Wildfires Fierce Earth

On today's Fierce Earth, we're investigating wildfires.

Ferocious flames.

This is burning so rapidly, I'm moving back now, I'm moving back.

Devastation and destruction.

The speed that it came at

as it was taking all the houses was unbelievable.

Extreme heat.

It's started to burn, whoa!

Wildfires rage out of control all over the world.

We're going to find out how they start, who they affect

and what humans can do to prevent them.

What happens when the ground shakes, the seas rise up

and the air tears itself apart?

The Fierce Earth team move in,

taking on the most powerful forces on the planet.

Get ready for Fierce Earth - the Earth and how to survive it.

Since the beginning of time, the element of fire has been used

for cooking, light and warmth.

But how can this essential energy source turn from a simple flame

into a ferocious force of nature?

Wildfires rage from Europe to Australia.

They burn for days, weeks or even months at a time, destroying

everything in their path and causing billions of pounds' worth of damage.

It's the speed and intensity that makes a wildfire spread.

This depends on the wind

and whether it's burning on a flat or sloping land.

When a fire is on flat ground, the heat from the flames rises up

into the sky and the fire loses some of its energy, intensity and speed.

But when the fire hits a hill, the heat is thrown forward.

As the heat is pushed up the slope,

it sets fire to whatever is in its path,

keeping its energy, increasing its intensity and travelling faster.

The speed that the fire travels can double, then double again and again.

This how wildfires grow and gather their deadly momentum.

But how do they start?

Clare is in Dorset to investigate.

When conditions are right, wildfires can burn across the planet.

They burn ferociously every summer.

And we get them in the UK.

Here in Dorset is one of the most dangerous places for wildfires.

'The countryside in this part of England is covered in gorse bushes.

'Gorse is very dry so it burns really easily.

'In June 2011,

'this corner of England was on fire. It took over 200 firefighters

'to bring the raging inferno under control.

'Today, I'm here with some of the fire crews to learn more about

'the behaviour of wildfires,

'from a man who knows the science behind them,

'Professor John Dold.

'When it comes to wildfires, he's one of the world's leading authorities.

'He examines how they behave and uses this information to train

'and educate firefighters all over the world.'

So what does it need for a wildfire to burn?

You need three things, Clare. First of all, you need to have fuel.

'And that fuel can be anything dry - trees, bushes, and even houses.'

The second thing is oxygen and we're in the open air,

there's bags of oxygen around us.

And the third thing you need is heat.

So what is it that actually starts a fire?

One of the most common causes of wildfire is human carelessness,

people leaving their barbecues unattended.

One thing that has caused a lot of wildfires are Chinese lanterns.

-Really?

-They're great fun,

but they sometimes come down with a flame still inside

and so you need to be careful if you're flying them

anywhere near countryside that can burst into flames.

But the most natural cause of wildfires is lightning.

So once you've got those factors, it will burn,

there's nothing you can do about it?

That's right, all the ingredients are there,

and if you've got the ignition, the fire can go.

'The bushes around me are about to go up in flames,

'so I'm going to need full safety gear.

'Under the close supervision of the Fire & Rescue Service,

'John is going to light an experimental fire to demonstrate

'how human carelessness can turn into a wildfire.

'We've got the bushes as the fuel, oxygen, from around us,

'and we've got the heat source - a flame.'

We're ready to ignite!

'Once all of these are put together, the fire's behaviour

'is controlled by the wind.

'This wind pushes the flames and heat in one direction.

'If there is fuel in its path,

'the fire will continue to burn and spread.'

That fire, once it gets going, is going to burn against the wind.

So we're not expecting it to spread very quickly?

No, this one should go more slowly.

'Even though the flames take hold, there is nowhere for the fire to go.

'The wind just whips the flames away from the fuel.

'So there's nothing wild about this fire.

'For the next part of our experiment, we move just 20 metres

'and John lights another fire.

'This time, the direction of the wind will push the flames

'into the gorse bushes. This is now the start of a controlled wildfire.'

Oh, my goodness, this is burning so rapidly.

What a difference, just the position of the fire!

It's lively, it's licking up the gorse, the wind is blowing it

that way, this experiment is working really well, and it just goes

to show it doesn't take much in the right position.

'So John's experiment proved that with fuel,

'oxygen and heat, you will get a fire.

'But it's the direction of the wind and what's in its path that turns

'the smallest of blazes

'into wildfires which can rage out of control.'

We've seen how a fire can go from nothing to a raging inferno

in seconds, just because of the direction and speed of the wind.

