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Afirebreak ordouble track (also called afire line,fuel break,fireroad andfiretrail in Australia) is a nonflammable gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire orwildfire. A firebreak may occur naturally where there is an absence of vegetation or "fuel", such as a river, lake or canyon. Firebreaks may also be man-made, and many of these also serve as roads, such aslogging roads,four-wheel drive trails, secondary roads, orhighways.
In the construction of a firebreak, the primary goal is to remove deadwood and undergrowth down to mineral soil. Various methods may be used to accomplish this initially and to maintain this condition. Ideally, the firebreak will be constructed and maintained according to the established practices of sustainableforestry andfire protection engineering, also known as best management practices (BMP). The general goals are to maximize the effectiveness of the firebreak at slowing the spread of wildfire, and, by using firebreaks of sufficient size and density, to reduce the ultimate size of wildfires. Additional goals are to maintain theecology of the forest and to reduce the impact of wildfires onair pollution and the globalclimate, and to balance thecosts and benefits of the various projects.[citation needed]
These goals can be achieved through the use of appropriate operating practices, many of which can be potentially mutually beneficial to all. In many cases, it may be useful for firebreak upkeep to be maintained along with the harvesting of forestry products, such aslumber andbiomass fuel, since the objectives are fundamentally related, in that the basic goals are to remove material from the forest. Furthermore, if done properly, the value of these products can significantly offset the cost of maintaining the firebreak. In addition, these commercial industries andsmall businesses are helped by a reduction in the property damages caused by wildfires, and reducedrisk of investment. Thebiomass material that is not suitable fordimensioned lumber is suitable to makewoodchips for thepaper industry and the energy industry. Larger trees are sometimes left in place within some types of firebreaks, to shade theforest floor and reduce the rate offuel accumulation, and to enhance the landscaping in recreational and inhabited locations.[citation needed]
Forested areas often contain vast networks of firebreaks. Somecommunities are also using firebreaks as part of theircity planningstrategy.[1] An example is the city ofRevelstoke, British Columbia, which includes firebreaks in their Community Wildfire Protection Plan.[2]
Depending on the environmental conditions, and the relative effectiveness of a given firebreak, firebreaks often have to be backed up with other firefighting efforts. Even then, it is still sometimes possible for fire to spread across a seemingly impenetrable divide. For example, during theCedar Fire of 2003, strongSanta Ana winds had blown enough burning embers across a 10-lane section ofInterstate 15 to ignite the vegetation on the other side.[3] During the1988 fires inYellowstone National Park, hot embers managed to cross theLewis Canyon, a natural canyon up to a mile wide and 600 feet (180 m) deep.[citation needed] In Australia, firebreaks are less effective against eucalyptus forest fires, since intense fires in tinder-dry eucalyptus forest spread through flying embers, which can be carried by the winds to trigger new blazes several kilometres away.[4] In 2019,goats deployed to graze the nearby flammable vegetation and create a firebreak helped save theRonald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum andGetty Museum fromCalifornia wildfires.[5]
Green firebreaks are lines of low flammability vegetation, planted to retard fire.[6][7] Among their advantages are lower cost, biodiversity and reduced erosion.[6][7]
Due to a lack of a standardized firefighting force at the time, theGreat Fire of London in 1666 instead saw theTower of London garrison using gunpowder and fire hooks in a widespread, ad-hoc firebreaking campaign across Central London. Historians believe this to have been one of the major contributing factors to the eventual defeat of the inferno.
The world's most expensive firebreak was created when part ofVan Ness Avenue inSan Francisco was dynamited to stop the spread of fire resulting from the1906 San Francisco earthquake.[8] Firefighting after an earthquake can be especially challenging, because an earthquake can causewater mains to rupture, resulting in a complete loss of water pressure.
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