Wildland Fire Quiz

This article is part of the Fire Basics for Kids series.

A new seedling sprouts at Shenandoah National Park from burned Table Mountain pine cone.

NPS photo by Barb Stewart.

Fire Quiz—Did You Know?

A test fire at Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site determines if conditions are right to move forward with the prescribed fire.

• Warm, dry winds called chinook winds (pronounced shin-ook) occur on the eastem slopes of the Rocky Mountains and can help cause severe fire hazard conditions? These winds can blow more than 100 miles per hour.
• Temperatures of fuels such as wood found in an open field may be warmed to as much as 160℉ by the sun?
• Lightning is like a gigantic spark between a negatively charged lower cloud and the positively charged earth?
• A test fire is used before igniting a prescribed fire to determine the exact burning conditions and how the fire will behave?
• More than 4,000 years ago, Native Americans used fire to help with hunting?
• Some pine cones, called serotinous cones, rely on fire to help them open and release their seeds?