As the flames jump from tree to tree or house to house,

a wildfire can spread and travel at frightening speeds,

even faster than a galloping racehorse.

Humans can't run that fast,

so if you found yourself in the path of a wildfire, how would you feel?

And what would you do to escape?

Zoe and Leo take to the woods to find out.

As you can see, we have our forest...

and this lot are our wildfire.

'This band of pretend fire-starters are going to move through

'the trees to recreate the front line of a wildfire.'

They're going to push forwards through the forest

and if they catch us, we're toast.

Our mission is simple. We have to stay ahead of the fire

and make it to a firebreak.

A firebreak could be a river, road or the edge of a forest,

anything that stops the fire getting to fuel.

We've never been to this forest before,

so we don't know where the firebreaks are

or what obstacles we may face.

'Remember, anyone in a fluorescent jacket is playing

'the part of wildfire.'

Here we go!

It's quite dense, don't trip over. That way, that way.

'We're managing to keep a safe distance between us

'and the wall of fire,

'but there is something else we have to deal with.

'A wildfire doesn't always travel in a straight line.

'It is unpredictable. It can jump ahead, or side-to-side,

'and can move through parts of the forest faster than others.

'It's not long before we hit our first obstacle.'

You OK? Yeah, I'm good.

'Whilst we have to navigate around new patches of fire

'and smoke, the wildfire starts to gain the upper hand.'

It's got ahead of us. How're we going to get round it?

It's quite weird, coming from both sides.

They're catching us. They can go straight through, you see.

BOTH: Argh!

'We have to rethink our escape strategy and change direction.'

Where shall we go now?

Let's go up-wind, that way.

'We've only been trying to outrun the fire for a couple of minutes,

'but already I'm exhausted.'

I'm getting out of breath.

Quick, quick, quick!

'All I want to do is rest,

'but we need to find the firebreak at the edge of the forest.'

It just doesn't stop. It's gaining on us!

It's getting faster, the wind's picking up.

Quick, they're right on us!

Careful here, there's brambles everywhere.

Which way? Which way?

'Finally, the edge of the forest is in sight. One last push,

'and, hopefully, we can make it to safety!'

Bit quicker, I reckon.

There's a good foothold there.

Oh, we made it! Yes!

'We've made it to the edge of the forest, to the firebreak

'and, most importantly, to safety.

'The fire couldn't get to any fresh fuel to continue burning,

'so it fizzled out.'

It's really hard work, because it doesn't stop moving towards you,

so when you get out of breath and you think you can take a rest,

you look back and it's coming closer and closer,

It's quite intense when the smoke's coming up behind you,

and you get to some bad terrain.

It doesn't affect the fire but it affects you,

and then suddenly it flares up in front of you.

If you're in a real fire, and you're feeling the heat

of the fire against your back, that would be terrifying.

Glad to get out of it.

'We managed to outrun our wildfire, but what if you can't run

'and you have to stay and fight it?

'Coming up on Fierce Earth...we travel to America to meet a teenage

'firefighter who has seen first-hand the devastation

'that wildfires can cause.'

Flames would shoot three times the size of that tree right there.

I was a little scared cos I'd never fought a fire before.

All over the world, firefighters find themselves up close

and personal with wildfire. They stand up to it,

and feel the force of the flames, the smoke, and the scorching heat.

Firefighters have to go through extreme training to prepare

themselves for horrifying fires.

Leo's challenge today

is to come face-to-face with the same intense heat as a wildfire.

I know all about life on the edge.

I've climbed to the top of the world's highest mountain.

Frozen in the Antarctic.

And parachuted off the planet's biggest cliffs.

Today, I'm going to jump right out of my comfort zone

and put myself in the middle of an inferno.

'This is the International Fire Training Centre in Darlington.

'Firefighters from all around the world come here

'to the northeast of England to experience the ferocity of fire

'and how to control it.'

We've seen the devastation that wildfires can cause

and the speed they can move.

I'm about to find out what it's like to come face-to-face

with this fierce element.

I'm going into the belly of this beast. It's used to simulate

intense industrial fires and it's the closest I'm going to get

to finding out what's like to be in the middle of a wildfire.

I need some more specialist equipment before I go inside.

It's called a breathing apparatus and it's going to keep me alive.

So let's get kitted up.

This is a really critical process. This, your life depends on,

Everything's got to be done just so.

Dave's here to make sure I do it correctly.

'I'm about to enter the wildfire. The fire is going to rage

'and I'm going to be stood right underneath it.'

