Analysis of forest fire fatalities in Greece: 1977–2013

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 797 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michalis Diakakis ◽  
Gavriil Xanthopoulos ◽  
Leontios Gregos
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Forest Service ◽  
Meteorological Conditions ◽  
Older Individuals ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Human Losses

Although forest fires are considered an integral part of forest ecosystems, the abundance of human activities in forested areas has led to a significant number of human casualties and to important effects on properties and infrastructure. Over recent decades, Greece has suffered extensive forest fire disasters, with a significant number of fatalities being recorded. However, there is no coherent inventory of human losses from fires in the country. This work develops and examines a database of 208 fatalities occurring in 78 forest fires in Greece between 1977 and 2013 to provide a better understanding of the circumstances under which fatal incidents occur. Around three-quarters of the victims were civilians; the remainder were firefighters, forest service officials and aircraft crews. Most deaths occurred in July and August, generally under adverse meteorological conditions. Male and older individuals showed an overrepresentation among the victims. A significant number of fatalities occurred in open space, mostly in wildland–urban interface areas and in tall forest vegetation. Late evacuation on foot or in a vehicle and firefighting were the most common activities of victims at the time of the incidents.

scholarly journals Zakour Forest fire risk map assessment in the commune of Mamounia (Mascara, Algeria)

2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-35
Author(s):  
Djamel Anteur ◽  
Abdelkrim Benaradj ◽  
Youcef Fekir ◽  
Djillali Baghdadi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Risk Map ◽  
Management Plans ◽  
The City ◽  
Forest Fire Risk

Abstract The great forest of Zakour is located north of the commune of Mamounia (department of Mascara). It is considered the lung of the city of Mascara, covers an area of 126.8 ha. It is a forest that is subject to several natural and human constraints. Among them, the fires are a major danger because of their impacts on forest ecosystems. The purpose of this work is to develop a fire risk map of the Zakour Forest through the contribution of geomatics according to natural and anthropogenic conditions (human activities, agglomeration, agricultural land) while integrating information from ground on the physiognomy of the vegetation. For this, the creation of a clearer fire risk map to delimit the zones potentially sensitive to forest fires in the forest area of Zakour. This then allows good implementation of detection management plans, for better prevention and decision-making assistance in protecting and fighting forest fires.

THE ROLE OF EARLY DETECTION OF FOREST FIRE IN ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanimir Živanović ◽  
Darko Zigar ◽  
Dejan Krstić
Keyword(s):  
Early Detection ◽  
Real Time ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Modern Technology ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Fire Extinguishing ◽  
Camera Surveillance

Continuous monitoring of open space is of the utmost importance for the protection of forests against fire. Collected data in real time provide fast intervention of relevant services to extinguish the fire. Timely information about the appearance of fire reduce the number of areas affected by this fire and thereby minimizes the costs of fire extinguishing and the damage caused in the woods. The current way of detecting fire in an open area in Serbia is not in real time, and due to this, it is necessary to implement modern technology of collecting data related to early detection of fires. This paper presents an integral project of forest-fire protection on the territory of Serbia in order to provide the reference for the application of terrestrial automated system for early detection and prediction of forest fires. An automated system could be comprised of infrared and high-resolution TV camera surveillance, covering a large part of the forest area and forest land. Key words: Forest fire, prediction, early detection.

scholarly journals The attempt to assess the fire risk of non-forest terrestrial ecosystems of Biebrza National Park – A case study

2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (2) ◽  
pp. 167-175
Author(s):  
Ryszard Szczygieł ◽  
Mirosław Kwiatkowski ◽  
Bartłomiej Kołakowski
Keyword(s):  
Fire Protection ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
National Park ◽  
Open Space ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
History Of ◽  
Entire History

