Vietnam War: Forest Fire as a Military Weapon - Paperless Archives
Vietnam War: Forest Fire as a Military Weapon - Paperless Archives
Vietnam War: Forest Fire as a Military Weapon - Paperless Archives
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I<br />
SECRET<br />
(IIM-AIF ( Hl•Nt1<br />
( Wl WIIi% ft. 0%-ft1 WMID. I .-M; BURN SIAYSON<br />
Subtropi•al. %arm tempetate. and warm coainepri |limates, ic<strong>as</strong>auna1 to cttenmam winter frilts having lowi<br />
to moderate t+) value-N a,'<br />
It f-) values lot the year. or at te<strong>as</strong>t 5 -B- months. Examples are:<br />
Precipitation No. o; Months Yearly Humidity Values<br />
Location Pattern "H D "B' 1+1 t-J<br />
Palma de Mallorca. Sp. Medit. 5 3 6 +17 -3t<br />
Athcns. Gfecce Medit 4 4 7 +41 -5<br />
Sal Jose. Calf. Medit. 3 ft 7 +58 -38<br />
Sacramento. Calif Medit. 4 5 6 +73 -44<br />
Bahia Blanca. Argen. Steppe 0 6 7 + 7 -14<br />
Fresno. (alit. Medit. 1 8 8 +15 -64<br />
Granada. Spain Medit. 5 5 6 +28 -40<br />
Abilene. Tex<strong>as</strong> Steppe 0 8 6 +20 -15<br />
Madrid, Spain Media 3 4 5 +27 -30<br />
Temperature: Limiting during winter, but many woody species and gr<strong>as</strong>ses grow through the winter.<br />
Precipitavion: Restrictive most of year: extremely so during dry. hot summer.<br />
Majorveejtation t ypes: Semi-dense to dense stands of thick-leaved shrubs. Desert shrub in driest pcrtion. Gr<strong>as</strong>slandlike<br />
vegetation under steppe pattern.<br />
Ground-story vegetation: Shrubs in dense stands of woody vegetation. Gr<strong>as</strong>ses and semi-shrubs in open desert<br />
shrub and gr<strong>as</strong>sland.<br />
* Amount: Heavy to moderate dry weight in dense shrub stands. Low in desert shrub and gr<strong>as</strong>sland types.<br />
Moisture content: Drops during long dry se<strong>as</strong>on. Shrubs retain 70-80 percent of dry weight: gr<strong>as</strong>ses. 5-10<br />
percent.<br />
Litter layer: Thin layer accumulates under dense shrub stands. many dead stems in the shrubs caused by frequent<br />
draught years. Light litter from current leaf growth in gr<strong>as</strong>sland or desert shrub types.<br />
Total available fuel weight on a good burning day: 0.28 pounds per square foot.<br />
Burn days: Long dependable burning se<strong>as</strong>on.<br />
I<br />
I<br />
Desiccation needs: Dry gr<strong>as</strong>s and dead woody material will bum readily during the dry se<strong>as</strong>on. But removal of<br />
all woody vegetation under normal burning weather requires desiccation with a foliar spray or an application<br />
of pellets to the soil. Under extreme weather, intense fires may burn out of control aMn present a major hazard.<br />
ISECRET 3.10