ARTICLE | Industrial & Wildfires
Fire disasters are catastrophic, but avoidable
The massive disturbances inflicted upon nature by humans have resulted in the event called Climate Change. There is general agreement among scientists that many regions across the world have and will continue to experience more fire-conducive climate due to climate change, which will create drier and warmer weather conditions. This trend is already visible in many regions. In addition, occurrences of industrial fires have become more frequent Pooja Upadhyay | Trainee Reporter
F
ire is a natural phenomenon that has contributed to shaping the Earth’s biosphere for the past 400 million years. Expanding human footprint has been bringing more ignitions,
36 August 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
thereby increasing fires resulting in greater community vulnerability towards fire hazards. 24x7 media coverage over the past few years has informed the whole world about the catastrophic forest fires in Australia, Brazil, and the United States of
America. After wildfires, industrial fires have emerged having catastrophic outcomes. Fire in a New Delhi factory in December 2019 is one such example. Fire is an uncontrollable element that can never be tamed. If not managed carefully, the element providing light and warmth can burn anyone and anything to ashes in a matter of seconds. Presently, human activities have been found to be responsible for most fires, up to 99 per cent of the fire incidents in many regions.
Wildfires
As of the first week of August 2021, over 42,000 people in California were forced to flee their homes because nine large wildfires in the state continue to burn out of control. The Dixie fire,
