Large-Scale Forest Fires in Alaska

- Discussion Based on Satellite and Weather Data -

Abstract

The boreal forest or Taiga occupies one third of forest area in the world. From spring to fall, the risk of fire is high in this region due to low precipitation regime which amounts to less than 300mm. Due to ongoing global climate change, fire incidence in high latitude may increase because of the observed decreasing trend of summer precipitation.
In 2002, many large-scale forest fires occurred near Yakutsk, the capital city of the Sakha Republic in Siberia. The total burnt area was estimated at more than 23,000km², this burnt area is the largest reported in Sakha since 1955 and about ten times larger than mean burnt area (about 2,400km²).
In 2003, forests near the Baykal lake in Siberia burned severely. The total burnt area in Russia (whole Siberia) was estimated at more than 234,000km².
In 2004, many large-scale forest fires occurred in Alaska. The main cause was lightning. Many of them grew into large-scale fires due to severe drought conditions and the presence of Chinook or Foehn phenomenon. As a result, the total burnt area in 2004 was about 26,000km², the largest historical record since 1956.
To protect the Taiga from severe forest fires due to global climate change, it is important to investigate the trends and characteristics of not only forest fire occurrences but also weather.