Abstract On 19th April, the largest wildfire of the entire history of Biebrza National Park broke out and consumed 5526 ha, mostly overdried grassland with sedges and reeds of Biebrza marshes. The very rapid spread of the fire in the open space, with the blowing wind changing directions and the inaccessibility of the area for fire-fighting vehicles were the main reasons of this third largest wildfire in Poland, after the tragic forest fires in Kuźnia Raciborska (9060 ha burnt) and Potrzebowice (5600 ha burnt) in the memorable year of 1992. After this event, activities were undertaken to develop a fire protection plan for the Biebrza National Park. It took into account an innovative approach during the analysis of the existing fire risk, primarily regarding the non-forest terrestrial ecosystems composed of herbaceous vegetation, which constitutes as much as 61.2% of the park’s area, and to propose protection methods adequate to the threat. The work was completed in the framework of the project entitled ‘Development of the method for assessing the fire risk of non-forest ecosystems and the principles of fire protection for the Biebrza National Park – stage I,’ commissioned for the Forest Research Institute by the Biebrza National Park, financed by the State Forests from the forest fund, in accordance with the contract EZ.0290.1.24.2020. The article presents a preliminary method of classifying the fire risk of non-forest ecosystems, considering the occurrence of the fires in the Biebrza National Park in the years 2007–2020 and the type of vegetation burnt. This method, after supplementary field tests planned in 2021, will enable evaluation of the fire risk, which shall be a premise for the development of a fire protection plan.

scholarly journals Das Konzept «Waldbrand 2020» des Kantons Tessin

2019 ◽  
Vol 170 (5) ◽  
pp. 242-250
Author(s):  
Aron Ghiringhelli ◽  
Gianni Boris Pezzatti ◽  
Marco Conedera
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Forest Restoration ◽  
Fire Regime ◽  
Forest Service ◽  
Management Approach ◽  
Fire Control ◽  
Burnt Area ◽  
Forest Protection ◽  
Forest Fire Management

The “forest fire 2020” program of Canton Ticino The Canton of Ticino has a long-lasting experience in facing forest fires. As a result, a tradition in forest fire documentation and analysis exists and the forest fire management approach is continuously reviewed and improved with the aim to preserve the forest protection functions and to keep the mountain areas safe for the inhabitants. The fire regime has been reduced in Ticino since the seventies of last century thanks to improvement of the firefighting organization and fire control techniques (e.g. systematic use of helicopters for the aerial fire control) and the possibility of declaring a total fire ban in the open. However the demand in terms of protection of human lives and goods of the modern society is raising and as consequence of the climate change fire risk may increase in the future. For this reason two years ago the forest service of Canton Ticino developed the “forest fire 2020” program, in collaboration with the cantonal fire brigades association and the federal research Institute WSL. The program consists of four interdependent activity modules, which are 1) prevention, 2) organizational and technical measures, 3) firefighting and control, 4) burnt area restoration. The forest service is responsible for the fire-danger rating, the fire-ban release, the mentoring of local authorities in forest management questions and for planning pre-suppression facilities (e.g. water points for helicopters). It is also responsible for defining the mission rules for aerial firefighting, for collecting the data for the statistics, and for planning the post-fire forest restoration measures. The fire brigades are in charge of the firefighting tasks, by first intervening with the urban fire brigades and in case of need requiring the support of specialized forest-fire brigades. During the firefighting actions the forest service takes a consulting role. The first two years of implementation confirmed the suitability of the “forest fire 2020” program. Potential improvements have been however detected and are under implementation, such as the completion of the pre-suppression infrastructures, a better coordination between aerial and terrestrial firefighting and the strengthening of the specialized forest-fire brigades.

Monitoring Forest Fire using Geo-Spatial Information Techniques and Spatial Statistics: One Case Study of Forest fire in Margalla Hills, Islamabad, Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aqil Tariq ◽  
Hong Shu ◽  
Saima Siddiqui
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Human Activities ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Forest Density ◽  
Burned Areas ◽  
Severity Rating