The temperature will reach about 800 degrees centigrade

so that's going to be

quite an intense experience in a very short space of time.

'800 degrees is four times hotter than your oven at home.

'What I'm going to experience is the nearest

'I could come to looking a wildfire in the eye.'

I feel a little bit like Darth Vader in here.

Quite a strange sensation, you feel really locked in.

I've never experienced anything like this.

OK, I'm about to find out what it's like

to be in the centre of a wildfire. Here we go.

Wow, pretty spooky in here.

My goodness.

Not many people get to experience anything like this

and come out in one piece.

It's really eerie, feels like the scene of a horror movie.

I'm going to give the signal

in a minute and I'll find out what it's like

to be in the centre of a wildfire. I'm ready.

OK, go for it.

Wow! Totally surreal, really hot.

It doesn't feel real.

It's the weirdest sensation, look at that.

It's really hot.

Argh. It's starting to burn, whoa, it's like a wall of heat.

Boof!

It's like being hit by a freight train of heat,

that's really intense. Oh! And that's just for a few seconds.

Woo, you wouldn't want to get caught out by one of those.

It just looks amazing, it doesn't look real -

it looks like something out of a movie,

totally surreal wave of flame

engulfing the room.

'I did it. I felt first-hand

'the ferocity that comes from a wildfire.

'The temperature was 800 degrees.

'The flames burned just 50 centimetres away from my head.

'I felt scorching heat for 19 seconds.

'The power of the fire was awesome.

That was intense.

Terrifying, but really beautiful at the same time.

I've never experienced anything like that before.

This is a test environment and you do feel pretty safe

with these guys, but it's so unusual being that close to a massive fire.

'After feeling the awesome heat and power that came from that fire,

'it's easy to see how in the dry summer months,

'wildfires can rage out of control.

'Some burn for weeks, even months,

'destroying everything in their path.

'Some can be really quick and deadly.

'Here are the most infamous wildfires in recent times.'

In third place... during the summer of 2007,

a series of huge forest fires burnt across Greece.

Things took a deadly turn

when the fires from woodlands swept through towns and cities.

84 people lost their lives,

thousands lost their homes

and the cost for the clear-up totalled £1.6 billion.

In second, it's the forest wildfires of Indonesia in July 1997.

They burnt out of control for months.

The damage to the environment was immeasurable

and 80,000 square kilometres of land was obliterated.

That's an area the size of Scotland.

And in first, in Australia, 2009,

amidst the boiling-hot temperatures

of summer, as many as 400 individual wildfires swept across Victoria.

On one single day, 173 people died and 414 people were injured.

It would be known for ever more as Black Saturday.

An area that is blighted with deadly wildfires that kill people

each year is Colorado in the United States of America.

During the hottest months,

thousands of people's lives are affected by fires.

In the summer of 2012,

18-year-old Emily Franklin was one of them.

Emily lives near Glen Haven,

a sleepy one-horse town in the Rocky Mountains.

The Rockies are prime wildfire territory, with massive

areas of woodland, mountains for the flames to leap up

and strong winds to fan the flames.

In Glen Haven, there are constant reminders that danger

is never far away.

This town takes the threat so seriously,

it's got its own fire station.

I could show you guys around a little bit.

It wouldn't take long, there's not much.

It's a tiny little place here in Glen Haven!

Emily is the youngest firefighter in the Glen Haven Fire Department.

She stands side-by-side with her colleagues to serve

and protect the community.

As a volunteer firefighter, Emily is on stand-by 24 hours a day,

seven days a week.

She has to always be ready for the call

when she will race to the station and jump into action.

Wildfire season in the United States lasts during the dry, hot

summer months, and at this time, everyone here is on stand-by, ready

to evacuate their homes, and get as far away from the fires as possible.

It's getting way too close.

I can't believe they're not getting people out faster.

So many people need to get out of here.

In June, 2012, fires burned across Colorado

and firefighters were at full stretch.

It's almost like being in a war zone.

23rd June would be the day

that Emily would fight her first fire.

A tree branch rubbing on an electric power line sparked

a fire in Woodlands Heights, the neighbourhood where Emily lived.

They started calling out that there was a fire on High Drive

and I kind of perked up because I was like, "I live near High Drive."

So I went outside and immediately I could smell smoke

and I could see it from across the trees back there.

Emily was the first firefighter on the scene

and took control of the situation.

Many people were still in their homes.

I told everyone to start getting out.

The sheriff had been driving around telling everyone they needed

to leave and evacuate and I remember yelling at the sheriff

that I wasn't going to leave cos I didn't want my house to burn down.

