Climate Change Effect 4: GOD IGNITES WILDFIRES

WHAT MAN SAYS

A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Reflecting the type of vegetation or fuel, other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, vegetation fire, and wildland fire may be used to describe the same phenomenon.

A wildfire differs from other fires by its extensive size, the speed at which it can spread out from its original source, and its ability to change direction unexpectedly and to jump gaps, such as roads, rivers and fire breaks. Wildfires are characterized in terms of their physical properties such as speed of propagation; the combustible material present; the effect of weather on the fire; and the cause of ignition. 

The name wildfire was once a synonym for Greek fire as well as a word for any furious or destructive conflagration. Buildings are not usually involved unless the fire spreads to adjacent communities and threatens these structures. 

Wildfires have a rapid forward rate of spread (FROS) when fueled by dense uninterrupted vegetation, particularly in wooded areas with canopies. They can escalate as fast as 10.8 kilometers per hour (6.7 mph) in forests and 22 kilometers per hour (14 mph) in grasslands. The ability of a wildfire's burning front to change direction unexpectedly and jump across fire breaks is another identifying characteristic. Intense heat and smoke can lead to disorientation and loss of appreciation of the direction of the fire. These factors make fires particularly dangerous: In the Australian February 2009 Victorian bushfires, at least 173 people died and over 2,029 homes and 3,500 structures were lost when they became engulfed by wildfire. -- Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia. 

Washington: Warming and Wildfires

WHAT GOD SAYS

• I (Christ) came to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already set ablaze! (Luke 12:49) 

• And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it; it shall not be quenched. (Eze 20:48 JPS) 

• Make them like tumbleweed, my God, like straw before the wind. As fire burns a forest, as a flame blazes through mountains, so pursue them with Your tempest and terrify them with Your storm. (Psa 83:13-15) 

FIRE HAS BEEN KINDLED BECAUSE OF GOD'S ANGER

• They have provoked My jealousy with their so-called gods; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols...fire has been kindled because of My anger and burns to the depths of Sheol; it devours the land and its produce, and scorches the foundations of the mountains. (Deu 32:21-22)

• I will punish you according to what you have done--this is the LORD's declaration. I will kindle a fire in its forest that will consume everything around it. (Jer 21:14) 

• For wickedness burns like a fire that consumes thorns and briers and kindles the forest thickets so that they go up in a column of smoke. (Isa 9:18) 

• Say to the forest of the South: Hear the word of the LORD: Thus saith the Lord GOD: Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree, it shall not be quenched, even a flaming flame; and all faces from the south to the north shall be seared thereby. (Eze 20:47 JPS) 

• I call to You, LORD, for fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness, and flames have devoured all the trees of the countryside. (Joe 1:19) 

• Even the wild animals cry out to You, for the river beds are dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness. (Joe 1:20) 

• A fire destroys in front of them, and behind them a flame devours. The land in front of them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland; there is no escape from them. (Joe 2:3) 

• The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up. (Rev 8:7 KJV)  

Back to: BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

NOTE: Bible verses used in this article is based on the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB). If not, the quoted translation is mentioned. 
 

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