A
firebreak (also called a
fireroad,
fire line or
fuel break) is a gap in
vegetationVegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a
bushfireA bushfire is a fire that occurs in the bush . In south east Australia, bushfires tend to be most common and most severe during summer and autumn, in drought years, and particularly severe in El Niño years...
or
wildfireA wildfire is any uncontrolled fire that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Reflecting the type of vegetation or fuel, other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, vegetation fire, and wildland fire may be used to describe the same phenomenon...
. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "
fuelFuel is any material that is burned or altered to obtain energy and to heat or to move object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion...
", such as a river, lake or canyon. Firebreaks may also be man-made, and many of these also serve as roads, such as a
loggingLogging is the process in which certain trees are cut down for forest management and timber.In forestry the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage...
road,
jeepJeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle brand, with Land Rover coming in second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar...
trail, secondary road, or a
highwayA highway is a main road for travel by the public between important destinations, such as cities and states. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated motorway. In English and U.S...
.
Firebreak management could be a particularly effective, efficient and low-cost method of simultaneously addressing the issues of wildfire hazards, property damage, the impending
energy crisisAn energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular litterature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place.- Causes :...
,
global warmingGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
, changes to
wildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
habitatThe term habitat has a number of meanings:* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows** Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, and lumber shortages.
In the construction of a firebreak, the primary goal is to remove deadwood and undergrowth coppice.
A
firebreak (also called a
fireroad,
fire line or
fuel break) is a gap in
vegetationVegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic characteristics. It is broader...
or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a
bushfireA bushfire is a fire that occurs in the bush . In south east Australia, bushfires tend to be most common and most severe during summer and autumn, in drought years, and particularly severe in El Niño years...
or
wildfireA wildfire is any uncontrolled fire that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Reflecting the type of vegetation or fuel, other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, vegetation fire, and wildland fire may be used to describe the same phenomenon...
. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is a lack of vegetation or "
fuelFuel is any material that is burned or altered to obtain energy and to heat or to move object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion...
", such as a river, lake or canyon. Firebreaks may also be man-made, and many of these also serve as roads, such as a
loggingLogging is the process in which certain trees are cut down for forest management and timber.In forestry the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard. In common usage...
road,
jeepJeep is an automobile marque of Chrysler. It is the oldest off-road vehicle brand, with Land Rover coming in second. The original vehicle which first appeared as the prototype Bantam BRC became the primary light 4-wheel-drive vehicle of the US Army and allies during the World War II and postwar...
trail, secondary road, or a
highwayA highway is a main road for travel by the public between important destinations, such as cities and states. Highway designs vary widely and can range from a two-lane road without margins to a multi-lane, grade separated motorway. In English and U.S...
.
Overview
Firebreak management could be a particularly effective, efficient and low-cost method of simultaneously addressing the issues of wildfire hazards, property damage, the impending
energy crisisAn energy crisis is any great bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In popular litterature though, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place.- Causes :...
,
global warmingGlobal warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °C during the last century...
, changes to
wildlifeWildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals, and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative....
habitatThe term habitat has a number of meanings:* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows** Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
s, and lumber shortages.
In the construction of a firebreak, the primary goal is to remove deadwood and undergrowth coppice. Various methods may be used to accomplish this initially and to maintain this condition. Ideally, the firebreak will be constructed and maintained according to the established practices of sustainable
forestryForestry is the art and science of managing forests, tree plantations, and related natural resources. The main goal of forestry is to create and implement systems that allow forests to continue a sustainable continuation of environmental supplies and services...
and
fire protection engineeringFire protection engineering is the application of science and engineering principles to protect people and their environments from the destructive effects of fire and smoke....
. The general goals are to maximize the effectiveness of the firebreak at slowing the spread of wildfire, and by using firebreaks of sufficient size and density to hopefully reduce the ultimate size of wildfires. Additional goals are to maintain the
ecologyEcology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
of the forest and to reduce the impact of wildfires on
air pollutionAir pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or damages the natural environment, into the atmosphere....
and the global
climateClimate encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time...
, and to balance the
costs and benefitsCost-benefit analysis is a term that refers both to:* helping to appraise, or assess, the case for a project or proposal, which itself is a process known as project appraisal; and* an informal approach to making decisions of any kind....
of the various projects.
These goals can be achieved through the use of appropriate operating practices, many of which can be potentially mutually beneficial to all. In many cases, it may be useful for firebreak upkeep to be used in concert with the harvesting of forestry products such as
lumberLumber or timber is wood that is used in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production....
and
biomassBiomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. For example, forest residues , yard clippings and wood chips may be...
fuel, since the objectives are fundamentally related, in that the basic goals are to remove material from the forest. Furthermore, if done properly, the value of these products can significantly offset the cost of maintaining the firebreak. In addition, these commercial industries and
small businessA small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. The legal definition of "small" often varies by country and industry, but is generally under 100 employees in the United States and under 50 employees in the...
es are helped by a reduction in the property damages caused by wildfires, and reduced risk of investment. The
biomassBiomass, a renewable energy source, is biological material derived from living, or recently living organisms, such as wood, waste, and alcohol fuels. Biomass is commonly plant matter grown to generate electricity or produce heat. For example, forest residues , yard clippings and wood chips may be...
material that is not suitable for dimensioned lumber, is suitable to make
woodchipsWoodchips are a solid fuel made from woody biomass. According to the different chemical and mechanical properties of the masses, the wood logs are mostly peeled and the bark chips and the woodchips processed in different processes....
for the paper industry, and the energy industry. Larger trees are sometimes left in place within some types of firebreaks, to shade the forest floor and reduce the rate of
fuelFuel is any material that is burned or altered to obtain energy and to heat or to move object. Fuel releases its energy either through a chemical reaction means, such as combustion, or nuclear means, such as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion...
accumulation, and to enhance the landscaping in recreational and inhabited locations.
Prevalence
Forested areas often contain vast networks of firebreaks. Some
communitiesIn biological terms, a community is a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment.In human communities, intent, belief, resources, preferences, needs, risks, and a number of other conditions may be present and common, affecting the identity of the participants and their degree of...
are also using firebreaks as part of their city planning
strategyA strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a particular goal. The word strategy has military connotations, because it derives from the Greek word for general....
.
Effectiveness
Depending on the environmental conditions, and the relative effectiveness of a given firebreak, firebreaks often have to be backed up with other firefighting efforts. Even then, it is still sometimes possible for fire to spread across a seemingly impenetrable divide. During the worst part of the fire season in southern
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
, strong Santa Ana winds will blow carpets of burning embers across eight-lane freeways. During the 1988 fires in
Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone National Park, established by the U.S. Congress as a national park on March 1, 1872 , is located primarily in the U.S. state of Wyoming, though it also extends into Montana and Idaho. The park was the first of its kind, and is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features,...
, hot embers managed to cross the Lewis Canyon, a natural canyon up to a mile wide and 600 feet (180 m) deep.
History
The world's most expensive firebreak was created when the whole of
Van Ness AvenueVan Ness Avenue is a north-south arterial thoroughfare in San Francisco, California that cuts through Downtown from the Central Freeway towards the northern section of the city. It begins at Market Street near Civic Center, San Francisco, extending to the north and ends at Fort Mason...
in San Francisco was dynamited to stop the spread of fire resulting from the
1906 San Francisco earthquakeThe San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, CA and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 A.M. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.8; however, other values have...
. Firefighting after an earthquake can be especially challenging, because an earthquake can cause water mains to rupture, resulting in a complete loss of water pressure.
Firebreaks, along with controlled burns, are also the source of the everyday phrase 'fight fire with fire'. See
- Fight fire with fire.