h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

We have had droughts for several years now and every year as a preventative measure they light fires to burn away the ground fuel for fires. The large number of wildfires have been tragic this decade.

We had 40 mile an hour winds with 60-80 mile an hour gusts.
The small purposeful fires go out of hand.

The Fire Department sets them and the principle is good ,but the Dept should note the conditions of the day!

Doing without thinking?

thats the human condition baby

how are you abbi?

*Reads*

How does burning stuff help a drought?

*....<2cents) drop*

I imagine that the gas emissions aren't doing the environment any good either.

Well you are right there tone on human behavior!

I think some volunteer firemen are attracted to fires and look forward to the burn days too

Roadkill they burn areas ahead of time to keep the fires from spreading. It makes breaks in the fuel(forrest) so the fires will stop when it reaches that point.

Fires grow rapidly when the drought is bad. They often start naturally but they grow larger in droughts The sad fact is a couple of the recent large ones were started by off duty fire department volunteers or workers. Not during official clearings though.
100,000 acres can burn quickly.
***************
How am I?
I am very frustrated by the computerand a few other topics at the moment. OK otherwise.

There were fires in Wales this year!

Something scary...we actually had a winter fire this past winter! During one of the warmer, sunnier periods there was actually sufficient heat for combustion generated! Could be a very long, HOT (as in brush fires popping up anywhere & everywhere) summer, if things are that dry.

Hi jaZZ

Oh my, winter fires seem an ominous sign of things to come.

I have missed rain and storms since moving here.
It was gray and too rainy where I grew up, also had tornados.
Thankfully, we rarely get tornados here.

Ah, I don't think you're in Kansas any more?

Nope.
It worked when I clicked my ruby slippers to go away rather than home!

Hi abbi...Roadkill!

How're things going in your respective parts of the world?

It has always amazed me, why here in the UK, we seem to have water shortages and rationing within a few months of severe Flooding!

Ah! well, far be it for me, and so on
Smudger.

True. Still, it's probably to do with money. Don't want to share because then you'd be giving something away for nothing that you might conceivably be paid for. Even if you've got mountains (or lakes) of the stuff that you can't shift, it won't get sent anywhere because there's just a chance you might be able to sell it.

Hello Everybody! This is Willem again. Some of you may know I live in South Africa. Over here, fire control is also a relevant issue. The environment around here where I live, in Pietersburg, is mainly savannah... tall grass with here and there a low tree. We have a rainy season and a dry season that can last nine months or so, with no rain whatsoever. The grass and bush is very flammable after this dry season, and fires break out spontaneously in spring, often during the first lightning storms. We have many storms of lightning and thunder, but no rain. During such a storm lightning bolts may ignite the veld, leading to a runaway bush fire. These are actually a natural occurrence, and both the plants and the animals have become adapted to it. But these fires can threaten people's houses and property, as well as some of the commercial tree plantations around. For that reason government organisations and nature conservationists have in place systems of fire management. These are basically networks of fire-breaks in nature reserves, plantations and catchment areas. They burn these areas usually each year, before the risk of natural or man-made fires becomes too great. The firebreaks prevent fire from spreading beyond them. Anyways as far as I can tell, this system is working quite well over here. But the veld has to be burnt sometime ... usually at intervals of between five and thirty years. The nature conservation authorities arrange for this, deliberately starting fires in areas that need to be burnt, with the firebreaks around them preventing their spread to other areas that should not be burnt, such as human settlements.

Well anyways that is our fire management policies here.

Pietersburg is quite a dry place. We get, on average, about 20 inches of rain per year, but in any particular year the true amount can be as much as 40 inches, or less than 10 inches. We've had a dry spell lately, and water restrictions in town right now.

Hi UMP, You live in a great country out there in SA

Ive been to a few places, mostly cities, but I did take a chance of a trip into the country one time. It was well worth it, and the people I met were fantastic!
Smudger.

Hello Smudger! I'm glad you enjoyed SA and its people. I hope you got to see one of the good bits of the country. There are a few places here that are quite incredible.

Hi UMP, Sure did, I was close with a nurse who worked in Durban, I met her on the way out to the Gulf with the Navy, then again on the way back.
Then when I was in Capetown, she got time off from work, and came to meet up again by train
Ah! yes, happy days!!
Smudger,