Forest fires are spectacular, awesome, dangerous and very frightening say
Will and Guy. However, we would like to present this page on our site
to record the beauty, the splendour and the sheer terrifying magnificence of
this most destructive of occurrences.
This is an amazing photo of the Montana fires. There is an aspect of true art in the natural tragedy of a forest fire.
This spectacular and frightening photograph which has become world renowned
was taken by Jon McColgan with a digital camera. John who is a fire
behaviour analyst from Alaska took the photo in 2000.
September
2006 saw the most intense late season forest fire activity in Northern
Ontario, Canada, in over 20 years.
At one point there were some 400 fires burning and over a thousand people
were evacuated from their homes. Dry, hot weather all summer had left the
forest like a tinderbox and recent dry thunderstorms easily ignited the
available fuels. This amazing photo was taken by George Korounis from an MNR
helicopter flying over the scene.
Will and Guy have read that George recorded that, 'The fire was burning
so hot that my camera was warm to the touch inside the helicopter. Truly
spectacular is an understatement.'
Closer to home for Will and Guy was the Cliff fire in Bournemouth,
Hampshire, England, just an hour away from Will's home.
Photo of Forest Fire: Rob Ferns
In July 2010 weeks of hot weather left the shrub land bone dry and fire,
thought to have been caused by a discarded cigarette, raced across the
hillside and threatened to engulf the beach huts below.
A wall of flames from a forest fire partially obscures the sun
A spectacular photograph and one in which you can almost touch and feel
the heat emanating from the picture.
¤
California,
USA Photo: Bryan Quinn
These spectacular images of a forest fire were taken in 2008 are from California when LA Firefighters battled to control the blazes which swept across the state.
Photo: J.Cookfisher
The breath-taking power of a forest fire is even more evident at night,
when red flames stand out against a dark background. Colours are
particularly vibrant in this photograph, taken in the Inyo National Forest,
California.
Forest Fire Trivia from Will and Guy
In an "average" fire year in the USA, 106,400 wildfires
burn over 4 million acres of land.
The worst fire in recorded US history occurred during
August 1910, when the Great Idaho fire burned 3 million acres of Idaho
and Montana, and claimed 85 lives.
Tallest lookout tower in the USA: Woodworth Tower,
Alexandria Louisiana at 175 feet.
Tallest lookout tower in the world: Warren Bicentennial
Tree Lookout, Australia at 225 feet.
During 2000, five federal agencies spent a combined
$1.36 billion fighting wildfires, this is a record.
Incredibly, our research has suggested that some people start these fire
on purpose. One example of an arsonist with no regard for life was Vicente
Sala, a 60 year old electrician and obsessive lottery player from the
Balearic island of Formentera.
In July 2010, frustrated at his continuing lack of winnings, he drove his
van, stuffed full of spent lottery tickets, to thick forest land and
allegedly attempted to set them all ablaze. As he began igniting the
paper slips in windy conditions, his clothing caught fire and soon he was
engulfed in flames and died of smoke inhalation. But that was only part of
the tragedy. Despite the valiant efforts of the local fire brigade, the
inferno quickly took hold and spread rapidly through the dry and crisp
terrain destroying nearly two hectares of forest.
As the weather finally starts to heat up in the area of Simak in Turkey,
hot and dry parts of the country move into their annual state of high alert
over forest fires, which generally strike each summer.
Pictures of a Spectacular Forest Fire in
Greece 2009
Fires spread through northern suburb of Athens, the Greek capital in the
hot summer of 2009. Fanned by gale force winds the fires spread as far north
as the towns of Grammatiko and Varnavas, and threatened the famous town of
Marathon. The fires further contributed to the deforestation of the
mountains around Athens. Three of the four mountains surrounding the capital
have already been stripped of their trees by fire Will and Guy have been
informed.
A devastating forest fire has been raging in Russia during August 2010,
in the midst of a heat wave described by experts as the worst in the
thousand-year history of the country. Homes has been destroyed, wildlife and
farm stock lost and more than 50 people are dead.
Nearly 50,000 people were battling the fires, which were raging
dangerously close to Russia's main nuclear research centre in Sarov.
There have also been fears that the fires could stir up particles on land in
western Russia still contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Meanwhile a dense blanket of smog has covered all over Moscow.
More Forest Fire Trivia from Will and Guy
Highest lookout site in the world: Fairview Peak, 25 miles
NE of Gunnison Colorado - 13,214 feet.
Lowest lookout sites in the world: Pine Island Florida
at 2 feet.
Earliest known fire lookout in the world: Mount Masada,
west of the Dead Sea, in present-day Israel, approximately 2,000 years
ago. It was built by King Herod's army to protect against his enemies
who were burning his empire.
Forest fires move faster uphill than downhill! The
steeper the slope, the faster the fire travels.
In May 2000, the "Cerro Grande" fire near Los
Alamos, New Mexico burned 47,650 acres while destroying 235
structures, many of them family homes.
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