Vietnam War: Forest Fire as a Military Weapon - Paperless Archives

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I I SECRET I- I I I I I I I FIG. EVERGREEN HARDWOOD FOREST 25 * SECRET
SECRET The most critical aspect of climate is its influence on development and accumulation of plant litter on the soil surface. This fuel layer-required for ignition and buildup of fire-is present under many dry orcold climates. It is virtually absent, except for current year leaf drop, in hot, humid climates where there is a continuous breakdown of woody material by chemical and biological agents. 4 Within any given fuel type, the profound local effects of climatic factors must be recognized and evaluated. The climate, modified by other factors such as geology, topography, soil type and drainage, determines density and total biomass of the existing vegetative cover that serves as fuel for burning. The yearly weather pattern also determines which species are present and how they grow and mature seasonally-whether or not they ever become dry fuels that can be burned without desiccation treatment. The moisture content of living plants changes relatively slowly in response to weather. Just as each climate has a characteristic annual cycle of temperature. humidity and precipitation, so each type of vegetation has a fixed season:; pattern of moisture :ontent. Grasses, being shallow rooted, respond rapidly to climatic change. Annual grasses mature rapidly and dry soon after the onset of moisture stress in the upper soil layers. Perennial grasses stay green longer, but are usually dead and dry by the end of summer. In climates with cold winter's dry grass is burnable from late summer or early fall until new growth appears in the spring. In mild winter climates, new growth begins early, and the grassburning season is restricted to summer and early fall. Perennial shrubs and trees follow a more complex seasonal pattern of growth, maturity and drying. The flush of new growth, and high moisture content, always occurs at a time when adequate soil moisture coirncides with daily mean temperatures above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The new leaves of shrubs and hardwoods have moisture contents above 200 percent at this time, and even the persistent leaves of evergreen species contain 120-I50 percent moisture. Within a few weeks, moisture contents begin to drop-very rapidly for the succulent new foliage, and more s:owly for evergreen leaves-and reach levels of 100-120 percent after about a month. Foliage moisture will stabilize at about this level in warm, humid climates. In climates with dry summers or cold winters, moisture contents will continue to decline. The minimum moisture will depend on the length and severity of cold or drought, but 50-70 percent is the absolute minimum that plants can reach and still recover. Since dead fuel moisture is invariably lower than that of living plants even under the most extreme drought conditions, external measures that kill forest vegetation will always result in increased flammability. Systemic herbicides aimed at killing and drying vegetation before burning must be applied during seasons favorable for entry and movement of the herbicides within the plants. Consequently, yearly weather patterns have great importance in planning desiccation treatments. The seasonal influence is of less importance in applying contact desiccants aimed at drying only the foliage. Desiccation treatments such as slashing or crushing of vegetation can be done at any time of year, but must be timed to prevent regrowth of succulent vegetation before burning. Thus, climate to a large extent determines fuel characteristics of the natural vegetation, and it dictates the planning and execution of the various phases of the burning operation-from prefire desiccation treatment to the final ignition and burning. The first step in planning an incendiary operation is to study climatic records and decide whether odds are favorable for successful burning of dry vegetation during a certain month, or months. The next step is to plan the date for fuel desiccation treatment to provide the necessary quantity of dead, dry vegetation. SECRET 29
Page 1: VIETNAM WAR Forest Fire as a Milita
Page 4 and 5: Forest Fire as a Military Weapon A
Page 6 and 7: OF7 A iD5S Hil'---0 __ = IIIII- _w
Page 8 and 9: SECRET FOREST FIRE AS A MILITARY WE
