires affect our community but, they also help and hurt our ecosystem.