What do muck fires cause

It also burns easily in low moisture conditions and, while still below the surface, can be ignited by a spark from an above-surface fire or through a lightning strike. Once ignited, smoldering peat fires can burn for weeks or months before they are detected.

In the United States, muck fires, as they are commonly called, can occur during periods of drought. They can grow into significant threats to health and property in areas of high peat concentration, such as those found in the subtropical regions of Florida. World View. Muck fires are fires that burn underground and lead to smoky, hot, dangerous conditions for residents in the area. Lake, Volusia, Orange and other Central Florida counties have recently dealt with a series of brush and muck fires due to the extreme dry conditions.

When everything dies off in the winter and it comes back in the spring, you've got that thatch. Over years, it builds up and it starts compacting itself down and it forms this dense, muck material," Anken said.

State Road 44 was shut down between County Road 44A and Royal Trails Road because of what began as an almost acre fire, officials said. Muck fuels are often associated with dry. They will burn down to sandy subsoil, or. Suppression of muck fires often requires enormous. Article 3. In much of Florida, the ground beneath the top layer of soil is made up of loose, organic material, which is known as "muck.

This blaze, a muck fire, can leave embers smoldering underground long after the surface fire has been extinguished. This produces a strange and very dangerous situation. The muck fire can spread underground, burning tree roots, and making trees unstable. The trees can then fall on firefighters or other people in the area. Containing a muck fire can be very difficult for firefighters.

Falling trees and destabilized ground can make it nearly impossible to bring firefighting equipment into a forested area where a muck fire is burning. Also, in order to extinguish a muck fire, the ground must be thoroughly soaked. This can require the earth to be turned over so that water can better reach burning areas of muck.