Forest fires; wouldnt it be better to put water on material to prevent it catching light rather than what is a

Question

It has always been traditional for fires to be extinguished by putting water (where applicable) on to the object burning, such as a house, to try to limit the damage to the object. Forest fires however the problem is not trying to save the object burning but from them spreading. You need far less water to prevent an object catching alight than you do to put it out, as well as fires will burn themselves out due to lack of oxygen which is why the outside parts of the log in a fireplaces usually dont get burnt, therefore wouldn't it be better to prevent parts of the forest catching alight, similar to back burning, by spraying areas that would catch alight that are in direct line to be burnt, rather than trying to put out the parts already alight? Why havent "they" thought of it? You didnt so why should "they"? Same reason "they" didnt think of the dangers of asbestos or the space shuttle blowing up!

"As for dropping lots of water in front of a fire, this would only cover the very outer layer of the tree with a tiny bit of water and it would very quickly evaporate as nearby trees caught fire"

And dropping water onto something that is burning wont make the water evaporate? Fire spreads through heated air and embers, thats where you want to target water, try thinking outside the square instead of being stuck in a time warp trying to prove you are right and nothing else matters.

Using lots of jargon does not equate to knowlege or making sense. Sounds impressive but thats about it.

"This is much more of a sure bet for slowing a fire than haphazardly thowing water at an area and hoping that everything gets wet enough to not burn."

You wouldnt haphazerdly throw it around but it shows the type of imagery you are using in your mind and the lack of thought put into how it would work.

Answer 1

Makes sense to me to water down the outter edge around the fire......


WHo knows why they haven't thought of it....that is what doesn't make sense

Answer 2

The firefighting material that they drop from airplanes is more of a foamy substance. It would probably "breakdown" and dry up very quickly in a dry forest.

As for dropping lots of water in front of a fire, this would only cover the very outer layer of the tree with a tiny bit of water and it would very quickly evaporate as nearby trees caught fire.

There are several other effective methods of stopping the advancement of a forest fire though. Back burning, as you mentioned, is one method. Another is to plow down and clear a strip of vegatation in an area. This is much more of a sure bet for slowing a fire than haphazardly thowing water at an area and hoping that everything gets wet enough to not burn.

Answer 3

I have to agree with fast lada. I've put an icy log, and even green wood, in a fireplace before, and it was quickly warmed and dried by the burning of the other logs. One cannot make a fire simply out of green wood, but using a combination of dry, seasoned wood and green wood creates a long lasting, very hot fire.

We hear more about forest fires (and brush fires) today because more and more people are building their million dollar homes in these areas, and then refusing to do any sort of land management. At one point in time, people who lived in these areas would have taken out dead and dying trees and brush to use as building materials and firewood. Todays inhabitants let it sit and pile up (while buying firewood at $5 a square foot), thus creating a death trap. Healthy, living trees are less likely to combust if there is no dry fuel about them (as I said earlier about green wood in the fireplace).

Answer 4

Question is not very clear. still, a real experience of real forest fire is a must to answer this. There are 3 types of forest fires, viz. Underground, ground or surface, and canopy to canopy. I have encountered one such real.

Important things: what type of forest it is (conifers), what is the intensity of fire (kindling temp.), what are the next natural boundaries where it may stop, whether crop will be effected a great deal, whether crop can retain the sprayed material that long? In forests, as a premptive measure, spraying with chemicals amounts to polluting the watershed for people/fauna living downstream - thus not a healthy strategy. Fire is also a boon for the forests.

As for efficacy of the counter fire (back), a Russian scientist once revealed that : at the boundary where 2 fires meet an altogether NEW king of wave is generated which is neither longitudinal nor transverse - and is not known, but its very effective.

The above statements are well known.

Answer 5

You spoke a lot of sense!!
The helicopters should drop the water ahead of the fire & it will burn out!