Fires In Russia Research Articles

The Impact of Catastrophic Forest Fires of 2021 on the Light Soils in Central Yakutia

This paper presents the results of studying changes in the main parameters and properties of soils in larch and pine forests growing on sandy soils of the Lena-Vilyui interfluve of Central Yakutia, where catastrophic forest fires occurred in 2021. According to the remote monitoring information system of Rosleskhoz, in 2021, almost 8.5 million hectares of forests burned in Yakutia, which is considered as one of the largest forest fires in Russia and in the world in that year. After the fire passes through the forest floor, the content of organic matter decreases as a result of combustion processes. The acidity of the soil changes towards its alkalization due to the entry of combustion products. Changes in soil profiles occur; turbation processes begin more intensively, which in turn change the natural distribution of soil indicator values such as the organic carbon content, the pH, and the number of exchangeable bases. Due to the sharp increase in heat supply after a fire, the depth of seasonal thawing in the soils of burnt larch forests increases by a quarter and by twofold in pine forests. With the beginning of the thawing of the seasonally frozen layer, all the soils experience waterlogging, and ground water occurs above the permafrost.

Развитие подходов к установлению причины пожара: от начала 20 века до наших дней

Purpose. The article examines the evolution of approaches to determining the immediate cause of fires in Russia based on a retrospective analysis of scientific and methodological works from 1906 to the present. It is revealed that currently, the basis for reasoning aimed at establishing the cause of a fire is the abductive method, in which hypotheses about their probable causes are formulated based on known consequences. At the same time, a complex of organically interconnected signs of a fire manifests and changes depending on the stage of fire development; it can arise under the influence of various causes and, significantly, reflect the peculiarities of the object's reaction to the fire. In this regard, there is a need to develop more advanced approaches to forming versioning conclusions when establishing the cause of a fire during fire-technical expertise, which would minimize the limitations described above. To develop such an approach, a retrospective analysis of activities for establishing the cause of a fire was carried out, as well as the analysis and selection of logical methods for its determination. Methods. The scientific basis of the research was provided by system analysis, methods of information synthesis, and expert analysis. Findings. The analysis showed that from 1906 to 2018 in our country the main method of investigating the circumstances related to the occurrence of fires is abductive reasoning (versioning analysis). There is a database in which each specific cause of a fire is implicatively linked to a set of signs arising in a fire that occurred for this reason. Research application field. The obtained results can be used in further development of methods for identifying the cause of fires. Conclusions. The study showed that the abductive approach to proposing versions of the causes of fires in the 20th–21st centuries has proved to be productive; the probability of abductive conclusions increased in various directions (through computer modeling – scenario approach, in technical aspects – involving physico-chemical analysis, etc.). Schemes for conducting versioning research to establish the cause of a fire at the initial and modern stages have been developed. The development of methods for identifying the cause of fires may consist of expanding and detailing the theoretical basis of versions, improving mathematical models and their informational support, as well as developing algorithms for comparing theoretical and factual bases of versions to form an expert conclusion – versioning conclusion.

Fire risk forecasting for preschool and educational institutions

Using the statistical data on fires in Russia, the study concludes that it is necessary to assess fire risks for preschool and educational institutions. The factors influencing the occurrence of fires are considered. Tools and resources for predicting fire risks are described. The methodology of assessing fire risks for preschool and educational institutions is analyzed. A fire risk for the facility under study is caluclated. The calculation is based on the method of constructing “bounce” trees, successfully used in the graph theory. The key event is a fire, the risk of which is etermined. The logic elements “and”, “or” and “inverter” are used in the construction. The block diagram has several levels - from the key to the simplest failures. The advantage of this scheme is described. In addition to the main fire risk for the facility, the professional risk is caluclated. Taking into account the result, measures aimed to ensure fire safety at these facilities are suggested. The article concludes that it is necessary to use the fire risk assessment method.

