For very large fires, extinguishment may not happen until winter brings rain and snow along with much colder temperatures, all of which work against combustion. read more
Another way that forest fires can die out, is that they poke along, calm down, or just slowly fizzle in the fickle weather that often changes to become less conducive to forest fires. Allowing more forest fires to naturally die out, at least in more remote areas of wilderness, hopefully can reduce wastage of forest fire fighting resources and expenses. read more
How Forest Fires Start. Forest fires always start by one of two ways - naturally caused or human caused. Natural fires are generally started by lightning, with a very small percentage started by spontaneous combustion of dry fuel such as sawdust and leaves. read more
Natural fires, on the other hand, can burn for hours before being detected by firefighting authorities. How Forest Fires Burn. There are three elements that are required for a forest fire to burn: Heat, Oxygen, and Fuel. This is the so-called"fire triangle". Without all three of these elements, the fire will go out. read more