Wildfires cause a lot of damage to human lives, ecosystems, and properties. If uncontrolled, they can spread rapidly through vegetation in bush areas, forests, or grasslands.
Natural events, such as human activities or lightning strikes, including careless handling of fire or arson, trigger them most of the time. Dry conditions, high winds, intense wind, and flammable materials, like fallen leaves and vegetation, fuel those fires and make them quickly spread.
According to experts at Koch Security Group (KSG), communities globally are turning to multifaceted approaches to reduce the effects of those natural disasters. From using early detection tools/systems to creating a defensible space, different measures help us live more safely, protect properties/lives, and foster resilient communities.
How Wildfires Affect Communities Far and Near
Communities far and near are feeling their effects even more as wildfires become more frequent. Wildfires are important ecological processes in most forest ecosystems. However, climate change, declining forest health, and recent developments in places with a high fire risk cause wildfires to be more catastrophic.
The devastation of those wildfires makes it clearer that their impacts go beyond the forests themselves. Scorched earth and poor air quality are the most visible effects of fire. But wildfires impact cities, people, and the environment differently. Perfect examples include heightening flood risks and harming economies. The following are ways wildfire can affect people thousands or hundreds of miles away:
- Threaten water security: Forests protect freshwater access and water quality. A forested watershed provides more than two-thirds of drinking water. Trees and forests don’t just minimise erosion rates. They also increase infiltration. This, in turn, helps prevent sedimentation from reaching lakes and rivers. With a wildfire, there will be a few trees to stop water runoff from storms. Plus, the soil will be more vulnerable to erosion and instability. This simply means more pollutants, sediments, and ashes will flow into reservoirs, lakes, and rivers when there is rainfall.
- Cause indirect and direct economic losses: Several factors result in indirect and direct losses. First, flooding may leave people requiring medical care, disrupt supply chains, and damage infrastructure. Under business, economic losses related to floods can reach about £1.2 billion by 2040. Second, the health impacts of air pollution that wildfires have induced may carry medical expenses. Last but not least, if a wildfire affects watersheds that cities rely on, those cities will have to pay for water treatment from other sources. Following large wildfires, drinking water production costs may rise to £102 million.
- Increase flooding risks: Cities are vulnerable to flooding. Areas with urban centres have many impermeable surfaces, like roads and sidewalks. This leads to more runoffs when there is rainfall. A healthy forest near cities may act like a sponge, thus slowing water down, increasing soil infiltration, and storing excess runoff. Simply put these acts as barriers, protecting downstream cities against floods.
- Fuel climate change: Besides poor air quality, a wildfire can produce planet-warming greenhouse gas that fuels climate change. Since trees store carbon, they release it into the air. After the end of a wildfire, some amount of carbon can be recaptured as burnt areas recover. However, the tree losses minimise the ability of forests to store and capture carbon for years to come.
Protecting Communities and Properties
Communities and property owners aren’t defenceless against wildfires. By taking the right approaches to prevent wildfires and protect yourselves against wildfires, you can improve your safety and safeguard your properties. Here are some of the approaches that can help:
1. Create an Air Quality Monitoring System
Wildfires generate smoke particles. These particles include soot (black carbon) and particulate matter. This particulate matter has dangerous air pollutants. It may penetrate lung barriers and reach the bloodstream.
Smoke from wildfires that burn structures and buildings doesn’t just contain a high level of toxic substances. It also has harmful metal contaminants. A good example is lead. These contaminants result in cancer and reproductive problems among adults. It can also cause learning and behavioural difficulties among young children.
This is why it is important to create a strong air-quality monitoring system. With the system, you can acquire the required data to communicate and measure air quality. Through the data, you can also determine the health effects of smoke.
2. Proof the Roof
Embers from a nearby wildfire usually lay on the roof. This, in turn, may ignite a blaze. If it is not controlled, the blaze can quickly envelop the entire property. Flammable roofs can make a difference in the property getting destroyed.
The best course of action is to go for roofs with non-flammable materials. Examples of these materials include tile, asphalt shingles, slate, or metal. Wood shingles are common flammable covering materials. However, property owners who don’t want the stress of reroofing may install a sprinkler system. Alternatively, they can consider treating their wooden roofs with a fire retardant.
3. Maintain a Defensible Space
Maintain wildland fuel treatments and defensible space to remain effective. Vegetation always grows back, and this can fuel wildfire and make it spread quickly.
You can easily lose home protection benefits without paying attention to accumulating dead materials and vegetation regrowth. But the good news is that you can easily accomplish many maintenance tasks without spending much money or time.
4. Develop Evacuation Support Strategies
Evacuations can be overwhelming and chaotic, particularly for vulnerable groups. These groups include disabled people, the elderly, and families with young kids.
In such a situation, it can help a lot to consider fire watch security guards. Apart from security guards, you can also develop evacuation support strategies like the following:
- Security empty areas
- Managing traffic
- Helping the most vulnerable people
- Working with an emergency team
- Keeping order
In conclusion, wildfire risks will always be there. For property owners and communities, it is important to be resilient. Being resilient entails more than just safeguarding physical properties. It is also about ensuring financial stability, tenant safety, and operational continuity in the long term. With strategic construction practices and evacuation support, you can have a strong system to help address growing threats.
