7th Workshop on Forest Fire Management - EARSeL, European ...

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III - FIRE DETECTION AND FIRE MONITORING
The data in Figure 2 show that 2005 was characterized by a number of fires
smaller than the average for the period 1975-1996, but Figure 3 reveals
how the damaged area has suffered a decrease in greater proportion than
the number of fires. The latter, however, is comparable to the Italian statistics,
as well as between number of fires on forest land to which the data
is a factor of 10 if we have approximately 10,000,000 ha in Italy, data from
the German Ministry is cover approximately 1,000,000 hectares and the
number of fires varies in proportion, then the German and Italian statistics
are comparable. The number of fires is not a controllable variable, which
depends on a multitude of factors; Firewatch is a powerful tool for what
concerns the reduction of area damaged, as it allows prompt intervention
of a few minutes after the beginning of the occurrence a possible development
of fire.
4 - Conclusions
The results of Figure 3 were obtained with 130 installations over an area of
1,100,000 ha in the region of Brandenburg. This territory is characterized,
in addition to the interface areas on the outskirts of town, by a multitude
of small houses in the surrounding woods, whose presence necessarily creates
danger.
The variety and complexity of the Italian territory, where there are interface
areas and 22.2% of the area in a forest falls in SIC and ZPS, makes it
all more relevant the importance of a systematic approach to the problem.
Emblematic is the case of fires in Quiliano and Alassio in Liguria, which
have grown in 01/01/2007 and where the lack of early warning from a man
and a particularly critical of wind, caused that after three hours from the
beginning of a fire the smoke reached Capo Corso and Elba.
If we optimistically in the same reduction that has been in the data of
Figure 3, in 2007 we had a tenth of hectares burned, which is approximately
11,600 ha, thus below the minimum annual values recorded from 1990 to
2007 in Italy.
Actually in Italy the system is under assessment in the National Park of
Abruzzo, Lazio and Molise (see photo) and it will be used also in California
(see photo: CEBIT 2009).