A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a bushfire (in Australia), desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, prairie fire, vegetation fire, or veld fire. Some natural forest ecosystems depend on wildfire. Wildfires are distinct from beneficial human usage of wildland fire, called controlled or prescribed burning, although controlled burns can turn into wildfires. Modern forest management often engages in prescribed burns to mitigate risk and promote natural forest cycles.

Wildfires are often classified by characteristics like cause of ignition, physical properties, combustible material present, and the effect of weather on the fire. Wildfire behavior and severity result from a combination of factors such as available fuels, physical setting, and weather. Climatic cycles with wet periods that create substantial fuels, followed by drought and heat, often proceed severe wildfires. These cycles have been intensified by climate change.

Naturally occurring wildfires may have beneficial effects on native vegetation, animals, and ecosystems that have evolved with fire. Many plant species depend on the effects of fire for growth and reproduction. Some natural forests are dependent on wildfire. High-severity wildfires may create complex early seral forest habitat (also called "snag forest habitat"), which may have higher species richness and diversity than an unburned old forest.

Human societies can be severely impacted by fires. Effects include the direct health impacts of smoke and fire, destruction of property (especially in wildland–urban interfaces) economic and ecosystem services losses, and contamination of water and soil.

Wildfires are among the most common forms of natural disaster in some regions, including Siberia, California, British Columbia, and Australia. Areas with Mediterranean climates or in the taiga biome are particularly susceptible. At a global level, human practices have made the impacts of wildfire worse, with a doubling in land area burned by wildfires compared to natural levels. Humans have impacted wildfire through climate change, land-use change, and wildfire suppression. The increase in severity of fires in the US creates a positive feedback loop by releasing naturally sequestered carbon back into the atmosphere, increasing the atmosphere's greenhouse effect thereby contributing to climate change.

Ignition
The initial ignition of a fire is usually evaluated for natural or human causes.

Natural
The following actions can ignite wildfires naturally (without the involvement of humans): lightning, volcanic eruption, sparks from rock falls, spontaneous combustion.

Human activity
Sources of human-caused fire may include arson, accidental ignition, or the uncontrolled use of fire in land-clearing and agriculture such as the slash-and-burn farming in Southeast Asia. In the tropics, farmers often practice the slash-and-burn method of clearing fields during the dry season.

In middle latitudes, the most common human causes of wildfires are equipment generating sparks (chainsaws, grinders, mowers, etc.), overhead power lines, and arson.

Arson may account for over 20% of human caused fires. However, in the 2019–20 Australian bushfire season "an independent study found online bots and trolls exaggerating the role of arson in the fires." In the 2023 Canadian wildfires false claims of arson gained traction on social media; however, arson is generally not a main cause of wildfires in Canada. In California, generally 6–10% of wildfires annually are arson.

Coal seam fires burn in the thousands around the world, such as those in Burning Mountain, New South Wales; Centralia, Pennsylvania; and several coal-sustained fires in China. They can also flare up unexpectedly and ignite nearby flammable material.

Spread

The spread of wildfires varies based on the flammable material present, its vertical arrangement and moisture content, and weather conditions. Fuel arrangement and density is governed in part by topography, as land shape determines factors such as available sunlight and water for plant growth. Overall, fire types can be generally characterized by their fuels as follows:
 Ground fires are fed by subterranean roots, duff on the forest floor, and other buried organic matter.  Ground fires typically burn by smoldering, and can burn slowly for days to months, such as peat fires in Kalimantan and Eastern Sumatra, Indonesia, which resulted from a riceland creation project that unintentionally drained and dried the peat.
 Crawling or surface fires are fueled by low-lying vegetative matter on the forest floor such as leaf and timber litter, debris, grass, and low-lying shrubbery. This kind of fire often burns at a relatively lower temperature than crown fires (less than ) and may spread at slow rate, though steep slopes and wind can accelerate the rate of spread. This fuel type is especially susceptible to ignition due to spotting .
 Ladder fires consume material between low-level vegetation and tree canopies, such as small trees, downed logs, and vines. Kudzu, Old World climbing fern, and other invasive plants that scale trees may also encourage ladder fires.
 Crown, canopy, or aerial fires burn suspended material at the canopy level, such as tall trees, vines, and mosses. The ignition of a crown fire, termed crowning, is dependent on the density of the suspended material, canopy height, canopy continuity, sufficient surface and ladder fires, vegetation moisture content, and weather conditions during the blaze. Stand-replacing fires lit by humans can spread into the Amazon rain forest, damaging ecosystems not particularly suited for heat or arid conditions.

Physical properties

Wildfires occur when all the necessary elements of a fire triangle come together in a susceptible area: an ignition source is brought into contact with a combustible material such as vegetation that is subjected to enough heat and has an adequate supply of oxygen from the ambient air. A high moisture content usually prevents ignition and slows propagation, because higher temperatures are needed to evaporate any water in the material and heat the material to its fire point.

Dense forests usually provide more shade, resulting in lower ambient temperatures and greater humidity, and are therefore less susceptible to wildfires. Less dense material such as grasses and leaves are easier to ignite because they contain less water than denser material such as branches and trunks. Plants continuously lose water by evapotranspiration, but water loss is usually balanced by water absorbed from the soil, humidity, or rain. When this balance is not maintained, plants dry out and are therefore more flammable, often as a consequence of droughts.

A wildfire front is the portion sustaining continuous flaming combustion, where unburned material meets active flames, or the smoldering transition between unburned and burned material. As the front approaches, the fire heats both the surrounding air and woody material through convection and thermal radiation. First, wood is dried as water is vaporized at a temperature of . Next, the pyrolysis of wood at  releases flammable gases. Finally, wood can smolder at  or, when heated sufficiently, ignite at . Even before the flames of a wildfire arrive at a particular location, heat transfer from the wildfire front warms the air to , which pre-heats and dries flammable materials, causing materials to ignite faster and allowing the fire to spread faster. High-temperature and long-duration surface wildfires may encourage flashover or torching: the drying of tree canopies and their subsequent ignition from below.

 Wildfires have a rapid forward rate of spread (FROS) when burning through dense uninterrupted fuels. They can move as fast as  in forests and  in grasslands. Wildfires can advance tangential to the main front to form a flanking front, or burn in the opposite direction of the main front by backing. They may also spread by jumping or spotting as winds and vertical convection columns carry firebrands (hot wood embers) and other burning materials through the air over roads, rivers, and other barriers that may otherwise act as firebreaks. Torching and fires in tree canopies encourage spotting, and dry ground fuels around a wildfire are especially vulnerable to ignition from firebrands. Spotting can create spot fires as hot embers and firebrands ignite fuels downwind from the fire. In Australian bushfires, spot fires are known to occur as far as  from the fire front.

Especially large wildfires may affect air currents in their immediate vicinities by the stack effect: air rises as it is heated, and large wildfires create powerful updrafts that will draw in new, cooler air from surrounding areas in thermal columns. Great vertical differences in temperature and humidity encourage pyrocumulus clouds, strong winds, and fire whirls with the force of tornadoes at speeds of more than . Rapid rates of spread, prolific crowning or spotting, the presence of fire whirls, and strong convection columns signify extreme conditions.

Intensity variations during day and night
Intensity also increases during daytime hours. Burn rates of smoldering logs are up to five times greater during the day due to lower humidity, increased temperatures, and increased wind speeds. Sunlight warms the ground during the day which creates air currents that travel uphill. At night the land cools, creating air currents that travel downhill. Wildfires are fanned by these winds and often follow the air currents over hills and through valleys. Fires in Europe occur frequently during the hours of 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. Wildfire suppression operations in the United States revolve around a 24-hour fire day that begins at 10:00 a.m. due to the predictable increase in intensity resulting from the daytime warmth.

Climate change effects

Increasing risks due to heat waves and droughts
Climate variability including heat waves, droughts, and El Niño, and regional weather patterns, such as high-pressure ridges, can increase the risk and alter the behavior of wildfires dramatically. Years of high precipitation can produce rapid vegetation growth, which when followed by warmer periods can encourage more widespread fires and longer fire seasons. High temperatures dry out the fuel loads and make them more flammable, increasing tree mortality and posing significant risks to global forest health. Since the mid-1980s, in the Western US, earlier snowmelt and associated warming has also been associated with an increase in length and severity of the wildfire season, or the most fire-prone time of the year. A 2019 study indicates that the increase in fire risk in California may be partially attributable to human-induced climate change.

In the summer of 1974–1975 (southern hemisphere), Australia suffered its worst recorded wildfire, when 15% of Australia's land mass suffered "extensive fire damage". Fires that summer burned up an estimated . In Australia, the annual number of hot days (above 35 °C) and very hot days (above 40 °C) has increased significantly in many areas of the country since 1950. The country has always had bushfires but in 2019, the extent and ferocity of these fires increased dramatically. For the first time catastrophic bushfire conditions were declared for Greater Sydney. New South Wales and Queensland declared a state of emergency but fires were also burning in South Australia and Western Australia.

In 2019, extreme heat and dryness caused massive wildfires in Siberia, Alaska, Canary Islands, Australia, and in the Amazon rainforest. The fires in the latter were caused mainly by illegal logging. The smoke from the fires expanded on huge territory including major cities, dramatically reducing air quality.

As of August 2020, the wildfires in that year were 13% worse than in 2019 due primarily to climate change, deforestation and agricultural burning. The Amazon rainforest's existence is threatened by fires. Record-breaking wildfires in 2021 occurred in Turkey, Greece and Russia, thought to be linked to climate change.