Abstract Background Understanding the spatial patterns of forest fires is of key importance for fire risk management with ecological implications. Fire occurrence, which may result from the presence of an ignition source and the conditions necessary for a fire to spread, is an essential component of fire risk assessment. Methods The aim of this research was to develop a methodology for analyzing spatial patterns of forest fire danger with a case study of tropical forest fire at Margalla Hills, Islamabad, Pakistan. A geospatial technique was applied to explore influencing factors including climate, vegetation, topography, human activities, and 299 fire locations. We investigated the spatial extent of burned areas using Landsat data and determined how these factors influenced the severity rating of fires in these forests. The importance of these factors on forest fires was analyzed and assessed using logistic and stepwise regression methods. Results The findings showed that as the number of total days since the start of fire has increased, the burned areas increased at a rate of 25.848 ha / day (R 2 = 0.98). The average quarterly mean wind speed, forest density, distance to roads and average quarterly maximum temperature were highly correlated to the daily severity rating of forest fires. Only the average quarterly maximum temperature and forest density affected the size of the burnt areas. Fire maps indicate that 22% of forests are at the high and very high level (> 0.65), 25% at the low level (0.45-0.65), and 53% at the very low level (0.25 – 0.45). Conclusion Through spatial analysis, it is found that most forest fires happened in less populated areas and at a long distance from roads, but some climatic and human activities could have influenced fire growth. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that geospatial information technique is useful for exploring forest fire and their spatial distribution.

Forest fire monitoring using NOAA satellite AVHRR

1986 ◽  
Vol 16 (5) ◽  
pp. 975-982 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. D. Flannigan ◽  
T. H. Vonder Haar
Keyword(s):  
Forest Fires ◽  
Forest Service ◽  
Fire Size ◽  
Monitoring Methods ◽  
North Central ◽  
Fire Monitoring ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Remaining Time ◽  
Very High ◽  
Fire Outbreak

The feasibility of using the advanced very high resolution radiometer (AVHRR) carried by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) series of satellites to monitor forest fires was tested during a severe fire outbreak in north central Alberta between June 12 and June 21, 1982. A multispectral technique used AVHRR channels 3 and 4 to identify fires and estimate fire size. This multispectral approach enabled identification of subpixel-sized fires as small as 1 ha. During the study, fires were obscured from satellite view by the presence of cloud and smoke 59% of the time. In the remaining time, 80% of the fires listed by the Alberta Forest Service were identified by satellite. Satellite observations of forest fires are not sufficiently accurate to replace existing monitoring methods, but they are of value in providing a rapid, inexpensive supplement, especially in remote forested areas.

scholarly journals Impact of forest fire on diversity of hymenopteran insects – a study at Copia species-used forest, Son La Province

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thi Nhi Pham ◽  
Vu Tru Hoang ◽  
Van Phu Pham
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Forest Ecosystems ◽  
Viet Nam ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time ◽  
Hymenopteran Insects

Besides the unsustainable exploitation, farming activities and economic development activities, forest fire is considered as one of the major threats to biodiversity and deforestation in Vietnam. In forest ecosystems, any changes in insect communities can affect species composition, nutrient cycling and numerous other ecological processes. The impact of forest fires, however, is not equal to different insect groups. In this paper, we study the impact of forest fires to hymenopteran insects at Copia species-use forest, Son La Province. This is the first time this kind of study has been taken place in Vietnam. Bên cạnh việc khai thác không bền vững, tập quán canh tác và các hoạt động phát triển kinh tế, cháy rừng được xem là một trong những mối đe dọa chính ảnh hưởng tiêu cực tới đa dạng sinh học và mất rừng ở Việt Nam. Trong các hệ sinh thái rừng, những thay đổi trong cấu trúc của quần xã côn trùng có ảnh hưởng tới thành phần loài, chu trình dinh dưỡng và rất nhiều quá trình sinh thái khác. Tuy nhiên mức độ ảnh hưởng của cháy rừng tới các nhóm côn trùng khác nhau là khác nhau. Trong bài báo này, chúng tôi nghiên cứu tác động của cháy rừng tới nhóm côn trùng cánh màng tại khu rừng đặc dụng Copia, tỉnh Sơn La. Đây cũng là lần đầu tiên tác động của cháy rừng tới nhóm côn trùng cánh màng được thực hiện ở Việt Nam.

scholarly journals A Neural Network Model for Wildfire Scale Prediction using Meteorological Factors

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (VI) ◽  
pp. 2646-2650
Author(s):  
Lavanya I
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Meteorological Data ◽  
Back Propagation ◽  
Back Propagation Neural Network ◽  
Fire Incident ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Long Term Impact

