Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Nor is this threatening situation confined to
Australia. The same is occurring in southern
California, which has similar fire weather and vege-
tation but more rapid urban expansion. What is not
easily recognized is the degree to which urban
settlement has extended into forest areas in all parts
of the United States. Since the first major urban
forest fire in 1947, urbanization has continued at a
rapid pace, and forests have completely reclaimed
large tracts of abandoned farmland near settlements
and cities. Each urban wildfire takes on a distinct
identity - for example the Black Tiger Fire of July
1989 near Boulder, Colorado, or the Stephan Bridge
Road Fire of May 1990 in Crawford County,
Michigan. Since the mid-1950s, this urbanization has
taken on a different aspect as millions of urban
dwellers have chosen to leave major cities during
summer for cottages in nearby woodlands. This
occurs in the north-eastern Appalachians, northern
Michigan, and Wisconsin. In Canada, up to 50 per
cent of the population of Toronto and Montreal
escape the summer's heat each weekend by traveling
into the Canadian Shield forest. Historically, these
forests have been subjected to infernos. Given the
propensity of humans to play with fire, the regen-
eration of forests and the tendency for warmer
summers, these woodlands will undoubtedly witness
the recurrence of large catastrophic fires similar to
those that affected the Great Lakes region in the late
nineteenth century.
REFERENCES AND FURTHER
READING
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Natural Hazards in
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Cornell, J. 1976.
The Great International Disaster Book
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Couper-Johnston, R. 2000.
El Nino: The Weather Phenomenon That
Changed the World
. Hodder and Stoughton, London.
Firewise 1992.
The Oakland/Berkeley Hills fire
. <http://www.
firewise.org/pubs/theOaklandBerkeleyHillsFire/>
Luke, R.H. and McArthur, A.G. 1978.
Bushfires in Australia
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Fire in America: A Cultural History of Wildland
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Seitz, R. 1986. Siberian fire as 'nuclear winter' guide.
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2000 fire season
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Yool, S.R., Eckhardt, D.W., Estes, J.E. and Cosentino, M.J. 1985.
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