Question: do the fires that you see affect anything else

Thomas Smith answered on 16 Jun 2014:

The wildfires I work on affect many things.

During the days and weeks of a wildfire, people are affected by the smoke. Some people may have to leave their homes, schools are closed, and other important buildings have to be evacuated. If it is difficult to escape the smoke, it can lead to people developing long-term problems with their health.

Sometimes wildfires can have effects that last for months or even years. If a wildfire burns through a rainforest, it is very difficult for the rainforest to grow back. Without trees to shade the soil, the soils dry up and it becomes very difficult for a new forest to grow back. This leads to problems for other plants and animals who live in the rainforests. I’m particularly worried about animals like the Sumatran Tiger and the Orang-utan which live in forests threatened by fire.

One final effect of fire that affects all of us is the greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane are emitted from fires and these lead to global warming, just like all the gases emitted from industry.