Mapping the city's trajectories to cool the city and better resist heat waves

Abstract. During the months of July and August 2021 and 2022, numerous climatic disturbances such as heat domes in Canada, floods and landslides in Belgium, Germany, Turkey, China as well as giant fires in Russia and Greece have marked the news and people’s minds. Climate inertia and the complexity of changing the world’s energy model make it necessary to adapt territories to limit the impacts of the changes that are underway. However, if the speeches on the urgency to act to cool the cities have become omnipresent, the implementations of solutions seem limited, and some territories even seem to be going in the opposite direction by massively artificializing the edges of urban areas. The objective of the FreshWay research project is to identify and analyse planning and implementation on the ground to combat summer heat waves and to represent the adaptation trajectories of cities. The first information that is questioned is the evolution of urban vegetation insofar as plants provide shade and allow cooling through the process of evapotranspiration. The paper presents the required information and the data model, cases study, the process to integrate data, the choice of indicators and the construction of trajectories from different perspectives for the municipality of Castelnau-le-lez, Sarcelles and Pontault-Combault, and at different level of details.

СВЯЗЬ ПРИРОДНЫХ ПОЖАРОВ В РОССИЙСКИХ РЕГИОНАХ С АТМОСФЕРНЫМИ БЛОКИРОВАНИЯМИ

Results of the analysis of wildfires in Russian regions using satellite data for 2000-2021 are presented. The results indicate a predominant increase in the number of intense fires in Russia, which has been especially noticeable in recent years. Using reanalysis data, a significant correlation between wildfires in Russia and atmospheric blocking has been revealed. An integral blockings index, whose value can reach and exceed 10% for fire seasons in Russian regions from April to October, was used to characterize atmospheric blocking. It has been found that an increase in the integral blockings index by 1% corresponds to an increase in the number of forest fires in Russia by 14%. According to the estimates, the contribution to the variance of interannual change in the number of wildfires associated with atmospheric blockings reaches ~40%.

Legal Regulation of Fire Safety in Forests: Problems and Ways to Solve them

The article analyzes the issues of legal regulation of fire safety in forests. The main problems and indicators of the record number of forest fires in Russia are identified: imperfection of the regulatory and legal regulation of fire safety of forests; inconsistent system of state management of the forest complex; lack of an orderly model structure of specialized institutions in forests and fire extinguishing at the level of Russian subjects, taking into account the peculiarities of the regions; others. The article also reveals the positions of Russian scientists regarding the protection of state forest resources, etc. Responsibility for illegal actions that may lead to forest fires is being considered. The list of necessary components of a technical nature for fighting forest fires has been determined. Proposals have been made to level out the identified problems in order to reduce forest fires and preserve forest resources in our state.

Social and Property Losses from Fires in Russia: Statistical Analysis

The article analyzes the general situation in the Russian Federation related to fires (based on data for 2021 and 2022). Characteristics of social damage are given along with the data on the distribution of those killed in fires according to their social status, which allows for suppositions about the strong influence of a social component in revealing the basic factors forming a fire death rate indicator. Considerable attention in the publication is given to the characteristics of the fire property damage statistics. Taking into account the advance research into different approaches to assessing the subject of the study, the authors explain the preference of calculation methods for assessing the economic damage from fires. Based on statistical data on fires and their consequences, calculations of direct fire property damage were carried out. To raise analytical level of the study, statistical groupings were built, which, according to the authors, made it possible to make more adequate management decisions to minimize social and material damage from fires.

Ensuring fire safety in the technosphere: Important aspects

This article discusses the factors that lead to fires, how to prevent and avoid them and the different types of primary fire extinguishing equipment used in production. It also describes the algorithm of actions to be followed by personnel and the public in case of fire, according to the fire safety instructions. Despite the fact that the fire safety rules and fire pyramid conditions (source of fire, temperature, combustible substance and oxygen access) are widely known, the number of technogenic fires in Russia is still high. In connection with this, the article examines the fires that have occurred with loss of life and material damage. These cases are analyzed with the aim of developing and modernizing rules of behavior aimed at preventing fires, as well as developing an algorithm of action in extreme situations and forecasting possible fires. The article presents statistical data on fires in the Russian Federation. Measures are also suggested to evaluate the risk taking into account the layout and design of buildings, prevent fires and determine fire hazards. After analyzing the situations, preventive measures and fire safety propaganda are recommended, as well as regular training and education of personnel, workers and rescuers in order to reduce the number of fires and thus minimize material and human losses.

