ZLV Online

Abstract

Forest fires are complex physico-chemical phenomena. They involve burning, gas exchange, and heat transfer, and these processes change in space and time. An understanding of the spatial and temporal dynamics of these processes is necessary to prevent or extinguish forest fires. The Czech Republic attempts to prevent forest fires by educating the public about how forest fires occur, by requiring foresters and forest owners to report the burning of harvest residues, and by supporting the Air Fire Service. Forest owners can now monitor drought severity via internet sources and are able to estimate the risk of fire in their forests. In the period 2006–2015, most forest fires occurred between 14:00 and 17:00. The highest number of fires was recorded during weekends (+ ca 400), probably because of higher forest visitation by people on weekends; such visitation has been demonstrated to be positively correlated with forest fire occurrence. How firefighters respond to fires depends on the number of firefighters available, i.e. firefighters focus on attacking the fire when sufficient numbers of personnel are available but focus on defending people and property when numbers are insufficient. Determining whether the use of aviation technology or other approaches are appropriate for fighting a forest fire depends on the correct identification of the main parts of the fire.