forest fires (Page 2)

As temperatures in Siberia soar and drought stalks the vasttaiga, the danger that Siberian forest fires could become sohuge that the smoke threatens the climate of the entireplanet rises. The fires are set naturally, by ‘drylightning,’ and by illegal timber firms who sell cheaplumber to China.

The destruction to this forest is so great that 157 firesburning across the region in 2003 sent a plume of smokethree thousand miles across Japan. Atmospheric scientistslater detected smoke from the fires in Seattle.

The boreal forests of Siberia are essential to the health ofthe atmosphere, because the slow-growing trees absorb morecarbon dixoide than any other land-based area.
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The areas that are burning in California have always been dry, but people have successfully lived there for years without having their houses burn down. Was it always just a matter of time, or did something change–and was that something terrorism or too much population growth?

As we reported yesterday, the FBI alerted law enforcement agencies last month that an al-Qaeda prisoner said he had planned to start a series of forest fires around the U.S., although he didn’t mention California specifically. Rose Davis, of the National Interagency Fire Center, says they didn’t act on the warning and many forest law enforcement officers had no idea the warning had even been issued. However, it’s doubtful they could have done much to prevent the fires, even if they had.
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Two Hundred Thousand acres have burned in Southern California, with more houses being consumed by fire every day. Fire officials have evidence that at least some of the fires were set intentionally?could this have been done by terrorists? A June 25th FBI memo said an al-Qaeda prisoner claimed he had planned to start forest fires in the U.S. this summer.
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Mercury Pollution from Wildfires

As thousands of acres continue to burn across the western United States, scientists from The National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Washington are flying over the wildfires to measure mercury emissions in their smoke.

During a wildfire, mercury stored in the foliage and ground litter is released and carried into the atmosphere, says NCAR scientist Hans Friedli. He and Lawrence Radke are conducting research flights over wildfires and prescribed burns. Scientists are trying to understand the global sources of atmospheric mercury, as well as how much of the dangerous substance ends up in the food chain.
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