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Evaluating the fire ignition potential of all terrain vehicles in Alberta forests |
The Issue:The FERIC report ‘All terrain vehicles as a cause of fire ignition in Alberta forest’ completed by the WFORG in September 2002 showed an increasing number of wildfires deemed to be ignited by All Terrain Vehicles – primarily ‘quads’. The number of these fires has tripled over the last 5 years and these have ranged in size from very small to large and expensive. The majority of these fires occur in April and May when the fine fuels are cured and/or dry. Three apparent causes of fire ignitions are identified in the report. We believe the main cause of these fires occurs when fine fuels come in direct contact with the exhaust system. These heat up over their ignition temperature, ignite and fall to the ground, with the ability of then igniting a wildfire. Sparks escaping from the mufflers are another source of fires. The final cause identified was the use of winches and the solenoids exploding. The reports showed that today, 1.5% of Alberta’s wildfires are attributed to ATV’s.
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Evaluating the fire ignition potential of all terrain vehicles in Alberta forests 3/2/2004 ATV Exhaust System Surface Temperatures 7/18/2003 ATV's Caused Fires Project Main Page 11/26/2002 All terrian vehicles (ATV) as a cause of fire ignition in Alberta forests 10/28/2002 |
