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Origins of forest fires
1998 was abnormally dry on Sakhalin. It is common for secondary forests and logging sites to suffer some fire damage, moreover, central and northern Sakhalin expereinced very little rainfall in the summer and autumn of 1998.. Officials report that 233 forest fires out of 350 were human-induced. In our view, the proportion between human-induced and naturally caused fires is of particular importance, because it makes a difference in determining which measures should be taken to prevent fires. Our analysis of fire origins show that over 90 % of the fires were related to human activity. The main origins of human-induced fires are:
- fishing encampments (sites) and hunting areas, also used by tourists and poachers (pic.3). Regarding poachers, fire is likely to break out from camp-fires near spawning rivers, abandoned by poachers as they attempt to escape from the Fishery Guard. The Fishery Guard often does not see these fires, does not look for them or put them out;
- Places of traditional recreation and neighboring communities. The highest fire rate is associated with weekends;
- Roadsides, including along railways. Ground surveys show that in northern Sakhalin, fire often originates from sparks from off-road vehicles' mufflers;
- Logging sites, including logging roads used for transporting timber or people.
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| Pic. 3. Fire break-out (weak plume). The fire started at the sandy spit at the confluence of the rivers. No roads access this site, but fishermen and hunters often stop here when passing by on motorboats. This case is typical for most of the Far East.
The Khabarovsk Region, image from the "Resource" satellite. |
We would like to emphasize the fact that oil production in northern Sakhalin, or rather oil infrastructure is a permanent threat. This part of the island suffers many forest fires annually, which occasionally spread over large territories.
Clearly, it is nearly impossible to precisely identify the origin in most cases, neither is it possible to find those responsible for starting the fires. We can say however, that the high incidence of fire break-out near areas of high human activity and their distribution rules out natural causes in most cases.
Even those few ignitions, that seem to be natural at first, seem to be human-induced upon closer look. For instance, in 1998, in a hard-to-reach area of Nabilsky Ridge (region of the mountain of Lopatin), far from any settlements, a fire broke out as a result of tourist group hiking.
It is necessary to focus on the fact, that major logging sites and burn-out areas are characterized by frequent fire. Felling residue, abandoned timber, burnt trunks, as well as trees dried by previous fires and dry grass serve as highly combustible material. As a result, vast areas of almost no forest regeneration are formed (pic. 4).
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Forest Club model projects and sites
