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Test Your Knowledge About Wildfires!
1) What is a wildfire?
a) A large, destructive fire that can spread quickly
b) A small, nondestructive fire
c) A period of abnormally dry conditions
d) A new dance craze
2) Which one of the choices below can cause a wildfire?
a) Rain
b) Drought
c) Snow
d) All of the above
3) Speaking of drought, there are three general types of drought: meteorological, agricultural and what is the other?
a) Hydrological
b) Astronomical
c) Geological
d) Geographical
4) True or false: Lightning can cause wildfires?
a) True
b) False
5) What winds in California are known for aggravating wildfires?
a) San Diego winds
b) Napa Valley winds
c) Santa Ana winds
d) Los Angeles winds
Get to Know Smokey Bear!
Smokey Bear helps everyone learn about forest fires and prevent them!
What to Do:
Visit Smokey Bear’s Outpost. Click on various items in the Outpost to learn more about Smokey and his tips for preventing forest fires. See if you can you find the answers to these questions!
1. What kind of bear is Smokey?
2. What is Smokey Bear’s favorite saying?
3. Name an item found at a campsite that could potentially start a wildfire.
4. Forests cover nearly _________ acres of land in the United States and the average forest is ____ to _____ years old.
Check your answers.
Image courtesy of the USFWS National Digital Library.
1. Smokey is a black bear.
2. “Only you can prevent wildfires.”
3. Potential answers include: firewood, charcoal, gasoline, lantern, lighter fluid, aerosol cans, leaves and branches, fireworks, matches, grill.
4. 700 million, 70-100 years old.
How do wildfires spread?
Wildfires can spread in three different patterns: ground fires, surface fires and crown fires.
Ground fires (usually started by lightning) burn in the soil beneath the leaves and other plant materials on the ground surface.
Surface fires (the most common type of wildfire) burn leaf litter, fallen tree branches and other materials on the ground.
Crown fires are the hottest and most intense. These fires burn the top layer of leaves on trees. They are difficult to control, need strong winds, steep slopes and lots of fuel (like leaves) to keep burning.
Check out these tips to help prevent wildfires from starting.
Image of a grass fire courtesy of the Natural Resources Conservation Service Photo Library.
Learn some interesting facts about wildfires!
- Wildfires can spread at a rate of up to 14 miles per hour! For comparison, the average person walks at a speed of two to four miles per hour.
- On a hot summer day, something as small as a spark from a train car’s wheel striking the track can ignite a fire. But, the majority of wildfires are caused by humans. Some common causes of wildfires include campfires, discarding lit cigarettes, improperly burning debris (like trash or yard waste) and playing with matches or fireworks.
- An average of 1.2 million acres of United States woodland burn every year. That’s nearly two times the size of Rhode Island!
Images courtesy of USFWS’s National Digital Library.
Check out these cool tips and tools about wildfires!
Tips for Learning More
- Learn more about the causes of wildfires and find out why the Santa Ana winds enhance fire danger in California.
- Learn how you can help prevent wildfires.
- Learn what the difference is between a controlled burn and prescribed burn.
Image of courtesy of USFWS’s National Digital Library.
Cool Tools
- Test your wildfire knowledge with this quiz!
- Click here to see where there is currently wildfire activity in the U.S.
- Play some campfire games with Smokey Bear.
- Watch this video on a fire tornado!
Image courtesy of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.
Quiz Answers
1) a. A wildfire is a large, destructive fire that can spread quickly. They are usually uncontrolled and can occur on any continent except Antarctica. They have the ability change direction unexpectedly as well.
2) b. Droughts are one of many different causes of wildfires. During a drought, there is low moisture and precipitation. This can quickly create hazardous conditions in forests and across range lands and spark a wildfire.
3) a. A hydrological drought is when there are critically low ground water tables and reduced river and stream flow. A meteorological drought is any substantial prolonged deficit of rainfall. An agricultural drought is when extended dry periods and lack of rainfall results in insufficient moisture in the root zone of the soil.
4) a. True. The temperature at which a substance ignites and begins to burn is called the flash point. When lightning strikes a tree, it brings the wood to its flash point and the tree ignites. As the tree begins to burn, flames spread to surrounding trees and underbrush starting a wildfire.
5) c. Santa Ana winds are the gusty northeast or east winds that occur in Southern California during the fall and winter months. They are often hot and very dry, fueling the fire danger in forests and bush lands.