System Improvement of Aviation Protection of Forests from Fires

Every year, millions of hectares of forest die as a result of forest fires around the world. Protection of forests from fires is one of the priority tasks of the Russian Federation state policy. One of the most effective ways of extinguishing forest fires is aerial protection as the use of aviation forces and means is considered to be an effective mechanism in combating this uncontrollable natural disaster, which creates risks of harm to people’s life and health. This work is aimed at analyzing the situation with forest fires not only for the Russian Federation, but also for other states, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of the forest protection system with the use of aviation forces to develop effective solutions for its improvement. The statistical data on forest fires in Russia and other states are given, the directions of improvement of the system of aviation forest protection and the current legislation in this and related sectors are defined. A number of measures necessary to improve the organization of forest protection from fires, the functioning of a stable and effective system of forest management, as well as to ensure efficient organization of activities in the conservation of forests has been defined.

Researches of the pre-evacuation time of people in residential multi-storey buildings without fire warning systems

Introduction. According to statistics, the greatest loss of life from fires in Russia occurs in residential buildings with a height up to 28 m. At the same time, most fire protection systems are not provided in such type of buildings. In particular, in residential buildings of mentioned above height fire alarm system maybe not. That is why the real values of the pre-evacuation time (PET) in the buildings are not known, because domestic research still has not been conducted. Goals and objectives . The aim of the work was to establish the values of the PET of people in a residential building that is not equipped with a fire alarm system. The main tasks were to study the time to warn building occupants about a fire and to research the time of people’s reaction to a fire warning. Methods . The method of scientific research in this work is a full-scale experiment. In the first set of experiments focus were on warning time — it was investigated how much time it took to warn all building occupants by 1, 2 and 3 notifiers. The second set of experiments were aimed to study of people’s reaction time to a fire alarm — it was determined how long it took to start evacuating from their apartments. Results and their discussion . Studies have shown that the value of the alert time of a nine-storey building by one, two and three notifiers averaged was 20.0, 11.6 and 7.2 min, respectively. Based on the data obtained, a mathematical model was built that allows predicting the optimal number of notifiers depending on the number of storeys in the building. Studies of people’s reaction time to a fire alarm have shown that during the daytime, on average, people need less time to realize and prepare for evacuation (72 s) than at night (112 s). Combining the results obtained allowed us to determine the optimal number of notifiers to warn all people in residential building. Conclusion . Comparison of the experimental values of the PET with the data of the current Methodology of fire risk calculation for a nine-storey house showed a discrepancy of 2.6 times.

Two Decades of Satellite Observations of Carbon Monoxide Confirm the Increase in Northern Hemispheric Wildfires

Biomass burning is an important and changing component of global and hemispheric carbon cycles. Boreal forest fires in Russia and Canada are significant sources of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The influence of carbon monoxide (CO) on the greenhouse effect is practically absent; its main absorption bands of 4.6 and 2.3 μm are far away from the climatically important spectral regions. Meanwhile, CO concentrations in fire plumes are closely related to CO2 and CH4 emissions from fires. On the other hand, satellite measurements of CO are much simpler than those of the aforementioned gases. The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) operating in the Thermal IR spectral region has provided a satellite-based CO data set since October 2002. This satellite data allow to estimate CO emissions from biomass burning north of 30° N using a simple two-box mass-balance model. These results correlate closely with independently estimated CO emissions from the GFED4c bottom-up database. In 2021, both estimate record high emissions throughout the preceding two decades, double the annual emissions compared to previous periods. There have been two years with extremely high emissions (2003 and 2021) but for the rest of the data, an upward trend with a rate of 3.6 ± 2.2 Tg CO yr−2 (4.8 ± 2.7% yr−1) was found. A similar rate of CO emissions can be seen in the GFED4c data.

Administrative responsibility for violation of fire safety rules in Russia

The article examines the problems of administrative responsibility for violations of fire safety rules in the Russian Federation. The issues of the correlation of administrative and criminal responsibility in the field of fire safety are considered. The statistics of incidents related to fires in Russia are being studied. The analysis of the most common offenses in the field of fire safety is carried out. Reference is made to the provisions of the most frequently violated regulations in the field of fire safety. The specifics of ongoing administrative offenses in the field of fire safety are assessed.

