Wildfires spread throughout Tennessee due to the dry conditions. Peyton Gupton • The Daily Beacon
Wildfires bring code red air quality to Knoxville Shelby Whitehead Contributor
With air clouded by thick smoke, the University of Tennessee is suffering the effects of recent wildfire outbreaks plaguing East Tennessee. The lack of significant rain since August has created the perfect opportunity for these wildfire outbreaks. “It’s just super dry, almost unprecedented,” Wayne Clatterbuck, UT professor in forestry, wildlife and fisheries, said. Knoxville is roughly five inches behind its average yearly rainfall estimate. Chattanooga overshadows that count, being 16 inches behind its normal yearly rainfall. Despite these drought conditions, the spark
Volume 132 Issue 60
that started the fires is not due to nature. “Majority of our fires are human-induced,” Clatterbuck said. “A lot of people seem to get a thrill out of setting things on fire.” It has been confirmed that the start to most recent wildfires have been arson and human carelessness. Simple actions, such as not properly extinguishing a campfire or burning a brush pile, can cause major damage in extremely dry conditions. “We haven’t had any lightning storms to ignite any of this stuff. It’s not like it’s spontaneous combustion,” Gary Dean, UT professor of geology, said. “It’s always a little bit of human help.” Tennessee Fire Code states protecting structures as a priority in cases of wildfires. After that, trees are targeted because the wildfires cause
utdailybeacon.com @utkdailybeacon
defective lumber quality. Clatterbuck said areas most susceptible to wildfires are the mountainous regions. Due to their seclusion, these remote areas often lack the water pressure needed to suppress wildfires or roads navigable to firetrucks. Rather than treating the wildfires with water, firefighters have initiated a process called “backfiring” in which they actually fight fire with fire. Once a wildfire is located, the firefighters start a second controlled fire, burning it toward the wildfire. This strategy is cheaper than using water, important due to the fact that budgets are not currently in place to handle the wildfires at their current capacity. See WILDFIRES on Page 6
Wednesday, November 16, 2016