Review of literatureI. Introduction - Wildfires According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, Wildfire means “an overwhelming and destructive conflagration, esp. in a wilderness or rural area.” Again according to the same dictionary, desert means "a stretch or region uncultivated and uninhabited by human beings". Forest fires occur when there is drought because branches and twigs die and dry out, creating a lot of fuel for a fire. According to the NIFC (National Interagency Fire Center), approximately 105,534 forest fires occur each year. Forest fires occur when the weather is wet and trees and shrubs are ready to grow and when a dry, hot period occurs a forest fire can occur. Fires occur primarily in highly vegetated areas such as Australia, the Western Cape of South Africa, and in the dry forests and grasslands of North America and Europe. They also happen in the US, Indonesia and Australia every few years. Fires in the forests and prairies of North America occur in summer, fall and winter during dry periods, when it is windy and there is a lot of fuel for the fire. When they happen in the summer, fall and winter it is called fire season. Fires in the western United States are most dramatic during the summer and fall seasons, while southern fires are more difficult to fight in late winter and early spring, when branches, leaves and other fallen material dry out and become highly flammable. According to Steve Nix of About.com, “The Wildland Urban Interface” is a growing transition zone between developing areas and undeveloped wilderness. It makes fire protection a major concern for state and federal government. Most of the world's worst fires occurred in Australia and the United States of America....... middle of paper... fighting the Yellowstone fire. In 1989, more than 2,600,000 people came to Yellowstone National Park, the highest annual visitation rate of the 1980s. There is a rule that if there is a fire they can be left to go out as long as it doesn't hurt anyone. Some people think they've let it burn too long and should put it out faster. This fire burned 1.2 million acres of land. My sources were: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/02/booming/lessons-from-the-whitestone-fires-of-1988.html?_r=1&http https://www.nps. gov/yell/naturescience/wildlandfire.htmhttp://www.bozemandailychronicle.com/special-reports/whitestone_fires/article_e253b09a-2dc1-5107-811f-1ebf5d6c150c.htmlhttp://forestry.about.com /b/2013/06/ 24/forest-fire-basics-and-the-behavior-of-forest-fires.htmhttp://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/fire/figh_nf.htmlhttp://www .nps.gov/yell/ index.htm