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Natural Disaster
I am researching forest fires because it is interesting how little actions can domino to huge effects. For example, how a spark near a couple of dry leaves can lead to an entire ecosystem to be destroyed. Just because of this phenomena, some trees have evolved to release special pine cones that will only release their seeds after sensing extremely high temperatures, like in a fire. When everything is gone, they will be the first to grow back and have an advantage. These can be simulated in a smaller scale to test our sensing station by either having smoke or heat sensors.
Causes or Trigger
There are natural causes to forest fires such as lightning and volcanic activity that start a fire that spreads. Spontaneous combustion is also a natural cause but it is more rare. It occurs when organic materiel is decomposing, producing heat overtime and eventually reaching the temperature required to ignite a fire. Then of course, there are human started fires that can be started on purpose like arson or carelessness like leaving a fire unattended. They are the most common in the summer when we have long periods of time without rain that leave the plants dry, letting them light on fire easier.
Sensing
The first methods for detecting forest fires in the wilderness was watchtowers where someone would live for an extended amount of time in an area with a high altitude to have a greater line of sight. From there, their job was to observe when there was a lightning storm, or in dry seasons, for smoke, then they would report it. Nowadays, although this method is still used, governments are moving towards sensors that do the same thing. These methods are found to be more accurate and require less maintenance.
Aftermath
Forest fires are catastrophic events that can destroy entire ecosystem in a matter of hours. It causes the air and water in the area to be dangerous to consume, leading animals and humans nearby to be at a health risk beside the flames. The fire releases the nutrients from the plants and burning it up makes it difficult for plants to grow back.
Disaster Recovery
In the summer of 2024, Jasper National Park had a large forest fire that was caused by multiple lightning strikes in the same area that caused it to get out of control and spread across 32,000 hectares including the town of Jasper. This forced the evacuation of the 25,000 resident and wildlife. The government and the Red Cross stepped in to help the population. After 47 days, the fires were finally under control.
References:
Jones, Ben. “Understanding How Wildfires Start: Natural and Human Causes.” Dryad, Dryad, 14 May 2024, www.dryad.net/post/how-do-wildfires-start.
Dampage, Udaya, et al. “Forest Fire Detection System Using Wireless Sensor Networks and Machine Learning.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 7 Jan. 2022, www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-03882-9.
“Forest Fires - Impacts.” Ouranos, www.ouranos.ca/en/climate-phenomena/forest-fires-impacts. Accessed 9 Feb. 2026.
EcoFlow. “Explore Jasper Wildfire: Timeline, Destruction, and Response.” EcoFlow, 1 July 2025, www.ecoflow.com/ca/blog/jasper-wildfire.
Clarrence. “How Do Wildfires Affect Soil? - Applied Earth Science.” Applied Earth Science - A Division of Applied Soil Technologies, Inc., 12 Nov. 2019, aessoil.com/how-do-wildfires-affect-soil
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