Tasmania is burning, and scientists are worried

Tasmania is burning, and scientists are worried – ‘http://bit.ly/1TiDj7u

On January 13, dry lightning strikes sparked off a series of fires in northwest Tasmania that spread quickly. So far, the fires have ravaged more than 107,000 hectares of land, according to the Tasmanian Fire Service.

As of Monday, there were 81 active fires across the state, of which, 26 are currently either uncontained or uncontrolled. Nearly a month after the fires started, many are still ablaze. One problem is that most active fires are located in remote, rugged areas of Tasmania.  Moreover, some fires are burning in deep peat soil, Ted Lefroy, Director of the Centre for Environment at University of Tasmania, told Mongabay.

The trouble with peat fires — or fires that result from the burning of partially decomposed plant matter in wetlands — is that these tend to keep smoldering underground without becoming outwardly apparent on the surface. This makes it difficult for firefighters to detect and control the fires. The peat fires do become visible occasionally, Lefroy said, when the temperatures rise further and wind speeds increase.

Climate is not only creating the precursor weather conditions for the fires, it is also providing the lightning storms that ignite them’.


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