Carbon dioxide and other emissions from fires
Wildfires release large amounts of carbon dioxide, black and brown carbon particles, and ozone precursors such as volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides (NOx) into the atmosphere. These emissions affect radiation, clouds, and climate on regional and even global scales. Wildfires also emit substantial amounts of semi-volatile organic species that can partition from the gas phase to form secondary organic aerosol (SOA) over hours to days after emission. In addition, the formation of the other pollutants as the air is transported can lead to harmful exposures for populations in regions far away from the wildfires. While direct emissions of harmful pollutants can affect first responders and residents, wildfire smoke can also be transported over long distances and impact air quality across local, regional, and global scales.

Over the past century, wildfires have accounted for 20–25% of global carbon emissions, the remainder from human activities. Global carbon emissions from wildfires through August 2020 equaled the average annual emissions of the European Union. In 2020, the carbon released by California's wildfires was significantly larger than the state's other carbon emissions.

Forest fires in Indonesia in 1997 were estimated to have released between 0.81 and 2.57 gigatonnes (0.89 and 2.83 billion short tons) of CO2 into the atmosphere, which is between 13%–40% of the annual global carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.

In June and July 2019, fires in the Arctic emitted more than 140 megatons of carbon dioxide, according to an analysis by CAMS. To put that into perspective this amounts to the same amount of carbon emitted by 36 million cars in a year. The recent wildfires and their massive CO2 emissions mean that it will be important to take them into consideration when implementing measures for reaching greenhouse gas reduction targets accorded with the Paris climate agreement. Due to the complex oxidative chemistry occurring during the transport of wildfire smoke in the atmosphere, the toxicity of emissions was indicated to increase over time.

Atmospheric models suggest that these concentrations of sooty particles could increase absorption of incoming solar radiation during winter months by as much as 15%. The Amazon is estimated to hold around 90 billion tons of carbon. As of 2019, the earth's atmosphere has 415 parts per million of carbon, and the destruction of the Amazon would add about 38 parts per million.

Research has shown wildfire smoke can have a cooling effect.

Prevention

Wildfire prevention refers to the preemptive methods aimed at reducing the risk of fires as well as lessening its severity and spread. Prevention techniques aim to manage air quality, maintain ecological balances, protect resources, and to affect future fires. Prevention policies must consider the role that humans play in wildfires, since, for example, 95% of forest fires in Europe are related to human involvement.

Wildfire prevention programs around the world may employ techniques such as wildland fire use (WFU) and prescribed or controlled burns. Wildland fire use refers to any fire of natural causes that is monitored but allowed to burn. Controlled burns are fires ignited by government agencies under less dangerous weather conditions. Other objectives can include maintenance of healthy forests, rangelands, and wetlands, and support of ecosystem diversity.

Strategies for wildfire prevention, detection, control and suppression have varied over the years. One common and inexpensive technique to reduce the risk of uncontrolled wildfires is controlled burning: intentionally igniting smaller less-intense fires to minimize the amount of flammable material available for a potential wildfire. Vegetation may be burned periodically to limit the accumulation of plants and other debris that may serve as fuel, while also maintaining high species diversity. While other people claim that controlled burns and a policy of allowing some wildfires to burn is the cheapest method and an ecologically appropriate policy for many forests, they tend not to take into account the economic value of resources that are consumed by the fire, especially merchantable timber. Some studies conclude that while fuels may also be removed by logging, such thinning treatments may not be effective at reducing fire severity under extreme weather conditions.

Building codes in fire-prone areas typically require that structures be built of flame-resistant materials and a defensible space be maintained by clearing flammable materials within a prescribed distance from the structure. Communities in the Philippines also maintain fire lines  wide between the forest and their village, and patrol these lines during summer months or seasons of dry weather. Continued residential development in fire-prone areas and rebuilding structures destroyed by fires has been met with criticism. The ecological benefits of fire are often overridden by the economic and safety benefits of protecting structures and human life.

Detection

The demand for timely, high-quality fire information has increased in recent years. Fast and effective detection is a key factor in wildfire fighting. Early detection efforts were focused on early response, accurate results in both daytime and nighttime, and the ability to prioritize fire danger. Fire lookout towers were used in the United States in the early 20th century and fires were reported using telephones, carrier pigeons, and heliographs. Aerial and land photography using instant cameras were used in the 1950s until infrared scanning was developed for fire detection in the 1960s. However, information analysis and delivery was often delayed by limitations in communication technology. Early satellite-derived fire analyses were hand-drawn on maps at a remote site and sent via overnight mail to the fire manager. During the Yellowstone fires of 1988, a data station was established in West Yellowstone, permitting the delivery of satellite-based fire information in approximately four hours.

Public hotlines, fire lookouts in towers, and ground and aerial patrols can be used as a means of early detection of forest fires. However, accurate human observation may be limited by operator fatigue, time of day, time of year, and geographic location. Electronic systems have gained popularity in recent years as a possible resolution to human operator error. These systems may be semi- or fully automated and employ systems based on the risk area and degree of human presence, as suggested by GIS data analyses. An integrated approach of multiple systems can be used to merge satellite data, aerial imagery, and personnel position via Global Positioning System (GPS) into a collective whole for near-realtime use by wireless Incident Command Centers.

Local sensor networks

A small, high risk area that features thick vegetation, a strong human presence, or is close to a critical urban area can be monitored using a local sensor network. Detection systems may include wireless sensor networks that act as automated weather systems: detecting temperature, humidity, and smoke. These may be battery-powered, solar-powered, or tree-rechargeable: able to recharge their battery systems using the small electrical currents in plant material. Larger, medium-risk areas can be monitored by scanning towers that incorporate fixed cameras and sensors to detect smoke or additional factors such as the infrared signature of carbon dioxide produced by fires. Additional capabilities such as night vision, brightness detection, and color change detection may also be incorporated into sensor arrays.

The Department of Natural Resources signed a contract with PanoAI for the installation of 360 degree 'rapid detection' cameras around the Pacific northwest, which are mounted on cell towers and are capable of 24/7 monitoring of a 15 mile radius. Additionally, Sensaio Tech, based in Brazil and Toronto, has released a sensor device that continuously monitors 14 different variables common in forests, ranging from soil temperature to salinity. This information is connected live back to clients through dashboard visualizations, while mobile notifications are provided regarding dangerous levels.

Satellite and aerial monitoring
Satellite and aerial monitoring through the use of planes, helicopter, or UAVs can provide a wider view and may be sufficient to monitor very large, low risk areas. These more sophisticated systems employ GPS and aircraft-mounted infrared or high-resolution visible cameras to identify and target wildfires. Satellite-mounted sensors such as Envisat's Advanced Along Track Scanning Radiometer and European Remote-Sensing Satellite's Along-Track Scanning Radiometer can measure infrared radiation emitted by fires, identifying hot spots greater than . The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Hazard Mapping System combines remote-sensing data from satellite sources such as Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) for detection of fire and smoke plume locations. However, satellite detection is prone to offset errors, anywhere from  for MODIS and AVHRR data and up to  for GOES data. Satellites in geostationary orbits may become disabled, and satellites in polar orbits are often limited by their short window of observation time. Cloud cover and image resolution may also limit the effectiveness of satellite imagery. Global Forest Watch provides detailed daily updates on fire alerts.

In 2015 a new fire detection tool is in operation at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service (USFS) which uses data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite to detect smaller fires in more detail than previous space-based products. The high-resolution data is used with a computer model to predict how a fire will change direction based on weather and land conditions.

In 2014, an international campaign was organized in South Africa's Kruger National Park to validate fire detection products including the new VIIRS active fire data. In advance of that campaign, the Meraka Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research in Pretoria, South Africa, an early adopter of the VIIRS 375 m fire product, put it to use during several large wildfires in Kruger. There have also been numerous companies and start-ups releasing new drone technology, many of which use AI. Data Blanket, a Seattle-based startup backed by Bill Gates, has developed drones capable of performing self-guided flights in order to conduct comprehensive assessments of wildfires and the surrounding site, providing real-time and critical information such as local vegetation and fuels. The drones are equipped with RGB and infrared cameras, AI-based computational software, 5G/Wi-Fi, and advanced navigational features. Data Blanket has also stated that its system will eventually be capable of producing micro-weather data, further supporting firefighter efforts by delivering crucial information. Additionally, scientists from Imperial College London and Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, have designed the experimental 'FireDrone', which can handle temperatures of up to 200C for 10 minutes.Another company, the German-based Orora Tech, as of 2023 has two satellites in orbit packaged with infrared sensors that are capable of quickly detecting temperature and soil anomalies, with the ability to predict the likely growth and spread rate of a fire in comparison to others. The company has stated that it will be capable of scanning the earth 48 times per day by 2026.

Artificial intelligence
Between 2022–2023, wildfires throughout North America prompted an uptake in the delivery and design of various technologies using artificial intelligence for early detection, prevention, and prediction of wildfires.  Cornea (company), centered in New York, has developed a system utilizing topographical and geographical data that can be used to predict potential fire patterns and probability.

Suppression

Wildfire suppression depends on the technologies available in the area in which the wildfire occurs. In less developed nations the techniques used can be as simple as throwing sand or beating the fire with sticks or palm fronds. In more advanced nations, the suppression methods vary due to increased technological capacity. Silver iodide can be used to encourage snow fall, while fire retardants and water can be dropped onto fires by unmanned aerial vehicles, planes, and helicopters. Complete fire suppression is no longer an expectation, but the majority of wildfires are often extinguished before they grow out of control. While more than 99% of the 10,000 new wildfires each year are contained, escaped wildfires under extreme weather conditions are difficult to suppress without a change in the weather. Wildfires in Canada and the US burn an average of  per year.

