Zombie Fires: The Scary Reality of Arctic Wildfires

Could you imagine, a fire can come back from dead like a zombie? Like an animal, it hibernates beneath the snow in the winter and blazes emerge in the spring to cause a huge wildfire. Yes, They are Zombie fires, despite a lot of efforts, They have become almost impossible for firefighters to detect.

What are Zombie fires? Why are they deadliest and come back in spring?

Zombie fires are a strange phenomenon, often seen in the Arctic region, particularly in the peatlands of Alaska, Siberia, and the western part of Canada. Just like a Zombie, it becomes dead all the winter in the ground, but suddenly it gets alive and blazes the whole forest. These underground fires are different from the normal ground fire that flames trees and grass. On the other hand, zombie fires stay in the ground and burn slowly even under the snow layer in winter. In Spring, a gust of wind flow reignites the catastrophic fire in the surface label. However, scientists have found the exact reason for the fire burning under the ground. All those areas have huge peatlands, which typically means a huge partially decomposed plant and leaves that form peat. Peat consists of organic matter and a lot of carbon that catches fire easily. Due to these qualities, It fuels a fire to stay burning that can last more than a year even in the ground.

This smoldering causes huge smoke in the area. Consisting of harmful small particles in the smoke can cause respiratory and cardiovascular problems. These Zombie fires stay under the ground, and It becomes hard to extinguish the fire as it burns into the underground level. It can spread over kilometers and becomes hard to find.

In Canada, These kinds of 5-10 zombie fire instances are common to see. However, The number of these instances has increased to 106 this year. That is rising concern over the region can worsen the Canadian wildfires.

What are the common threats of these Zombie Fires?

• This smoldering fire creates a lot of smoke that is harmful to human beings.
• In 2008, A peat fire or zombie fire case had been seen, where it had burned almost 34,000 acres of vast land.
• It severely affects the ecosystem; carbon emissions and smoke generation increase pollution levels.
• These overwintering fires can have a risk of a warmer and drier future in the Arctic region.
• Continued wildfire activity can jeopardize the wildlife’s existence.
• These underground fires burn through the fuel of peatland. That conserves almost 30% of the Earth’s carbon. If it burns, it can create carbon dioxide which is a main factor for climate change.
• In wildfire season, mostly in summer when there are dry conditions, It will be difficult to cope with wildfire as it can reignite the fire.

How do zombie fires put out? Why is it the most difficult task?

Holdover fires require a lot of effort to extinguish due to their tendency to smolder underground in peat, which sometimes becomes untraceable. The most effective way to cope up with these holdover fires is by flooding the area with water to cut off the oxygen supply.

Another method involves digging up the spot and extinguishing the fire directly. However, this is a labor-intensive process, especially since smoldering fires can spread over acres of land. While it may seem effective, it’s often unrealistic to dig up large areas of land to fully extinguish these fires.

Holdover fires normally occur in remote areas. So It becomes challenging to carry equipment and water in those areas. Also, rough and uneven terrain makes the situation worse.

In many cases, fire retardant is used to prevent the fire from spreading. This chemical slows down the process of spreading. However, regular monitoring is needed to combat with Zombie fire.

While fighting with zombies fire will be continued. It takes a lot of effort and challenge for the wildfire service groups to cope with these fires. Therefore, the government should use new technology and different monitoring systems to prevent and detect fire. It is a huge matter of concern as it releases carbon dioxide and different harmful gases. All those situations can have catastrophic results.