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In 1997, a fire began in Indonesia
that would rage for almost a year.
It spanned several thousand
square kilometers,
halted numerous international flights,
and spread an acrid haze
all the way to China.
Yet, despite being one of the largest
fires in recorded history,
for months at a time it burned
without a flame—
blazing on entirely underground.
This might sound like a uniquely
freaky fire, but each year,
subterranean fires produce roughly 15%
of global greenhouse gas emissions—
that’s six times more than
international aviation.
And these burns are virtually unstoppable,
earning them the ominous
title of zombie fires.
So, is it possible to snuff
out these bizarre blazes?
And how do they even form
in the first place?
A standard fire requires three
ingredients: fuel, heat, and oxygen.
Every fuel has what’s known
as an ignition point—
a temperature at which
it begins to break down.
This process, also known as pyrolysis,
releases gaseous compounds that mix
with nearby oxygen molecules
to produce combustion.
And it’s this chemical reaction that
releases large amounts of heat and light
in the form of flames.
But not all combustion leads to flames.
Pyrolysis leaves behind a solid
material called char—
like what’s found in charcoal.
Char contains no combustible gases
but it’s rich in highly flammable carbon.
And under hot enough conditions,
its surface reacts with the
surrounding oxygen,
creating a slow, glowing burn
called smoldering.
Instead of flame,
this process releases smoke;
specifically, smoke full of emissions
like carbon monoxide, methane,
and particulate matter.
All these factors come into play
in zombie fires,
which are more scientifically
known as peat fires.
Peat is a type of soil that forms when
organic matter builds up more rapidly
than it decomposes,
and it’s typically found in regions
that are very cold or very wet—
two factors that can slow
down decomposition.
When plants shed and die in peatland,
the carbon they've absorbed during their
lifetime gets locked inside,
making peatlands one of the planet's
largest natural carbon stores.
But just like char, that also makes this
carbon-rich material extremely flammable.
Historically, the moisture and cold
temperatures of peatlands
made them unlikely to catch fire.
But today, droughts caused
by climate change
are drying out these landscapes worldwide,
and other peatlands have been drained
to make way for farms.
Under these conditions,
a fire at the surface can more
easily ignite the peat below,
transforming it into char
which will continue to smolder.
As heat builds in the soil,
it further dries the peat
and eventually,
deeper layers begin to burn.
Peat fires are slow, creeping along
at just one millimeter a minute.
But what they lack in speed,
they make up for in persistence.
These fires can burn for months
or even years,
all while spewing smoke
full of poisonous gases.
And since they show few signs
of burning above ground,
they’re incredibly difficult to track
until they ignite dry surface soil,
potentially miles away from the source.
Zombie fires can even burn
beneath snow-caked soil,
overwintering until they spark
new blazes in the spring.
So how can we fight these fires?
Well, dousing them with water
is surprisingly tricky.
Water's molecules form close bonds,
resulting in a high surface tension
that stops it from filtering evenly
through burning peat.
Researchers are experimenting with ways
to reduce water’s surface tension,
allowing it to permeate
the simmering soil.
And some countries are trying to stop
the fires before they start
by running controlled burns
in peatland habitats.
But many others are simply working
to prevent peatland drainage,
which keeps these landscapes
wet and resilient to fires.
Despite accounting for only
3% of Earth's land,
peatlands hold more than a quarter
of the planet's carbon.
And as climate change continues
to increase the risk of extreme weather,
including the droughts plaguing
these landscapes,
keeping that carbon out of the atmosphere
has never been more important.
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