Day Fire, Los Angeles (Essay Sample)

Day Fire, Los Angeles
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Day Fire, Los Angeles
The Day Fire as famously known burned wildly destroying the plains of Los Padres, which is in Ventura County of California State. It occurred in 2006 and was categories as the third wildest fire in the history of California. According to this analysis, it started on September 4, 2006 during Labor Day celebrations to October 2006. During this period, the fire reportedly consumed approximately 162,700 acres of land estimated at a cost of US$ 70.3 million. The fire also claimed 4,600 lives of firefighters who took part in putting it off. Fortunately, by October 13, it was permanently contained. This article seeks to analyze the event; the polymeric materials involved and the mitigations implemented.


Figure1: Day Fire’s radiation seen from space
In forests, natural gums are always present and classified accordingly depending on their origin. For instance, they are either ionic or uncharged polymers. Examples of these polymeric materials include natural gums obtained from seaweeds and the ones obtained botanically. They are the polymeric materials present in the forest. According to Wilkie and Morgan (2009, p.19), polymer degradation is faster when exposed to carbon radicals and oxygen that supports combustion in the event of fire. Specifically, other artificial polymeric materials involved debris burn that consisted of nylons and other polyvinyl chloride materials. The ignited polymeric materials coming from the burning debris encountered surrounding dry grasses thus causing wildfire.
In chemistry terms, fire is a spontaneous material oxidation. Drysdale (2011) argues that fire is a chemical and the exothermic process of burning, releasing light, heat, and numerous reaction products. Others like slower oxidation processes such as digestion and rusting do not involve in this definition. Flame, on the other hand, is the portion of the fire that is visible. When hot, gases taking part in combustion ionizes to form plasma. Substances light and the impurities outside determine the flame color and intensity of the flame. According to Drysdale (2011), when burning, fire is hazardous in that it results to conflagration that has the potentiality of causing physical damages. Fire is a significant process affecting the systems of ecology globally. If it eliminates the protective vegetation, heavy down consequently increases soil erosion. Additionally, when burnt, the nitrogen in plant is absorbed in the atmosphere. Hence, it causes an everlasting reduction in soil fertility, which takes time to recover.
Mitigation steps implemented to contain future fire in forests involve working on the health objectives of forests. On the other hand, management resorted to requiring the reduction of using hazardous fuels in forests as they might cause fire. Other mitigations include the employment of forest recovery treatments that seeks to eliminate the overall stems per acre. The technique segregates flammables into a single group and creates no room for vertical and horizontal fuel continuity in the specified treatment area.
In conclusion, human activities that involve the usage...