The Forest Fires

The forest fire seems like a very common problem, especially for tropical countries. It becomes more and more common since it happens more frequently every year. People also take this easily because every year they hear more forest fire cases from the media. In fact, the forest fire can be really harmful not only for the forest itself, but also for the entire condition of the earth.

Basically, there are three things that can cause a forest fires. They are: disturbance of weather patterns, on purpose firing, and the accidental factors.  Disturbance of weather can be a very long summer that can increase temperature and reduce the water availability of the forest. That situation creates such a dry condition in the environments that it becomes easily burnt.  This kind of situation can’t be avoided.

Accidental factors can also be one of the most common things causing the forest fires. This is usually called “the human’s error”. One of the most popular issues is when People throwing the cigarette stub in the bushes and start a small fire. That small fire then becomes a bigger flames and burn the whole forest.

Finally, the most dangerous and influential cause is on purpose firing. This kind of firing is obviously created by human in order to reach a certain goal such as industrial and business purpose. In order to avoid is cruel action, the government usually make the law of forestry.

Those factors above can actually cause harmful things directly to the forest, and indirectly to the environments. Firstly, when the forest is burnt, the animals will lose their habitat and food sources.  Then, the animals go down to the people’s residence to get food. Secondly, forests have the most important roles to take control on the earth’s air cycles. When forests begin to burnt, they won’t be able to produce O₂ and reduce CO₂ which will definitely disrupt the balance of the cycles.

(Kendra Okonski discusses the Australian forest fires in February 2009-Recorded by BBC)