Above all, fighting wildfires can become deadly. A wildfire's burning front may also change direction unexpectedly and jump across fire breaks. Intense heat and smoke can lead to disorientation and loss of appreciation of the direction of the fire, which can make fires particularly dangerous. For example, during the 1949 Mann Gulch fire in Montana, United States, thirteen smokejumpers died when they lost their communication links, became disoriented, and were overtaken by the fire. 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.

Costs of wildfire suppression
The suppression of wild fires takes up a large amount of a country's gross domestic product which directly affects the country's economy. While costs vary wildly from year to year, depending on the severity of each fire season, in the United States, local, state, federal and tribal agencies collectively spend tens of billions of dollars annually to suppress wildfires. In the United States, it was reported that approximately $6 billion was spent between 2004–2008 to suppress wildfires in the country. In California, the U.S. Forest Service spends about $200 million per year to suppress 98% of wildfires and up to $1 billion to suppress the other 2% of fires that escape initial attack and become large.

Wildland firefighting safety

Wildland fire fighters face several life-threatening hazards including heat stress, fatigue, smoke and dust, as well as the risk of other injuries such as burns, cuts and scrapes, animal bites, and even rhabdomyolysis. Between 2000 and 2016, more than 350 wildland firefighters died on-duty.

Especially in hot weather conditions, fires present the risk of heat stress, which can entail feeling heat, fatigue, weakness, vertigo, headache, or nausea. Heat stress can progress into heat strain, which entails physiological changes such as increased heart rate and core body temperature. This can lead to heat-related illnesses, such as heat rash, cramps, exhaustion or heat stroke. Various factors can contribute to the risks posed by heat stress, including strenuous work, personal risk factors such as age and fitness, dehydration, sleep deprivation, and burdensome personal protective equipment. Rest, cool water, and occasional breaks are crucial to mitigating the effects of heat stress.

Smoke, ash, and debris can also pose serious respiratory hazards for wildland firefighters. The smoke and dust from wildfires can contain gases such as carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide and formaldehyde, as well as particulates such as ash and silica. To reduce smoke exposure, wildfire fighting crews should, whenever possible, rotate firefighters through areas of heavy smoke, avoid downwind firefighting, use equipment rather than people in holding areas, and minimize mop-up. Camps and command posts should also be located upwind of wildfires. Protective clothing and equipment can also help minimize exposure to smoke and ash.

Firefighters are also at risk of cardiac events including strokes and heart attacks. Firefighters should maintain good physical fitness. Fitness programs, medical screening and examination programs which include stress tests can minimize the risks of firefighting cardiac problems. Other injury hazards wildland firefighters face include slips, trips, falls, burns, scrapes, and cuts from tools and equipment, being struck by trees, vehicles, or other objects, plant hazards such as thorns and poison ivy, snake and animal bites, vehicle crashes, electrocution from power lines or lightning storms, and unstable building structures.

Fire retardants
Fire retardants are used to slow wildfires by inhibiting combustion. They are aqueous solutions of ammonium phosphates and ammonium sulfates, as well as thickening agents. The decision to apply retardant depends on the magnitude, location and intensity of the wildfire. In certain instances, fire retardant may also be applied as a precautionary fire defense measure.

Typical fire retardants contain the same agents as fertilizers. Fire retardants may also affect water quality through leaching, eutrophication, or misapplication. Fire retardant's effects on drinking water remain inconclusive. Dilution factors, including water body size, rainfall, and water flow rates lessen the concentration and potency of fire retardant. Wildfire debris (ash and sediment) clog rivers and reservoirs increasing the risk for floods and erosion that ultimately slow and/or damage water treatment systems. There is continued concern of fire retardant effects on land, water, wildlife habitats, and watershed quality, additional research is needed. However, on the positive side, fire retardant (specifically its nitrogen and phosphorus components) has been shown to have a fertilizing effect on nutrient-deprived soils and thus creates a temporary increase in vegetation.

Modeling

Impacts on the natural environment

On the atmosphere

Most of Earth's weather and air pollution resides in the troposphere, the part of the atmosphere that extends from the surface of the planet to a height of about . The vertical lift of a severe thunderstorm or pyrocumulonimbus can be enhanced in the area of a large wildfire, which can propel smoke, soot, and other particulate matter as high as the lower stratosphere. Previously, prevailing scientific theory held that most particles in the stratosphere came from volcanoes, but smoke and other wildfire emissions have been detected from the lower stratosphere. Pyrocumulus clouds can reach  over wildfires. Satellite observation of smoke plumes from wildfires revealed that the plumes could be traced intact for distances exceeding . Computer-aided models such as CALPUFF may help predict the size and direction of wildfire-generated smoke plumes by using atmospheric dispersion modeling.

Wildfires can affect local atmospheric pollution, and release carbon in the form of carbon dioxide. Wildfire emissions contain fine particulate matter which can cause cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Increased fire byproducts in the troposphere can increase ozone concentrations beyond safe levels.

On ecosystems

Wildfires are common in climates that are sufficiently moist to allow the growth of vegetation but feature extended dry, hot periods. Such places include the vegetated areas of Australia and Southeast Asia, the veld in southern Africa, the fynbos in the Western Cape of South Africa, the forested areas of the United States and Canada, and the Mediterranean Basin.

High-severity wildfire creates complex early seral forest habitat (also called "snag forest habitat"), which often has higher species richness and diversity than unburned old forest. Plant and animal species in most types of North American forests evolved with fire, and many of these species depend on wildfires, and particularly high-severity fires, to reproduce and grow. Fire helps to return nutrients from plant matter back to the soil. The heat from fire is necessary to the germination of certain types of seeds, and the snags (dead trees) and early successional forests created by high-severity fire create habitat conditions that are beneficial to wildlife. Early successional forests created by high-severity fire support some of the highest levels of native biodiversity found in temperate conifer forests. Post-fire logging has no ecological benefits and many negative impacts; the same is often true for post-fire seeding.

Although some ecosystems rely on naturally occurring fires to regulate growth, some ecosystems suffer from too much fire, such as the chaparral in southern California and lower-elevation deserts in the American Southwest. The increased fire frequency in these ordinarily fire-dependent areas has upset natural cycles, damaged native plant communities, and encouraged the growth of non-native weeds. Invasive species, such as Lygodium microphyllum and Bromus tectorum, can grow rapidly in areas that were damaged by fires. Because they are highly flammable, they can increase the future risk of fire, creating a positive feedback loop that increases fire frequency and further alters native vegetation communities.

In the Amazon rainforest, drought, logging, cattle ranching practices, and slash-and-burn agriculture damage fire-resistant forests and promote the growth of flammable brush, creating a cycle that encourages more burning. Fires in the rainforest threaten its collection of diverse species and produce large amounts of CO2. Also, fires in the rainforest, along with drought and human involvement, could damage or destroy more than half of the Amazon rainforest by 2030. Wildfires generate ash, reduce the availability of organic nutrients, and cause an increase in water runoff, eroding other nutrients and creating flash flood conditions. A 2003 wildfire in the North Yorkshire Moors burned off  of heather and the underlying peat layers. Afterwards, wind erosion stripped the ash and the exposed soil, revealing archaeological remains dating to 10,000 BC. Wildfires can also have an effect on climate change, increasing the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere and inhibiting vegetation growth, which affects overall carbon uptake by plants.

On waterways

Debris and chemical runoff into waterways after wildfires can make drinking water sources unsafe. Though it is challenging to quantify the impacts of wildfires on surface water quality, research suggests that the concentration of many pollutants increases post-fire. The impacts occur during active burning and up to years later. Increases in nutrients and total suspended sediments can happen within a year while heavy metal concentrations may peak 1-2 years after a wildfire.

Benzene is one of many chemicals that have been found in drinking water systems after wildfires. Benzene can permeate certain plastic pipes and thus require long times to be removed from the water distribution infrastructure. Researchers estimated that, in worst case scenarios, more than 286 days of constant flushing of a contaminated HDPE service line were needed to reduce benzene below safe drinking water limits. Temperature increases caused by fires, including wildfires, can cause plastic water pipes to generate toxic chemicals such as benzene.

On plant and animals

Impacts on humans

Wildfire risk is the chance that a wildfire will start in or reach a particular area and the potential loss of human values if it does. Risk is dependent on variable factors such as human activities, weather patterns, availability of wildfire fuels, and the availability or lack of resources to suppress a fire. Wildfires have continually been a threat to human populations. However, human-induced geographic and climatic changes are exposing populations more frequently to wildfires and increasing wildfire risk. It is speculated that the increase in wildfires arises from a century of wildfire suppression coupled with the rapid expansion of human developments into fire-prone wildlands. Wildfires are naturally occurring events that aid in promoting forest health. Global warming and climate changes are causing an increase in temperatures and more droughts nationwide which contributes to an increase in wildfire risk.

Airborne hazards

The most noticeable adverse effect of wildfires is the destruction of property. However, hazardous chemicals released also significantly impact human health.

Wildfire smoke is composed primarily of carbon dioxide and water vapor. Other common components present in lower concentrations are carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, acrolein, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and benzene. Small airborne particulates (in solid form or liquid droplets) are also present in smoke and ash debris. 80–90% of wildfire smoke, by mass, is within the fine particle size class of 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller.

