Forest fire is another name for wildfire which refers to the uncontrolled burns in the forest. It can start by natural causes of human activities. It is rapid because of many factors, such as wind speed and dry vegetation. There are some of the biggest forest fire cases recorded in the world.
Understanding the causes and factors that start wildfires can help local authorities and people who live near the forest to be adaptive and prepare mitigations. The fire can cause great loss for the country, and it is hard to stop. Here are the biggest cases to learn so the cases will not be repeated.
5 The Biggest Forest Fire
1. Siberian Taiga Fire
This wildfire is the biggest in history which attacked some regions in Siberia. It is one of the most vital forests in the world, so the ecosystem in this area was fully destroyed because of the fire. The fire burned millions of hectares. The lightning strikes during drought season are the main cause of the fire.
Climate change is also one of the reasons why the Taiga fire was very hard to control. This area is actually getting warmer and it caused severe drought. The vegetation became dry. The risk of the fire escalated quickly in 2003. A carbon sink occurred because of this wildfire.
Since some parts of Siberia forest are remote areas, rescue action is hard to maximize the efforts to suppress the fire. They allowed untouchable areas to burn yet settled the area that is near to communities. This is why the Taiga fire is the biggest forest fire in the world.
2. Siberian Yakutia Fire
The Yakutia fire occurred in 2021 and attacked the northeastern part of Siberia. The fire was rapid and the scale was very large. This fire is linked to climate change instead of other factors that are usually the main causes. About 19 million hectares of forest were destroyed because of this case.
According to the data, the Yakutia fire happened because the region had increased temperature by about 3 degrees Celsius from the average. Thus, the vegetation in the forest had become drier than before. When a lightning strike hits, the forest itself is the fuel for the wildfires.
3. Australian Black Summer
This forest fire took a very long time, starting in June 2019 to May 2020. It occurred in the fire season in Australia, but the scale was bigger than the previous fire. It attacked some States, but the most affected regions are Victoria and New South Wales. More than 18 million hectares were burnt.
It was the biggest forest fire in Australia and there were 33 deaths because of the fire. More than 3000 houses in the States were destroyed. The loss because of the fire is more than 103 billion AUD. Besides the drought, other factors such as winds and heatwaves are the main causes.
4. Canada Wildfire
In 2023, Canada experienced a great wildfire that impacted some regions, such as Quebec, Alberta, and British Columbia. More than 47 million acres of forest were destroyed because of this case. Since this was very serious, more than 200 thousand people evacuated.
The temperature which increased in Canada is the main cause of the fire. It dried the vegetation and was flammable because of it. Thus, there were some strong winds which ignited the fire. It was uncontrollable and the case occurred for months in Canada.
5. Santa Ana Wildfire
Santa Ana winds that blew to Southern California are the reason why the big wildfires. The wind is very strong and brings heat. This is why the forest fire is very hard to control. The fire spreads rapidly and burns a large-scale area in California.
The damage cost billions of dollars. The ecosystem and biodiversity have been massively destroyed because of the fire. The fire also emitted a huge amount of carbon dioxide. It has contributed to global warming and poor air quality in California for months. Many people moved to the shelter and safer places.
Preventing the biggest forest fire to repeat is by preparing an early warning system. In this system, you need an SMS broadcaster as the device to send the warning to people and communities. It works fast to make them evacuate themselves, so the losses because of the forest fire can be minimized.
Comments