Page 10 and 11: SECRET INDEX (Continued) Page Weath
Page 12 and 13: SECRET FOREST FIRE AS A MILITARY WE
Page 14 and 15: SECRET detailed and timely intellig
Page 16 and 17: SECRET I I I i it FI.I FIG. 2 I I B
Page 18 and 19: I SECRET I I I I I S....... '•FIG
Page 20 and 21: SECRET FI.I TYIAIRONFR BEOR FIG.FIG
Page 22 and 23: SECRET REQUIREMENTS FOR SUCCESSFUL
Page 24 and 25: I I SECRET heating adjacent unburne
Page 26 and 27: I SECRET FUEL TYPE 8o e1 82 83 84 I
Page 28 and 29: I SECRET I ii 11 I S~FIG. 17 | GRAS
Page 30 and 31: I I SECRET I I FIG. 18 SHRUB TYPE I
Page 32 and 33: Relative Humidity SECRET Table 2 "S
Page 34 and 35: I U I I I I I SECRET I FIG. 21 CONI
Page 36 and 37: S~SECRET A I. B O I I I IB. IN O LE
Page 40 and 41: SECRET In developing recommended pr
Page 42 and 43: U SECRET The yearly sums of (+) val
Page 44 and 45: I Fireclimate Classification SECRET
Page 46 and 47: SECRET TABLE 5 KEY TO IDENTIFICATIO
Page 48 and 49: SECRET SHumid, long bum season (HUL
Page 50 and 51: I SECRET Table 6 Surfac,,/Volume Ra
Page 52 and 53: I SECRET FIG. 29 AVAILABLE FUEL WEI
Page 54 and 55: SECRET 100 80 FIG. 31 FLAME HEIGHTS
Page 56 and 57: I SECRET I Table 7 Precipitation Ef
Page 58 and 59: I SECRET FIG. 32 EQUILIBRIUM MOI$TU
Page 60 and 61: •Sunshine: SECRET Solar radiation
Page 62 and 63: I I SECRET I Ii I II I g I FIG. 34
Page 64 and 65: Technique"s for Kdlin, D•rming an
Page 66 and 67: SECRET I t '4Pi I I FIG. 35 * AERIA
Page 68 and 69: SECRET FIG.36 EFFECTS OF OVERSTORY
Page 70 and 71: SECRET FIG. 37 TYPICAL EFFECT OF CO
Page 72 and 73: I .SECRET Use of Systemic Desiccant
Page 74 and 75: SECRET 6. Effectiveness of foliar s
Page 76 and 77: SECRET Example of a Desiccation Pla
Page 78 and 79: SECRET If a lighted match is droppe
Page 80 and 81: SECRET 0 0 ----- 0" E I- -- z -- o
Page 82 and 83: SECRET The advantages of multiple i
Page 84 and 85: SECRET DISCUSSION The deliberate in
Page 86 and 87: 1 SECRET U MINH FOREST FIRES PROLOG
Page 88 and 89:
SECRET Spread Analysis: Spread to K
Page 90 and 91:
SECRET HEADQUARTERS US ARMY ADVISOR
Page 92 and 93:
I SECRET MACV-IVC-2 24 May 1968 SUB
Page 94 and 95:
SECRET NAVAL GUNFIRE MISSIONS DATE
Page 96 and 97:
SECRET Rach Gia - Kien Giang Hourly
Page 98 and 99:
SECRET APPENDIX B Pertinent Incendi
Page 100 and 101:
SECRET Major vegetation type: Tropi
Page 102 and 103:
SECRET CLIMATE FF-HUSB FROSTFREE WI
Page 104 and 105:
SECRET FIG. B2 CLIMATE FF-HUSB HANO
Page 106 and 107:
SECRET Soil appiicat ion: Apply 20
Page 108 and 109:
SECRET CLIMATE FF-NHLB FROSTFREE WI
Page 110 and 111:
SECRET CLIMATE FF-DRYL FROSTFREE WI
Page 112 and 113:
SECRET CLIMATE MI-HUYL MILD WINTER;
Page 114 and 115:
SECRET FIG. B6 CLIMATE MI-HUYL NEW
Page 116 and 117:
SECRET Soil application: Apply 15 p
Page 118 and 119:
SECRET CLIMATE MI-HULB MILD WINTER;
Page 120 and 121:
SECRET FCa. W8 CLIMATE MI-HULB RHOD
Page 122 and 123:
SECRET FIG. B9 CLIMATE MI-NHSB AUST
Page 124 and 125:
SECRET Dates for examl ocationAU.s
Page 126 and 127:
SECRET CLIMATE MI-DRYL MILD WINTER;
Page 128 and 129:
* climates& j SECRET CLIMATE CL-HUY
Page 130 and 131:
SECRET FIG. 512 CLIMATE CL-HUYL COL
Page 132 and 133:
SECRET Dates for example location (
Page 134 and 135:
SECRET t (IIMATI (L HILD ('(X)I WIN
Page 136 and 137:
SECRET (1lMAU- (L NH.% 41()1. *INTI
Page 138 and 139:
I SECRET (IIM-AIF ( Hl•Nt1 ( Wl W
Page 140 and 141:
SECRET FIG. 816 CLIMATE CL-NHLB GRA
Page 142 and 143:
SECRET FIG. 817 CLIMATE CL-DRYL LAS
Page 144 and 145:
Foliar sTray: Apply per acre: SECRE
Page 146 and 147:
Warm continental climates SECRET CL
Page 148 and 149:
SECRET FIG. B19 CLIMATE SC-HUSB MT.
Page 150 and 151:
SECRET Dates for cxampre location (
Page 152 and 153:
SECRET CLIMATE SC-NHYL SHORT COLD W
Page 154 and 155:
SECRET FIG. B21 CLIMATE SC-NHYL PAR
Page 156 and 157:
SECRET FIG. 522 CLIMATE SC-NHSB SAN
Page 158 and 159:
SECRET FIG. 823 CLIMATE SC-NHLB REN
Page 160 and 161:
SECRET Foliar Žpxa: Apply per acre
Page 162 and 163:
SECRET CLIMATE LC-HUSB LONG COLD WI
Page 164 and 165:
SECRET Foliar spray: Apply during t
Page 166 and 167:
"SECRET CLIMATE LC-NHLB LONG COLD W
Page 168 and 169:
SECRET CLIMATE VC-HUYL VERY COLD WI
Page 170 and 171:
I SECRET FIG. 827 CLIMATE VC-HUYL D
Page 172 and 173:
SECRET "CLIMATE VC-NHSB VERY COLD W
Page 174 and 175:
SECRET I Publiction-,: Protect EMOT
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