What factors causes wildfires to occur?

Answer 1

I work for CalFire fighting fires all summer. There are a few different things that cause fires. I'll list my opinions of most common causes to least common.

1. Stupid people (not arsonists, people running lawn mowers in 3 feet of grass, letting their "control burns" get out of control, kids playing with fireworks, tossing cigarettes out the window, etc.)
2. Cars (catalytic converters start fires in remote areas like camping spots)
3. Lightning (the fires won't start for a day or so after the lightning strikes, but when lightning storms roll through the following few days are pretty busy)
4. Downed power lines (wind, car accident, pole aging occur and the lines start fires)
5. Pot growing operations (generators and campfires start fires in very remote areas)
6. Arsonists, who are technically stupid people (honestly the least likely cause, but when you have an arsonist on the loose none of us rest until he's caught or done)
7. Underground coal fires.

California is trying to pass a law where if you start a fire and someone perishes while fighting it you will be eligible for the death penalty as well as liable for all costs incurred putting out the fire.

Wild fire can be caused by a fire that campers started and didn't put out, by someone throwing a lit cigarette into dry grass and shrubs, by lightening striking dry timber, or by an arsonist who intentionally lights small fires in several places.

Occasionally a person who is mentally ill, (a pyromaniac) will think they can make themselves appear to be a hero by starting a fire and then act like they just happened upon the scene and try putting it out. Unfortunately the fire usually blows out of control before help arrives and from there it will burn for miles, until a shift in the weather helps firefighters or until it runs out of fuel.

This happens almost every year in Southern California. Sometimes Law Enforcement gets lucky, and the arsonist is seen by witnesses in the area, shortly before the fire starts. More often the arsonist gets away. Some of these people have applied to be Firemen and did not pass the tests given to applicants.

Answer 2

Wildfires are mainly caused due to climate change and human activities. Some of the common causes of wildfires are:

• Lightning - Wildfires caused due to lightning occur at a frequency of three to five per year. Since lightning is usually associated with rain, such wildfires do not spread over large areas.
• Human Carelessness - Majority of the cases of wildfires occur due to human carelessness, especially while handling fireworks. Debris burning and arson (burning to destroy property) are examples of other human activities that often result in wildfires.
• Slash-and-Burn Farming - This common practice of farming refers to cutting and burning of woodlands and vegetation for clearing the land. Quite often, the slash-and-burn practice results in catastrophic wildfires.
• Volcanic Activity - Sometimes, volcanoes create a favorable condition for ignition of wildfires in the nearby areas. Wildfires are also caused due to pyroclastic clouds, generated from active volcanoes.
• Underground Coal Fires - Very often, underground coal fires cause wildfires. Underground coal fires are the slow and flameless forms of combustion, below the earth's surface. Such fires continue to burn for many years, resulting in the release of toxic fumes and destruction of vegetation and human property.

Though, natural disaster and human activity cause wildfires, it is estimated that 90 percent cases of wildfires are due to human interaction with nature, either directly or indirectly.

Answer 3

Some factors that can cause wildfires are:

1) droughts

2) camping fires

3) cigarettes

4) lightning

5) volcanic eruption

6) sparks from rockfalls

7) spontaneous combustion

8) and of course, plain old arson.

Answer 4

they cause really bad damage.