Promising Trends in Ice Core Research

An overview of modern studies on ice cores from nonpolar regions of the Earth is presented. As an example of complex research on the territory of Russia, a description of the main results of the study of ice cores from Elbrus is given. The seasonally resolved data on the chemical and isotopic composition of the Elbrus core cover 1774–2009 reconstructed various aspects of atmospheric pollution in southeastern Europe from preindustrial times to the present day. The necessity of studying several ice cores from different regions to reconstruct the composition of the atmosphere, its pollution, and the reaction of vegetation to climate change and forest fires in Russia is shown.

Assessment of Carbon Dioxide Emissions due to Forest Fires in Russia and Possible Ways to Reduce Them

Calculations of CO2 emissions into the atmosphere caused by forest fires in Russia as well as an experimental assessment of some possibilities to reduce the emissions were carried out. It was shown that calculations with the usage of the average values of the reserves of combustible forest materials (CFM), the area of fires and the value of the mass rate of wood burning gives the same results as the approach based on the relatively accurate data on the reserves of CFM and their distribution over the fire area as well as an information on the character of forest fires. It was obtained experimentally that the continuous short-term supply of sprayed extinguishing liquid does not reduce but increases the yield of carbon dioxide due to the earlier termination of the flame burning and transition of the process to the smoldering regime. It is possible to reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere caused by forest fires up to 3-5 times when the extinguishing liquid is sprayed by applying two short-term pulses to eliminate both flaming and smoldering combustion.

Problems in the investigation of fires of motor vehicles

The article pays great attention to the causes of fires that occur in motor vehicles. Statistical data indicate that fires that occurred in motor vehicles consistently occupy the second place in terms of quantity and material damage after fires that occurred in residential buildings. The investigation of fires related to the ignition of motor transport itself is quite complex. The article analyzes the causes of fires in motor vehicles. Some manufacturing defects of modern cars have been investigated. The statistics of fires in Russia are analyzed and presented. Certain features and directions of investigations of this category of criminal cases are considered.

ЦИРКУЛЯЦИОННЫЕ ФАКТОРЫ ЛЕСНЫХ ПОЖАРОВ НА ТЕРРИТОРИИ СИБИРИ И ЯКУТИИ В НАЧАЛЕ XXI В

Natural fires in the northern underdeveloped regions of Russia constitute a significant part of natural emergencies, while about 70-90% of all forest areas covered by fire are recorded in Siberia and Yakutia. These are the regions where the bulk of the boreal forests of Russia are concentrated, which play an important role in the absorption and sequestration of carbon. Global changes, which are seen as an integral result of climate change and anthropogenic activities, are rapidly changing the environment of the boreal forest. In this regard, studies of climatic and circulation factors for the occurrence and spread of forest fires are relevant. The territories of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the Irkutsk Region, the Republic of Buryatia, the Republic (Sakha) of Yakutia and Transbaikalia, which make a significant contribution to the dynamics of forest fires in Russia as a whole, were chosen as objects of study. According to the daily data of FBU "Avialesohrana", the percentage contribution of these regions to the number and area of forest fires that were recorded in Russia from June 1 to September 30 was calculated using the example of 2020 and 2021. Based on the typification of synoptic processes near the Earth's surface and the middle troposphere, according to the daily synoptic maps of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia, the prevailing types of weather conditions of a high level of fire danger in Siberia and Yakutia were established.