Carbon dioxide in smoke poses a low health risk due to its low toxicity. Rather, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter, particularly 2.5 µm in diameter and smaller, have been identified as the major health threats. High levels of heavy metals, including lead, arsenic, cadmium, and copper were found in the ash debris following the 2007 Californian wildfires. A national clean-up campaign was organised in fear of the health effects from exposure. In the devastating California Camp Fire (2018) that killed 85 people, lead levels increased by around 50 times in the hours following the fire at a site nearby (Chico). Zinc concentration also increased significantly in Modesto, 150 miles away. Heavy metals such as manganese and calcium were found in numerous California fires as well. Other chemicals are considered to be significant hazards but are found in concentrations that are too low to cause detectable health effects.

The degree of wildfire smoke exposure to an individual is dependent on the length, severity, duration, and proximity of the fire. People are exposed directly to smoke via the respiratory tract through inhalation of air pollutants. Indirectly, communities are exposed to wildfire debris that can contaminate soil and water supplies.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) developed the air quality index (AQI), a public resource that provides national air quality standard concentrations for common air pollutants. The public can use it to determine their exposure to hazardous air pollutants based on visibility range.

Health effects

Wildfire smoke contains particulates that may have adverse effects upon the human respiratory system. Evidence of the health effects should be relayed to the public so that exposure may be limited. The evidence can also be used to influence policy to promote positive health outcomes.

Inhalation of smoke from a wildfire can be a health hazard. Wildfire smoke is composed of combustion products i.e. carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, water vapor, particulate matter, organic chemicals, nitrogen oxides and other compounds. The principal health concern is the inhalation of particulate matter and carbon monoxide.

Particulate matter (PM) is a type of air pollution made up of particles of dust and liquid droplets. They are characterized into three categories based on particle diameter: coarse PM, fine PM, and ultrafine PM. Coarse particles are between 2.5 micrometers and 10 micrometers, fine particles measure 0.1 to 2.5 micrometers, and ultrafine particle are less than 0.1 micrometer. lmpact on the body upon inhalation varies by size. Coarse PM is filtered by the upper airways and can accumulate and cause pulmonary inflammation. This can result in eye and sinus irritation as well as sore throat and coughing. Coarse PM is often composed of heavier and more toxic materials that lead to short-term effects with stronger impact.

Smaller PM moves further into the respiratory system creating issues deep into the lungs and the bloodstream. In asthma patients, PM2.5 causes inflammation but also increases oxidative stress in the epithelial cells. These particulates also cause apoptosis and autophagy in lung epithelial cells. Both processes damage the cells and impact cell function. This damage impacts those with respiratory conditions such as asthma where the lung tissues and function are already compromised.  Particulates less than 0.1 micrometer are called ultrafine particle (UFP). It is a major component of wildfire smoke. UFP can enter the bloodstream like PM2.5-0.1 however studies show that it works into the blood much quicker. The inflammation and epithelial damage done by UFP has also shown to be much more severe. PM2.5 is of the largest concern in regards to wildfire. This is particularly hazardous to the very young, elderly and those with chronic conditions such as asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis and cardiovascular conditions. The illnesses most commonly associated with exposure to fine PM from wildfire smoke are bronchitis, exacerbation of asthma or COPD, and pneumonia. Symptoms of these complications include wheezing and shortness of breath and cardiovascular symptoms include chest pain, rapid heart rate and fatigue.

Asthma exacerbation
Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated a close association between air pollution and respiratory allergic diseases such as bronchial asthma.

An observational study of smoke exposure related to the 2007 San Diego wildfires revealed an increase both in healthcare utilization and respiratory diagnoses, especially asthma among the group sampled. Projected climate scenarios of wildfire occurrences predict significant increases in respiratory conditions among young children. Particulate Matter (PM) triggers a series of biological processes including inflammatory immune response, oxidative stress, which are associated with harmful changes in allergic respiratory diseases.

Although some studies demonstrated no significant acute changes in lung function among people with asthma related to PM from wildfires, a possible explanation for these counterintuitive findings is the increased use of quick-relief medications, such as inhalers, in response to elevated levels of smoke among those already diagnosed with asthma.

There is consistent evidence between wildfire smoke and the exacerbation of asthma.

Asthma is one of the most common chronic disease among children in the United States, affecting an estimated 6.2 million children. Research on asthma risk focuses specifically on the risk of air pollution during the gestational period. Several pathophysiology processes are involved in this. Considerable airway development occurs during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters and continues until 3 years of age. It is hypothesized that exposure to these toxins during this period could have consequential effects, as the epithelium of the lungs during this time could have increased permeability to toxins. Exposure to air pollution during parental and pre-natal stage could induce epigenetic changes which are responsible for the development of asthma. Studies have found significant association between PM2.5, NO2 and development of asthma during childhood despite heterogeneity among studies. Furthermore, maternal exposure to chronic stressors is most likely present in distressed communities, and as this can be correlated with childhood asthma, it may further explain links between early childhood exposure to air pollution, neighborhood poverty, and childhood risk.

Carbon monoxide danger

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can be found at the highest concentration at close proximity to a smoldering fire. Thus, it is a serious threat to the health of wildfire firefighters. CO in smoke can be inhaled into the lungs where it is absorbed into the bloodstream and reduces oxygen delivery to the body's vital organs. At high concentrations, it can cause headaches, weakness, dizziness, confusion, nausea, disorientation, visual impairment, coma, and even death. Even at lower concentrations, such as those found at wildfires, individuals with cardiovascular disease may experience chest pain and cardiac arrhythmia. A recent study tracking the number and cause of wildfire firefighter deaths from 1990 to 2006 found that 21.9% of the deaths occurred from heart attacks.

Another important and somewhat less obvious health effect of wildfires is psychiatric diseases and disorders. Both adults and children from various countries who were directly and indirectly affected by wildfires were found to demonstrate different mental conditions linked to their experience with the wildfires. These include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety, and phobias.

Epidemiology

The Western US has seen an increase in both the frequency and intensity of wildfires over the last several decades. This has been attributed to the arid climate of there and the effects of global warming. An estimated 46 million people were exposed to wildfire smoke from 2004 to 2009 in the Western US. Evidence has demonstrated that wildfire smoke can increase levels of airborne particulate.

The EPA has defined acceptable concentrations of PM in the air, through the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and monitoring of ambient air quality has been mandated. Due to these monitoring programs and the incidence of several large wildfires near populated areas, epidemiological studies have been conducted and demonstrate an association between human health effects and an increase in fine particulate matter due to wildfire smoke.

An increase in PM smoke emitted from the Hayman fire in Colorado in June 2002, was associated with an increase in respiratory symptoms in patients with COPD. Looking at the wildfires in Southern California in 2003, investigators have shown an increase in hospital admissions due to asthma symptoms while being exposed to peak concentrations of PM in smoke. Another epidemiological study found a 7.2% (95% confidence interval: 0.25%, 15%) increase in risk of respiratory related hospital admissions during smoke wave days with high wildfire-specific particulate matter 2.5 compared to matched non-smoke-wave days.

Children participating in the Children's Health Study were also found to have an increase in eye and respiratory symptoms, medication use and physician visits. Mothers who were pregnant during the fires gave birth to babies with a slightly reduced average birth weight compared to those who were not exposed. Suggesting that pregnant women may also be at greater risk to adverse effects from wildfire. Worldwide, it is estimated that 339,000 people die due to the effects of wildfire smoke each year.

Besides the size of PM, their chemical composition should also be considered. Antecedent studies have demonstrated that the chemical composition of PM2.5 from wildfire smoke can yield different estimates of human health outcomes as compared to other sources of smoke such as solid fuels.

Post-fire risks

After a wildfire, hazards remain. Residents returning to their homes may be at risk from falling fire-weakened trees. Humans and pets may also be harmed by falling into ash pits. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) also reports that wildfires cause significant damage to electric systems, especially in dry regions.

Other post-fire risks, can increase if other extreme weather follows. For example, wildfires make soil less able to absorb precipitation, so heavy rainfall can result in more severe flooding and damages like mud slides.

At-risk groups

Firefighters

Firefighters are at greatest risk for acute and chronic health effects resulting from wildfire smoke exposure. Due to firefighters' occupational duties, they are frequently exposed to hazardous chemicals at close proximity for longer periods of time. A case study on the exposure of wildfire smoke among wildland firefighters shows that firefighters are exposed to significant levels of carbon monoxide and respiratory irritants above OSHA-permissible exposure limits (PEL) and ACGIH threshold limit values (TLV). 5–10% are overexposed.

Between 2001 and 2012, over 200 fatalities occurred among wildland firefighters. In addition to heat and chemical hazards, firefighters are also at risk for electrocution from power lines; injuries from equipment; slips, trips, and falls; injuries from vehicle rollovers; heat-related illness; insect bites and stings; stress; and rhabdomyolysis.

Residents

Residents in communities surrounding wildfires are exposed to lower concentrations of chemicals, but they are at a greater risk for indirect exposure through water or soil contamination. Exposure to residents is greatly dependent on individual susceptibility. Vulnerable persons such as children (ages 0–4), the elderly (ages 65 and older), smokers, and pregnant women are at an increased risk due to their already compromised body systems, even when the exposures are present at low chemical concentrations and for relatively short exposure periods. They are also at risk for future wildfires and may move away to areas they consider less risky.

Wildfires affect large numbers of people in Western Canada and the United States. In California alone, more than 350,000 people live in towns and cities in "very high fire hazard severity zones".

Direct risks to building residents in fire-prone areas can be moderated through design choices such as choosing fire-resistant vegetation, maintaining landscaping to avoid debris accumulation and to create firebreaks, and by selecting fire-retardant roofing materials. Potential compounding issues with poor air quality and heat during warmer months may be addressed with MERV 11 or higher outdoor air filtration in building ventilation systems, mechanical cooling, and a provision of a refuge area with additional air cleaning and cooling, if needed.