Forest fires are natural hazards defined as movements of fire through unregulated and uncontrolled forested areas. They pose a permanent risk of loss of forest and forest land. The ability to reliably forecast the region that could be involved in a forest fire incident will help to optimize fire prevention efforts. It appears that Portugal may theoretically make better use of the wildfire risk assessment. More than any other region in Europe, it is a country overrun by wildfires. It has a large amount of forest. Forest fires have a long-term impact on the climate because they contribute to deforestation and global warming, which is one of the main causes of the phenomenon. This research employs Back Propagation Neural Network (BPNN) and Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) models with meteorological parameters as inputs to anticipate forest fires as a means of safeguarding forest biodiversity. The results indicate that using meteorological data, it is possible to anticipate the severity of a forest fire at the beginning.

scholarly journals THE DIVERSITY OF HERBACEOUS VEGETATION AFTER FOREST FIRE

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolita ABRAITIENĖ ◽  
Gerda ŠILINGIENĖ ◽  
Rasa VAITKEVIČIŪTĖ ◽  
Regina VASINAUSKIENĖ
Keyword(s):  
New Species ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Herbaceous Plants ◽  
Coniferous Forests ◽  
First Year ◽  
Herbaceous Plant ◽  
Forested Areas

Forest fire is an uncontrolled combustion of flammable materials in forested and non-forested areas. In Lithuania forest fires mainly occur in late spring and summer, mostly in young coniferous forests (Forest ..., 1987). The studies of herbaceous plants in fireplaces were carried out in 2016 in Jurbarkas SFE. Ground-level forest fire increased the projection coverage of herbaceous plants and their species composition in the fireplaces. According to the average data of the survey, 18 herbaceous plant species were ascertained in the fireplace and 14 species in the control stand. During the first year after fire, 9 new species were recorded in the fireplace and 5 species have disappeared, while in the seventh year - 7 new species were recorded and 1 disappeared, as compared with the control stand. Summarizing the obtained data it can be stated that low-intensity ground-level forest fire in pine forest increased the number of herbaceous plant species, however, the number of new and extinct species has been gradually decreasing, suggesting that in the fireplaces the diversity of herbaceous plant species will be like in the control stand.

scholarly journals GIS-BASED MULTI-CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS FOR FOREST FIRE RISK MAPPING

2017 ◽  
Vol IV-4/W4 ◽  
pp. 25-30 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. E. Akay ◽  
A. Erdoğan
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Decision Analysis ◽  
Forest Fire ◽  
Forest Fires ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
Fire Risk ◽  
Multi Criteria Decision Analysis ◽  
Extreme Risk ◽  
Forested Areas ◽  
Forest Fire Risk

The forested areas along the coastal zone of the Mediterranean region in Turkey are classified as first-degree fire sensitive areas. Forest fires are major environmental disaster that affects the sustainability of forest ecosystems. Besides, forest fires result in important economic losses and even threaten human lives. Thus, it is critical to determine the forested areas with fire risks and thereby minimize the damages on forest resources by taking necessary precaution measures in these areas. The risk of forest fire can be assessed based on various factors such as forest vegetation structures (tree species, crown closure, tree stage), topographic features (slope and aspect), and climatic parameters (temperature, wind). In this study, GIS-based Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) method was used to generate forest fire risk map. The study was implemented in the forested areas within Yayla Forest Enterprise Chiefs at Dursunbey Forest Enterprise Directorate which is classified as first degree fire sensitive area. In the solution process, "extAhp 2.0" plug-in running Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method in ArcGIS 10.4.1 was used to categorize study area under five fire risk classes: extreme risk, high risk, moderate risk, and low risk. The results indicated that 23.81 % of the area was of extreme risk, while 25.81 % was of high risk. The result indicated that the most effective criterion was tree species, followed by tree stages. The aspect had the least effective criterion on forest fire risk. It was revealed that GIS techniques integrated with MCDA methods are effective tools to quickly estimate forest fire risk at low cost. The integration of these factors into GIS can be very useful to determine forested areas with high fire risk and also to plan forestry management after fire.

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