Spring fires in Russia: results from participatory burned area mapping with Sentinel-2 imagery

Human-induced fires play a crucial role in transforming landscapes and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Russia is a country where human-induced fires are widespread and form distinctive spring and summer burning cycles. However, spring fires are not well documented and it is unclear which land-cover types are associated with the spread of spring fires. Using Sentinel-2 optical satellite imagery, a wall-to-wall spring burned area data set for 1 January to 15 May 2020 was created for Russia (excluding the Arctic) using a participatory crowdsourcing digitizing approach on an online platform developed specifically for this application. The 2020 spring fire product had a producer accuracy of 85% and user accuracy of 92%. Approximately 13.38 million ha, comprising 1.8% of the study area, were mapped as burned, with the majority of the 2020 spring burned areas in Siberia. Our spring-fire product revealed five times more burned area estimates compared to the burned area estimates from the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD64 product. We also found high variability of burned area per active fire pixel across regions of Russia, when compared to MODIS and visible infrared imaging radiometer suite active fire data. Spring fires started to increase from the end of February and reached their maximum by the end of March through the middle of April. Spring fires were associated with arable lands and grasslands as land-cover types, except Siberia, where spring fires were most common in deciduous and needle-leaved forests, followed by arable lands. While spring fires were associated with croplands and grasslands, an estimate for Central Russia showed approximately 75% of spring fires occurred on abandoned agricultural lands. Our study demonstrated the suitability of optical Sentinel-2 imagery for spring fire mapping and the great utility of a participatory mapping approach for fast and accurate mapping as well as engagement of the community.

Improving state policy on forest fire prevention and extinguishing: administrative and legal aspects

In this article, an attempt is made to analyze the existing legal mechanisms for the formation of the state system for the prevention and elimination of forest fires, to outline ways to improve state policy in this area. The author presents the results of the analysis of the content of text arrays of normative legal acts regulating the prevention and elimination of forest fires. disaster Medicine of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. The genesis of legislative acts reflecting the functions of the state to protect the population and territories from emergency situations is carried out. With the help of content analysis, the characteristics of various governing documents in the field under consideration are given. The main key points contained in the analyzed documents are shown. The positive and negative sides, as well as contradictions affecting the functioning of the RSChS and the functional subsystem of the Federal Forestry Agency for the protection of forests from fires and their protection from pests and forest diseases are revealed. The qualitative approach of content analysis allowed us to determine the content of problematic issues that are poorly reflected in regulatory legal documents, or have a logical contradiction when compared with each other. The proposals for improving the state policy in the field of prevention and elimination of forest fires in Russia are substantiated.

Analysis of forest fires in Irkutsk region for 2010-2019

The urgency of the ecological problem of natural forest fires in Russia, especially in rich forests of Eastern Siberia, makes it necessary to study their features, consequences, and measures to combat them. The aim of the article is to assess the state of forest fires in Irkutsk region over the last ten years. Based on the statistical data of monitoring in 33 districts, the dynamics of fires was studied, and areas affected by fires were identified. The largest number of fires was revealed in Irkutsk and Bratsk districts. The fire rate was assessed by districts in fire hazardous periods, and the largest fire rate was identified in Bratsk, Kachug, Irkutsk, and Katanga districts. The fire indicators for 2019 were compared with the average indicators for each district. A comparative analysis of the forest fire situation in Irkutsk region and its districts was carried out. Recommendations on possible firefighting measures were provided.

Methods for the use of the best Russian innovations in forest fire detection and suppression

This paper addresses the final stage of the study concerning the practical use of the best Russian methods, technologies and means for detecting and extinguishing forest fires in Russia. In general, the work is aimed at increasing the effectiveness of the forest fire protection system by improving the methodological and technical support for the use of the best new innovations. In the course of the study, analytical methods have been applied, tested and used in silviculture, while developing and improving the regulatory legal and methodological frameworks. Based on the selection of research directions in the preliminary stages of work, analysis of the current state, use, and the development forecast of the most effective and promising technologies was carried out. In addition, for detecting, controlling and extinguishing forest fires, including a comparative analysis of their economic efficiency, methods for practical use of the best Russian innovations was developed. A significant number of new developments have accumulated which, for a number of reasons, have not been implemented. Taking into account the current state and dynamics of these promising methods, technologies, means of detecting and extinguishing forest fires, this study substantiates the development forecast of these promising innovations and their content. Its structure includes general provisions, concepts and terminology, regulatory support, the procedure for assessing the feasibility and effectiveness of the innovations, as well as a list of recommended documents for studying the use of technology for detecting, controlling and extinguishing forest fires. These methods will help meet modern requirements for the protection of forests from wildfires, and present an algorithm for their implementation in practice.