History

The first evidence of wildfires is fossils of the giant fungi Prototaxites preserved as charcoal, discovered in South Wales and Poland, dating to the Silurian period (about ). Smoldering surface fires started to occur sometime before the Early Devonian period . Low atmospheric oxygen during the Middle and Late Devonian was accompanied by a decrease in charcoal abundance. Additional charcoal evidence suggests that fires continued through the Carboniferous period. Later, the overall increase of atmospheric oxygen from 13% in the Late Devonian to 30–31% by the Late Permian was accompanied by a more widespread distribution of wildfires. Later, a decrease in wildfire-related charcoal deposits from the late Permian to the Triassic periods is explained by a decrease in oxygen levels.

Wildfires during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic periods followed patterns similar to fires that occur in modern times. Surface fires driven by dry seasons are evident in Devonian and Carboniferous progymnosperm forests. Lepidodendron forests dating to the Carboniferous period have charred peaks, evidence of crown fires. In Jurassic gymnosperm forests, there is evidence of high frequency, light surface fires. The increase of fire activity in the late Tertiary is possibly due to the increase of C4-type grasses. As these grasses shifted to more mesic habitats, their high flammability increased fire frequency, promoting grasslands over woodlands. However, fire-prone habitats may have contributed to the prominence of trees such as those of the genera Eucalyptus, Pinus and Sequoia, which have thick bark to withstand fires and employ pyriscence.

Human involvement

The human use of fire for agricultural and hunting purposes during the Paleolithic and Mesolithic ages altered pre-existing landscapes and fire regimes. Woodlands were gradually replaced by smaller vegetation that facilitated travel, hunting, seed-gathering and planting. In recorded human history, minor allusions to wildfires were mentioned in the Bible and by classical writers such as Homer. However, while ancient Hebrew, Greek, and Roman writers were aware of fires, they were not very interested in the uncultivated lands where wildfires occurred. Wildfires were used in battles throughout human history as early thermal weapons. From the Middle ages, accounts were written of occupational burning as well as customs and laws that governed the use of fire. In Germany, regular burning was documented in 1290 in the Odenwald and in 1344 in the Black Forest. In the 14th century Sardinia, firebreaks were used for wildfire protection. In Spain during the 1550s, sheep husbandry was discouraged in certain provinces by Philip II due to the harmful effects of fires used in transhumance. As early as the 17th century, Native Americans were observed using fire for many purposes including cultivation, signaling, and warfare. Scottish botanist David Douglas noted the native use of fire for tobacco cultivation, to encourage deer into smaller areas for hunting purposes, and to improve foraging for honey and grasshoppers. Charcoal found in sedimentary deposits off the Pacific coast of Central America suggests that more burning occurred in the 50 years before the Spanish colonization of the Americas than after the colonization. In the post-World War II Baltic region, socio-economic changes led more stringent air quality standards and bans on fires that eliminated traditional burning practices. In the mid-19th century, explorers from  observed Australian Aborigines using fire for ground clearing, hunting, and regeneration of plant food in a method later named fire-stick farming. Such careful use of fire has been employed for centuries in lands protected by Kakadu National Park to encourage biodiversity.

Wildfires typically occur during periods of increased temperature and drought. An increase in fire-related debris flow in alluvial fans of northeastern Yellowstone National Park was linked to the period between AD 1050 and 1200, coinciding with the Medieval Warm Period. However, human influence caused an increase in fire frequency. Dendrochronological fire scar data and charcoal layer data in Finland suggests that, while many fires occurred during severe drought conditions, an increase in the number of fires during 850 BC and 1660 AD can be attributed to human influence. Charcoal evidence from the Americas suggested a general decrease in wildfires between 1 AD and 1750 compared to previous years. However, a period of increased fire frequency between 1750 and 1870 was suggested by charcoal data from North America and Asia, attributed to human population growth and influences such as land clearing practices. This period was followed by an overall decrease in burning in the 20th century, linked to the expansion of agriculture, increased livestock grazing, and fire prevention efforts. A meta-analysis found that 17 times more land burned annually in California before 1800 compared to recent decades (1,800,000 hectares/year compared to 102,000 hectares/year).

According to a paper published in the journal Science, the number of natural and human-caused fires decreased by 24.3% between 1998 and 2015. Researchers explain this as a transition from nomadism to settled lifestyle and intensification of agriculture that lead to a drop in the use of fire for land clearing.

Increases of certain tree species (i.e. conifers) over others (i.e. deciduous trees) can increase wildfire risk, especially if these trees are also planted in monocultures
Some invasive species, moved in by humans (i.e., for the pulp and paper industry) have in some cases also increased the intensity of wildfires. Examples include species such as Eucalyptus in California and gamba grass in Australia.

Society and culture
Wildfires have a place in many cultures. "To spread like wildfire" is a common idiom in English, meaning something that "quickly affects or becomes known by more and more people".

Wildfire activity has been attributed as a major factor in the development of Ancient Greece. In modern Greece, as in many other regions, it is the most common natural disaster and figures prominently in the social and economic lives of its people.

In 1937, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a nationwide fire prevention campaign, highlighting the role of human carelessness in forest fires. Later posters of the program featured Uncle Sam, characters from the Disney movie Bambi, and the official mascot of the U.S. Forest Service, Smokey Bear. The Smokey Bear fire prevention campaign has yielded one of the most popular characters in the United States; for many years there was a living Smokey Bear mascot, and it has been commemorated on postage stamps.

There are also significant indirect or second-order societal impacts from wildfire, such as demands on utilities to prevent power transmission equipment from becoming ignition sources, and the cancelation or nonrenewal of homeowners insurance for residents living in wildfire-prone areas.

See also
 Dry thunderstorm
 Fire-adapted communities
 Fire ecology
 List of wildfires
 Bushfires in Australia
 Wildfires in the United States
 Pyrogeography
 Remote Automated Weather Station
 Wildland–urban interface
 Wildfire risk indices:
 Forest fire weather index (Canada, France)
 Haines Index
 Keetch-Byram Drought Index
 McArthur Forest Fire Danger Index
 National Fire Danger Rating System (US)

References

Sources

Attribution

External links

 Current global map of hotspots (fires, volcanos, flare stacks), and fine particulates. Note that hotspot pixels do not indicate size.

Articles containing video clips
Emergency management
Fire prevention
Types of fire
Natural disasters
Pollution
Wildfire ecology
Weather lore

Wildfire


Berthold Konrad Hermann Albert Speer (19 March 1905 in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg Germany – 1 September 1981 in London, England) was a leading German architect in the Third Reich. Speer was born on 19 March 1905 in Mannheim, Baden, Germany. He joined the Nazi Party in 1931 and was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before he became the minister for munitions and armaments in 1942, replacing Fritz Todt in the Cabinet.

After World War II he was convicted of slavery and spent 20 years in prison. After being released he wrote two autobiographical books. He portrayed himself as a well educated and apolitical architect who regretted failing to know the bad things Hitler and the Nazis were doing.

Speer died of a stroke in 1 September 1981 in London. His son, Albert Speer Jr. was also an architect.

1905 births
1981 deaths
Deaths from stroke
German architects
German prisoners
German war criminals
Government ministers of Nazi Germany
Holocaust perpetrators
Members of the Reichstag (Nazi Germany)
People from Mannheim
Politicians from Baden-Württemberg
Politicians of the Nazi Party
Sturmabteilung people
SS officers
German Protestants

Albert Speer


The Argentine Episcopal Conference () is an episcopal conference of the Roman Catholic Church of Argentina that gathers the bishops of the country in order to discuss pastoral issues and in general all matters that have to do with the Church. The following are members of the Conference:

 The diocesan bishops and others considered such de jure;
 The coadjutor bishops;
 The auxiliary bishops;
 The Eastern Catholic bishops with a see in Argentina;
 The titular bishops by appointment of the Holy See or the Conference itself;

Guests of the Conference are the Apostolic Nuncio and other bishops (titular and emeritus).

See also
 Roman Catholicism in Argentina
 Christianity in Argentina

References

External links
 Conferencia Episcopal Argentina - Official website (in Spanish).

Catholic Church in Argentina
Argentina

Episcopal Conference of Argentina


The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is an initiative in the United Kingdom funded by the BBC. The scheme pays for the employment of journalists by local independent news outlets, in order to improve the coverage of issues relating to local democracy. Its core purpose is stated as being "to provide impartial coverage of the regular business and workings of local authorities in the UK, and other relevant democratic institutions such as mayoralties, combined authority areas, P&CCs, quangos, etc."

The scheme launched in 2017. As of the 2021 contracting round, 165 Local Democracy Reporters (LDRs) were employed by eighteen participating organisations, ranging from large bodies including DC Thomson, Reach plc, Newsquest and the Evening Standard, to smaller outlets such as Radio Exe and Social Spider, a community interest company which publishes three north London community newspapers.

Stories written by LDRs are pooled and can be used at no cost by over a thousand participating news organisations, including the BBC. LDRS stories have featured on national BBC radio and television news programmes. In the first four years of the scheme almost a quarter of a million stories were filed, with a peak of 1,321 in a seven-day period in September 2021.

The scheme has been replicated in New Zealand and Canada.