The fire had gripped Emily's neighbourhood.

It would burn for two days and destroy 22 houses.

The series of fires which burned through Colorado that summer

would eventually kill five people.

Flames would shoot three times the size of that tree right there.

At one point, I was stamping on the flames.

When they were really big, when these trees were catching on fire,

I was about here, while that tree was torching, as they call it,

and that house caught on fire while I was standing right here.

All Emily had to fight the fire with was a garden hose.

The flames were getting closer and she was starting to lose the battle.

When I was actually fighting it,

the fire was like those rocks far away.

It was really close.

I was a little scared, cos I had never fought a fire before.

And that was my first ever experience of anything.

The speed that it came at, through, as it was taking all the houses,

was...unbelievable.

When I looked across and saw my house catching on fire

and then eventually the whole thing went up in flames, and at that point

I had dropped to my knees cos that was my house for 18 years,

and all my stuff and everything was in there, I couldn't even believe it.

The house that had been Emily's family home for three generations

was reduced to rubble and ash. Everything was destroyed.

This is where her home once stood.

It's weird that nothing's here any more.

Emily and her family now live with her grandparents,

while they plan to build a new house on the site of their old home.

Despite losing her home

and seeing the neighbourhood that she lives in devastated,

Emily is still determined that she wants to protect her community.

I'm going to the Fire Academy,

pretty much six months of getting your butt kicked into shape

for actually doing this.

I'd rather be the person that's helping than the person

that needs help this time.

Emily and her neighbours will always be on high alert, as will

everyone who lives in areas prone to wildfires.

They need to know what they can do to prevent wildfires from starting.

While some fires are started deliberately,

others are the result of people's carelessness.

In America, 2011, 8.7 million acres of land,

that's the same as 8.7 million football pitches, were burned

by wildfires, and over half of these fires were started by humans.

We have seen that wildfire can rapidly spread through hills

and mountains.

In this kind of terrain, it's really hard for firefighters to get close.

If they can't get to a fire by road, they CAN take to the skies.

In America, there are smoke jumpers, which are firefighters

who go up in planes and parachute

into the heart of fires in remote areas.

Smoke jumpers aim to get to the beginning of a wildfire,

in an attempt to put it out, before it starts blazing out of control.

Planes and helicopters can also be used

to dump water on to wildfires from above.

They collect water from rivers or the sea

in quantities of up to 20,000 gallons, which provides

invaluable support for the fire-fighting teams on the ground.

Whether firefighters use fire engines, planes,

or they parachute into the centre of wildfires,

one thing is the same all over the world.

Their uniform.

Without their heat-resistant suits, they wouldn't be able to get

close enough to wildfires to do their job and put out the fires.

But what would happen if they didn't have this protection?

Leo is going to put the specialist kit to the test.

It feels like a normal jacket and trousers, but this uniform is

a lifesaver when it comes to protecting firefighters.

It's made of three layers. The outer layer is to protect

the firefighters from cuts or scrapes from sharp objects.

But it's the special middle layer in this fabric

that stops firefighters from getting burnt.

That's because this layer is made

of a special heat-resistant material.

It's the same thing used in bulletproof vests and body armour.

The third layer keeps water out, but also breathes to allow

the firefighter to keep cool whilst fighting wildfires.

Which is exactly what you need when you're facing 800-degree heat.

And this uniform is virtually same all over the world.

Today, we are going to test its special heat-resistant powers

against this dummy wearing normal clothes.

I'm standing five metres from the flames and all that

separates me from danger is a regulation firefighter's uniform.

If it gets too hot, I'm going to tell them to turn the flames off.

'As the fire rages, I can feel the heat

'but my kit is doing its job and protecting me.

'Even at temperatures now over 500 degrees, and at close range,

'I lasted two minutes, thanks to my fire-resistant clothing.'

Fires can develop very quickly. You're going to suffer

the consequence of the heat radiating from the fire.

'That's what happened to our test dummy.

'You can see that the normal clothes melted, whereas I was safe.'

If the worst does happen and you do find

yourself in the middle of a wildfire, there are ways to survive.

Here's our Fierce Earth guide.

Look for which way the smoke is blowing,

to avoid getting in the direct path of the fire.

Stay away from hills or canyons.

It's here that the fire will erupt and intensify.

Get yourself to ground that can't burn.

Remember, there's no fire without fuel.

So that is how you maximise your chances of surviving

the Fierce Earth.

Coming up next time, Clare and Leo

travel to the world's hottest place for a Fierce Earth special.

The things we do for science!

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd