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 | Wildfires are rapidly spreading fires that can quickly grow out of control depending on the weather that day or season. It has the ability to scorch one spot and leave the next area virtually untouched. In order to start an adequate fire, you must have the two of the three components in the fire triangle; fuel, heat, and oxygen. |  |
 | There are two different types of causes, natural and man-made. The most common natural cause is lightning which is responsible for about 15% of wildfires. There are many different man-made fires. The most common one is when someone throws a cigarette butt out of their car window and it was not put out. Other ones are when campers forget to put out the campfire properly before going to sleep. |
 | The surface fire is the most common wildfire because it burns on the forest floor. It moves slowly so it destroys most of the trees and vegetation. |  | The spot or ground fire is the next type and it burns in the mineral soil below the forest floor. This type is what allows new growth to come in by killing the old. |  | The crown fire spreads quickly by the wind pushing it along the tops of the trees. This type is what scorches the braches high in the trees. |  | The firestorm is the most dangerous of the four. It acts as if it has a mind of its own by skipping across canyons, changing directions, or pausing suddenly without warning. Firestorms can twist between trees leaving a winding trail of burnt trees and shrubbery behind it. |
| Wildfires can quickly become deadly so there is only one common warning system. It is to watch your local television station or listen to a radio station that is stationed in your town so that you can hear any updates on the whereabouts and strength of the fire. |  |
 | The Idaho fire in 1910 destroyed about three million square miles of land and killed 86 people. All of this disorder happened in two days. The worst fire to burn in the entire south was in downtown Jacksonville in 1901. It burned 2,368 buildings and most of downtown. This fire ended up leaving 10,000 people homeless. The Peshtigo fire in 1871 killed about 1,500 people and destroyed 1.2 million acres of land on and October day in Wisconsin. This fire was later recorded as the worst fire in North American history. Yellowstone National Park went up in flames in 1988 when a controlled fire grew out of control and moved out of the park area to fast for anyone to put out. It began to spread outside the park into surrounding forests and private land. By the time the fire department put out the fire it had scorched more than one million acres ofland. |  |
| When people or animals get too close to a fire or intake to much smoke, they are likely to develop respiratory problems. F they are not careful about how close they are to the fire they may be burned and depending on the severity, they could die. Fires of any size can do damage. If the fire is small it could burn down a piece of furniture. If it is larger it may burn down a house or even a forest. |  |