Bristol Mayor dispute

The scheme itself came into the news in June 2022, when the Mayor of Bristol, Marvin Rees and his council's head of external communications, Saskia Konynenburg, challenged the line taken by LDRS reporter Alex Seabrook in questioning the mayor's  return flight to Vancouver to speak about climate change at a TED conference, and whether it was appropriate for a LDRS reporter, rather than "a journalist from a newspaper", to be asking the question. Shortly afterwards it was reported that LDRS staff would not be allowed to attend the mayor's future press conferences, resulting in a boycott of those events by several local news outlets, as well as the BBC and ITV.

References

External links

BBC
Journalism in the United Kingdom
2017 introductions

Local Democracy Reporting Service


Joanne McCartney is a British lawyer and a co-operative Party politician.  She is a member of the Labour Party. Since 2004, she has served as a member of the London Assembly, representing Enfield & Haringey. Following the election of Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London in 2016, McCartney became Statutory Deputy Mayor of London.

Prior to her career in politics, McCartney worked as a lawyer in labor law. She also served as a judge for the Housing Ombudsman handling disputes between landlords and tenants.

McCartney was elected as a councilor in the London Borough of Enfield in 1998, representing Edmonton and then Palmers Green. McCartney was elected to the London Assembly for Enfield and Haringey in the 2004 Assembly Elections and became a councilor in 2006 local elections.

She is on the London Advisory Board of the Equality Commission. As a Member of Parliament, she has campaigned for devolution.

McCartney won re-election in the 2008 by about 1,400 votes. In the 2012 election, she increased her margin to 36,741 votes. In the 2016 election, she broke records by winning by a margin of 51,152 votes. McCartney has three children and is chair of governors at the local primary school.

Living people
British lawyers
Politicians from London
Labour Party (UK) people

Joanne McCartney


Ruvyironza (ko Luvironza) maayo woni maayo nder Afrik,ko woɓɓe ɗon laami nder maayo Nile,ko woni maayo ɓurɗum ɓure nder duniyaaru.O ɗon ƴiwo dow hooseere Kikizi nder Burundi, o ɗon ƴiwi dow maayo Rurubu haa maayo Kagera nder Tanzania,diga ɗon haa maayo Victoria.E nder nder nder 182.4 km (113.3.)[clarification needed]

Kootol

Ruvyironza maayo


An economic bubble happens when a market goes through a very fast inflation of value. This increase is followed by a quick decrease in value, called a "crash" or a "bubble burst". Economic bubbles can be caused by many things, but many economists believe that economic bubbles are related to inflation. An economic bubble can cause an economic crisis due to a loss of investment both by companies and individuals, such as the Great Depression or the Economic crisis of 2007-2010.

An economic bubble occurs due to the human psychology of an expectation of an unlimited demand for any particular commodity. The market moves up quickly as the investors see an increase in prices due to increase in demand. Prices may eventually fall when supply increases beyond the demand, resulting in the bursting of the bubble. Predicting when this will happen is difficult, hence it may surprise investors.

Financial crises

Economic bubble


James Perry Conner (January 27, 1851 – March 19, 1924) was a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 10th congressional district from 1900 to 1909.

Background
Born in Delaware County, Indiana, Conner attended the Upper Iowa University in Fayette, Iowa, and graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1873.
He was admitted to the bar and practiced in Denison, Iowa.
He served as district attorney of the thirteenth judicial district of Iowa from 1880 to 1884.
He was elected as a circuit judge of the thirteenth judicial district in 1884, and as a district judge of the sixteenth judicial district in 1886, serving over eight years on the bench.
He served as delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1892.

Congress
Connor was a former law partner and political ally of Iowa Governor Leslie M. Shaw. When U.S. Senator John H. Gear died in July 1900, Shaw was responsible for making an interim appointment to fill the seat. Connor was one of many Republicans who hoped Shaw would choose them to fill the vacancy, but Shaw instead chose Connor's congressman, Jonathan P. Dolliver, thus creating a new vacancy in the U.S. House. Dolliver's House seat (in Iowa's 10th congressional district) was filled by a direct election between candidates chosen by district conventions. On the 96th ballot, Conner received the Republican nomination over a crowded field, and was elected in the general election. After serving in the Fifty-sixth Congress, he was reelected two years later (in 1902) to the Fifty-seventh, and later to the three succeeding Congresses.

In 1908, Connor was defeated in the Republican primary by newspaper publisher Frank P. Woods, as part of a broader attempt by the party's progressive wing to displace incumbents from the more conservative "standpatter" wing. In all, Connor served in Congress from December 4, 1900, to March 3, 1909.

After Congress
He resumed the practice of law in Denison, where he died on March 19, 1924. He was interred in Oakland Cemetery.

References

1851 births
1924 deaths
People from Delaware County, Indiana
People from Denison, Iowa
University of Iowa College of Law alumni
Iowa state court judges
District attorneys in Iowa
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa

James P. Conner


Ticky Holgado (24 June 1944 – 22 January 2004), pseudonym of Joseph Holgado, was a French actor and a frequent collaborator with Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

With Delicatessen (1991) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, Ticky Holgado saw his acting talent acknowledged. Gérard Jugnot wrote for him the character of the beggar who meets the frame in the unemployment becoming NFA (played by Jugnot) in Une époque formidable (1990).

He received the Caesar of the best male bit part in 1992 for Une époque formidable and in 1996 for Gazon maudit.

In September 2003, Holgado announced the remission of his lung cancer, which had considerably rarefied his appearances on the screen since 2000. On 5 January 2004, he had just begun work on a new film with Lelouch, but he succumbed to cancer on 22 January 2004.  He left a posthumous message, in the form of a document which appeared on his hospital bed after taking him to surgery to remove his 4th cancerous tumor. Holgado declared there: "It is necessary to tell to people that it's absolutely necessary to stop smoking".

Ticky Holgado was buried at the Père Lachaise Cemetery (45th division).

Filmography

 Les surdoués de la première compagnie (1980, directed by Michel Gérard) (starring Bernard Lavalette, Hubert Deschamps) – Le voisin
 Madame Claude 2 (1981, directed by François Mimet) – (uncredited)
 Putain d'histoire d'amour (1981, directed by Gilles Béhat) (starring Richard Berry, Mirella D'Angelo) – Un de la bande des Gominés
 Belles, blondes et bronzées (1981, directed by Max Pécas) (starring Philippe Klébert, Xavier Deluc) – Gus
 Comment draguer toutes les filles (1981, directed by Michel Vocoret) – Antoine, le garagiste
 On n'est pas sorti de l'auberge (1982, directed by Max Pécas)
 Circulez y a rien à voir! (1983, directed by Patrice Leconte) – Le planton N°1
 Les planqués du régiment (1983, directed by Michel Caputo) – Le militaire qui vient chercher des fleurs pour le maréchal Mégalo
 On l'appelle catastrophe (1983, directed by Richard Balducci) (starring Michel Leeb, Darry Cowl) – Alphonse
 Les branchés à St. Tropez (1983, directed by Max Pécas) (starring Olivia Dutron, Xavier Deluc) – Ticky
 Mesrine (1984, directed by André Génovès)
 Le juge (1984, directed by Philippe Lefebvre) – Un garde
 Le Fou du roi (1984, directed by Yvan Chiffre) (starring Diane Bellego, Gaëtan Bloom)
 Les Ripoux (1984, directed by Claude Zidi) (starring Thierry Lhermitte, Philippe Noiret) – Alphonse
 Comment draguer tous les mecs (1984, directed by Jean-Paul Feuillebois) – Frère Gontran
 Brigade des mœurs (1985, directed by Max Pécas) (starring Thierry Carbonnières, Jean-marc Maurel)
 Les rois du gag (1985, directed by Claude Zidi)
 Adieu blaireau (1985, directed by Bob Decout) – Le barman
 Le bonheur a encore frappé (1986, directed by Jean-Luc Trotignon) – Gérant du supermarché
 Nuit d'ivresse (1986, directed by Bernard Nauer) (starring Josiane Balasko and Thierry Lhermitte) – L'électro
 Manon des sources (1986, directed by Claude Berri) (starring Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil) – Le Spécialiste
 Sale destin (1987, directed by Sylvain Madigan)
 Lévy et Goliath (1987, directed by Gérard Oury) – Le faux bossu
 Les keufs (1987, directed by Josiane Balasko) (starring Josiane Balasko, Isaach Bankolé) – Blondel / Insp. Blondel
 Sans peur et sans reproche (1988, directed by Gérard Jugnot) (starring Remi Martin, Roland Giraud) – Mignard de Parthode
 Le mari de la coiffeuse (1990, directed by Patrice Leconte) (starring Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena) – Morvoisieux Son-in-Law
 Le Château de ma mère (1990, directed by Yves Robert) (starring Julien Ciamaca, Philippe Caubère) – Binucci
 Uranus (1990, directed by Claude Berri) (starring Michel Blanc, Gérard Depardieu) – Mégrin, l'avocat
 Delicatessen (1991, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro) (starring Dominique Pinon, Marie-Laure Dougnac) – Marcel Tapioca
 Les secrets professionnels du Dr Apfelglück (1991, directed by Alessandro Capone, Stéphane Clavier) (starring Josiane Balasko, Alain Chabat) – Le Ténardie
 Une époque formidable... (1991, directed by Gérard Jugnot) (starring Richard Bohringer, Victoria Abril, César du meilleur second rôle masculin) – Crayon
 Mayrig (1991, directed by Henri Verneuil) (starring Richard Berry, Claudia Cardinale)
 My Life Is Hell (1991, directed by Josiane Balasko) (starring Daniel Auteuil, Josiane Balasko) – El Diablo
 The Supper (1992, directed by Edouard Molinaro) (starring Claude Brasseur, Claude Rich) – Jacques
 Tango (1993, directed by Patrice Leconte) – Waiter
 Drôles d'oiseaux ! (1993, directed by Peter Kassovitz) (starring Bernard Giraudeau, Patrick Chesnais) – Benoit Cabane
 Justinien Trouvé, ou le bâtard de Dieu (1993, directed by Christian Fechner) (starring Pierre-Olivier Mornas, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) – Beaulouis
 Tombés du ciel (1993, directed by Philippe Lioret) (starring Jean Rochefort, Marisa Paredes) – Serge
 L'honneur de la tribu (1993, directed by Mahmoud Zemmouri) – Martial
 Gazon maudit (1995, directed by Josiane Balasko) (starring Victoria Abril, Josiane Balasko, Alain Chabat) (Nominated – César Award for Best Supporting Actor) – Antoine
 Les Misérables (1995, directed by Claude Lelouch) (starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Michel Boujenah) – Le gentil voyou / Kind Hoodlum
 Les drôles de Blackpool (1995, directed by Peter Chelsom) (starring Oliver Platt, Oliver Reed) – Battiston
 La Cité des enfants perdus (1995, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro) (starring Ron Perlman, Judith Vittet) – Ex-Acrobat
 Les Milles (le train de la liberté) (1995, directed by Sebastien Grall) (starring Philippe Noiret, Rüdiger Vogler) – Capt. Moinard
 Lumière et compagnie (1995, directed by Lasse Hallström, Abbas Kiarostami) (starring Pernilla August, Romane Bohringer) – (segment "Claude Lelouch")
 Let's Hope it Lasts (1996, directed by Michel Thibaud) (starring Gérard Darmon, Catherina Jacob, Emmanuelle Seigner) – Joseph Ponty
 Hommes, femmes, mode d'emploi (1996, directed by Claude Lelouch) – Toc Toc, Loulou's Father
 Le Plus Beau Métier du monde (1996, directed by Gérard Lauzier) (starring Gérard Depardieu, Michèle Laroque) – Baudouin
 La chasse au rhinocéros à Budapest (1997, directed by Michael Haussman) (starring Nick Cave) – Alcoholic Man
 Amour et confusions (1997, directed by Patrick Braoudé) (starring Patrick Braoudé, Kristin Scott Thomas) – The sexologist
 Que la lumière soit (1998, directed by Arthur Joffe) (starring Hélène de Fougerolles, Tchéky Karyo) – L'ange René
 Prison à domicile (1998, directed by Christophe Jacrot) (starring Jean-Roger Milo, Hélène Vincent) – Jules Klarh
 Le sourire du clown (1998, directed by Eric Besnard avec Bruno Putzulu) – Ian
 Le schpountz (1999, directed by Gérard Oury) (starring Smaïn, Sabine Azéma) – Oncle Baptiste
 Les Acteurs (2000, directed by Bertrand Blier) (starring Pierre Arditi, Josiane Balasko) – Le clochard cul-de-jatte
 Most Promising Young Actress (2000, directed by Gérard Jugnot) (starring Gérard Jugnot, Bérénice Bejo, Chantal Lauby) – Un SDF
 Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain (2000, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet) (starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz) – L'homme dans la photo
 Philosophale (2001, directed by Farid Fedjer avec Yves Rénier)
 Le Barbier (2001, Short, directed by Jon Carnoy) (starring Ticky Holgado, François Levantal) – Le barbier
 Monsieur Batignole (2002, directed by Gérard Jugnot) (starring Gérard Jugnot, Jules Sitruk) – Lucien Morel
 3 zéros (2002, directed by Fabien Onteniente) (starring Samuel Le Bihan, Gérard Lanvin) – Angelo
 And now... Ladies and Gentlemen (2002, directed by Claude Lelouch) (starring Jeremy Irons, Patricia Kaas) – Boubou
 Station 137 (2002, directed by Bruno François-Boucher)
 Le temps du RMI (2002, directed by Farid Fedjer avec Laure Sainclair)
 Tais-toi ! (2003, directed by Francis Veber) (starring Jean Reno, Gérard Depardieu) – Martineau
 Les gaous (2003, directed by Igor Sekulic) – Jojo
 The Car Keys (2003, directed by Laurent Baffie) – Le chanteur du happy-end
 Les Parisiens (2004, directed by Claude Lelouch) (starring Massimo Ranieri, Maïwenn Le Besco) – Dieu
 Un long dimanche de fiançailles (2004, directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet) (starring Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel) – Germain Pire
 Le courage d'aimer'' (2005, directed by Claude Lelouch) – Dieu

References

External links

1944 births
2004 deaths
French male film actors
Deaths from lung cancer in France
Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery

Ticky Holgado


Magnificent Obsession is a 1929 novel by American author Lloyd C. Douglas. It was one of four of his books that were eventually made into blockbuster motion pictures, the other three being The Robe, White Banners and The Big Fisherman.

Plot summary
Robert Merrick is resuscitated by a rescue crew after a boating accident. The crew is thus unable to save the life of Dr. Hudson, a physician renowned for his ability to help people, who was having a heart attack at the same time on the other side of the lake.  Merrick then decides to devote his life to making up for the doctor's, and becomes a physician himself.

Mrs. Hudson, the widow, moves to Europe after her daughter Joyce is married. Merrick progresses in his career, and in the story's climax, gets involved in a railway accident in which Mrs. Hudson suffers serious injury. Merrick is instrumental in her recovery, and Merrick and Mrs. Hudson subsequently marry.

Inspiration

The story behind the novel, and the identity of the surgeon on whose life it is based, is mentioned in articles in the American Association of Neurosurgeons' journal AANS Neurosurgeon, Magnificent Obsession and "Inspirations and Epiphanies"

The theme of the book is based on a passage from the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 6:1-4):

"Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.....That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly."

The philosophy behind the book is also partly that of "pay it forward", the idea that good deeds received are not to be paid back to the doer of the deed, but to a needing person in the future.

Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal

Douglas later wrote a book in response to the flood of letters he received from readers who wanted to know where they could find the book to which he referred in the novel, Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal.  The Robert Merrick character decoded the journal, from which he learned the secret of his extraordinary success as a doctor. (According to the book, the secret was the literal practice of doing good deeds secretly, and thereby reaping spiritual power to use in becoming an excellent doctor.)

Adaptations

 Magnificent Obsession (1935), film directed by John M. Stahl
 Magnificent Obsession (1954), film directed by Douglas Sirk
 Sublime Obsessão (1958), series directed by Dionísio Azevedo
 Dr. Hudson's Secret Journal  1955-1957 television series.

External links
Magnificent Obsession available freely at the Project Gutenberg of Australia website.

1929 American novels
American novels adapted into films
American novels adapted into television shows
1929 debut novels

Magnificent Obsession


The Ediacaran biota are the fauna of the Ediacaran period. This geological period was from 635–542 million years ago, but the fossil biota was only from  575–542 million years ago. This was after a series of ice ages and just before the Cambrian period. The biota consists of soft-bodied multicellular organisms, probably animals, which left trace fossils in rocks of Ediacaran age.

The biota is quite unusual, and there is no sign of it in the earlier Marinoan glaciation. The biota appears to suffer a fairly severe extinction event at the boundary with the Cambrian. Some of the biota may have survived into the early Cambrian.

Interpretation
There have been several different interpretations of the biota. The standard view is that the traces are fossils of well-known phyla (Cnidaria, annelids, early arthropods) with body plans that disappeared before the Cambrian.p27

Quite different ideas have been put forward. Seilacher thought few if any of the forms belonged to living phyla. Conway Morris opposed this idea. Rentallak suggested the biota might be lichens.

As Narbonne explains, the Ediacaran biota occupies a critical position in the fossil record. Before them, for a long period of the Archaean and most of the Protoerozoic, the only fossils were those of bacteria and bacterial mats, a form of life which continues to the present day. The Ediacaran biota is found worldwide, and the most typical forms disappeared just before the Cambrian radiation, which begins with the 'small shelly fossils'. That is probably enough to justify the description of the change as an extinction event, though what caused it is not clear. One suggestion is that the evolution of animals which grazed upon the soft-bodied forms would have been sufficient to cause a collapse of the biota.

The biota was extremely varied, having many different body forms, and hence species. The ecology was benthic (sea bottom), in both shallow and deeper water. Narbonne notes the absence of different life and different depths, the apparent absence of burrowing organisms, and the absence of animals capable of preying on the soft-bodied forms. If these conditions changed, the soft forms would be in peril.p6

Assemblages
Ediacaran-type fossils are recognised globally in 25 localities, and a variety of depositional conditions, and are commonly grouped into three main types, named after typical localities. Each assemblage occupies its own habitat, and after a burst of diversification changes little for the rest of its existence.
 The Avalon-type assemblage is defined at Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve in Newfoundland, Canada, the oldest locality with a large quantity of Ediacaran fossils.
 Ediacara-type assemblage: the Ediacara-type assemblage consists of fossils preserved in areas near the mouths of rivers (prodeltaic). They are found in interbedded sandy and silty layers formed below the normal base of wave-related water motion, in waters shallow enough to be affected by wave motion during storms. Most fossils are preserved as imprints in microbial mats, but a few are preserved within sandy units.
 Nama-type assemblage: the Nama assemblage is best represented in Namibia. Three-dimensional preservation is most common, with organisms preserved in sandy beds containing internal bedding.

Significance of assemblages
In the White Sea region of Russia, all three assemblage types have been found close together. This, and the faunas' overlap in time, makes it unlikely that they represent evolutionary stages. Since they are found on all continents except Antarctica, geographical boundaries do not appear to be a factor. The same fossils are found at all palæolatitudes.

Probably the three assemblages mark organisms adapted to survival in different environments. An analysis of one of the White Sea fossil beds, where the layers cycle from continental seabed to inter-tidal to estuarine and back again a few times, found that a specific set of Ediacaran organisms was associated with each environment.

It is no surprise that not all environments are exploited. Of 92 possible modes of life — combinations of feeding style, tiering and motility — no more than a dozen are occupied by the end of the Ediacaran. Just four are represented in the Avalon assemblage. The lack of large-scale predation and vertical burrowing are perhaps the most significant factors limiting the ecological diversity; the emergence of these during the early Cambrian allowed the number of lifestyles occupied to rise to 30.

Related pages
Lagerstätte
Fezouata formation
Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve

References

Invertebrates
Lagerstätten
Ediacaran

Ediacaran biota


"The Face upon the Barroom Floor", aka "The Face on the Floor" and "The Face on the Barroom Floor", is a poem originally written by the poet John Henry Titus in 1872. A later version was adapted from the Titus poem by Hugh Antoine d'Arcy in 1887 and first published in the New York Dispatch.

History
According to d'Arcy, the poem was inspired by an actual happening at Joe Smith's saloon at Fourth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan. When it was reprinted in a d'Arcy collection, he wrote a preface explaining the confusion of the two titles:

Poem

Written in ballad form, the poem tells of an artist ruined by love; having lost his beloved Madeline to another man, he has turned to drink. Entering a bar, the artist tells his story to the bartender and to the assembled crowd. He then offers to sketch Madeline's face on the floor of the bar but falls dead in the middle of his work. Here is the full text:

'Twas a balmy summer's evening and a goodly crowd was there,
Which well-nigh filled Joe's barroom on the corner of the square,
And as songs and witty stories came through the open door
A vagabond crept slowly in and posed upon the floor.

"Where did it come from?" someone said, "The wind has blown it in."
"What does it want?" another cried, "Some whiskey, rum or gin?"
"Here Toby, sic him, if your stomach is equal to the work —
I wouldn't touch him with a fork, he's as filthy as a Turk."

This badinage the poor wretch took with stoical good grace;
In fact, he smiled as though he thought he'd struck the proper place.
"Come boys, I know there's kindly heart among so good a crowd —
To be in such good company would make a deacon proud."

"Give me a drink — that's what I want — I'm out of funds you know;
When I had cash to treat the gang, this hand was never slow.
What? You laugh as though you thought this pocket never held a sou:
I once was fixed as well my boys, as anyone  of you."

"There thanks, that's braced me nicely; God Bless you one and all;
Next time I pass this good saloon, I'll make another call.
Give you a song? No, I can't do that, my singing days are past;
My voice is cracked, my throat's worn out, and my lungs are going fast.

"Say, give me another whiskey, and I'll tell you what I'll do —
I'll tell you a funny story and a fact I promise too.
That I was ever a decent man, not one of you would think;
But I was, some four or five years back. Say, give me another drink.

"Fill 'er up, Joe, I want to put some life into my frame —
Such little drinks, to a bum like me are miserably tame;
Five fingers! — there, that's the scheme — and corking whiskey too.
Well, here's luck, boys; and landlord, my best regards to you.

"You've treated me pretty kindly, and I'd like to tell you how
I came to be the dirty sot, you see before you now.
As I told you once, was a man with muscle, frame and health,
And, but for a blunder, ought to have made considerable wealth.

"I was a painter — not one that daubed on bricks or wood,
But an artist, and for my age I was rated pretty good,
I worked hard at my canvas and was bidding fair to rise,
For gradually I saw the star of fame before my eyes.

"I made a picture, perhaps you've seen, 'tis called the 'Chase of Fame.'
It brought me fifteen hundred pounds and added to my name.
And then I met a woman — now comes the funny part —
With eyes that petrified my brain, and sunk into my heart.

"Why don't you laugh? 'Tis funny, that the vagabond you see
Could ever love a woman and expect her love for me;
But 'twas so, and for a month or two, her smiles were freely given,
And when her loving lips touched mine it carried me to heaven.

"Did you ever see a woman for whom your soul you'd give,
With a form like the Milo Venus, too beautiful to live;
With eyes that would beat the Koh-i-noor, and a wealth of chestnut hair?
If so, 'twas she, for there never was another half so fair.

"I was working on a portrait, one afternoon in May,
Of a fair haired boy, a friend of mine, who lived across the way.
And Madeline admired it, and much to my surprise,
Said she'd like to know the man that had such dreamy eyes.

"It didn't take long to know him, and before the month had flown
My friend had stolen my darling, and I was left alone.
And, ere a year of misery had passed above my head.
The jewel I had treasured so had tarnished, and was dead.

"That's why I took to drink, boys. Why, I never saw you smile,
I thought you'd be amused, and laughing all the while.
Why, what's the matter friend? There's a teardrop in your eye.
Come, laugh like me; 'tis only babes and women that should cry.

"Say boys, if you give me just another whiskey, I'll be glad,
And I'll draw right here a picture, of the face that drove me mad.
Give me that piece of chalk with which you mark the baseball score —
And you shall see the lovely Madeline upon the barroom floor.

Another drink, and with chalk in hand, the vagabond began,
To sketch a face that well might buy the soul of any man.
Then, as he placed another lock upon that shapely head,
With a fearful shriek, he leaped and fell across the picture — dead!

Adaptations and cultural legacy
Keystone Studios used the poem as the basis for the 1914 short film The Face on the Barroom Floor starring Charles Chaplin.

In the 1941 film Louisiana Purchase, Bob Hope conducts a Senate filibuster which ends with his reading the entire poem while drawing a picture on the floor.

In Mad #10 (April 1954), the poem was illustrated by Jack Davis and Basil Wolverton, the latter doing a face that is kin to his "Lena the Hyena" .

The poem was put to song by country music stars Tex Ritter for his 1959 Blood on the Saddle album and Hank Snow on his Tales of the Yukon album (1968).

The poem was the inspiration for The Face on the Barroom Floor painting by Herndon Davis in the Teller House Bar in Central City, Colorado, and that painting inspired a chamber opera by Henry Mollicone.

The title is mentioned in the lyrics of the Paul Francis Webster's song "It's Harry I'm Planning to Marry" (from the 1953 Warner Bros. musical Calamity Jane), despite the fact that it is set in Deadwood, 1876, which actually predates the poem by some 11 years. The song is delivered by the character Katie Brown (Allyn McLerie), who sings:
He's the one that I truly adore.
I'm numb,
I succumb
When he renders the face on the barroom floor.

The poem is mentioned as a screen test for Jeannie in the TV sitcom I Dream of Jeannie (season 1, episode 9).

The poem is specifically referenced in the last verse of "The Mount Holyoke Drinking Song":
The face upon the barroom floor
I'd rather be than dull once more.
We're here,
Bring on the beer.
Who cares tonight? We'll be sober tomorrow.
Here's a toast to old MHC!

This version of the poem was also performed by the vocal group The Blazers on their album Drinking Songs Sung Under the Table released by ABC/Paramount in 1959

In the 1970 rock tour film Mad Dogs & Englishmen, starring Joe Cocker and Leon Russell, the band, family, friends, and crew have a large picnic in a field in or near Tulsa, Oklahoma. Road manager Sherman "Smitty" Jones recites the last several verses of "The Face Upon the Barroom Floor" from memory for the surprised picnickers (those shown on camera including Carl Radle, Bobby Keys, and Joe Cocker), without telling them what it is. When he is done the camera follows him off to the side of the gathering, where one woman names the poem. Smitty says, "Glad someone recognized it." (In the song Leon Russell wrote memorializing the tour, "The Ballad of Mad Dogs & Englishmen," which plays during the film credits, Russell sings, "The bus is here, bring the beer. Sherman's reading Shakespeare," though the poem is of course not by Shakespeare.)

References

Listen to
"THE FACE ON THE BARROOM FLOOR" by THOMAS J. McCARTHY JR
The Face on the Barroom Floor read by Franklyn MacCormack
The Face Upon the Barroom Floor performed by storyteller Chris Abair
"The Face Upon the Barroom Floor" recited in part in the film Mad Dogs & Englishmen

"The Face On The Barroom Floor" Begum - 1997

External links
Image of the face with text of poem

1872 poems
Poems adapted into films

The Face upon the Barroom Floor


Philip Lane is an English composer and musicologist. He is noted for his light music compositions and arrangements, as well as his painstaking work reconstructing lost film scores.

Biography
Born in Cheltenham, he attended Pate's Grammar School and later read music at Birmingham University, where his tutors included Peter Dickinson and John Joubert. Whilst at University he developed a considerable interest in Lord Berners, about whom he wrote a thesis and ultimately became a trustee of the Berners Estate, overseeing the completion of all Berners' music on to CD. He taught music at Cheltenham Ladies' College from 1975 to 1998. During this time, he was a freelance composer for London publishers. He left Cheltenham Ladies' College in 1998 to concentrate on composing and his film restorations. In November 2010, Lane received an honorary Doctorate of Music from the University of Gloucestershire.

Compositions
Lane began composing at an early age, and by the time he was at Birmingham was already having compositions played by the BBC Midland Light Orchestra. Virtually all of his orchestral works have been commercially recorded and are currently available worldwide. These are often written in the style of British Light Music, being largely tonal and featuring lush orchestrations. For example, his London Salute was written to celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the BBC, and has been adopted as the unofficial theme of the BBC Concert Orchestra. Cheltenham Ladies' College commissioned a work to celebrate the centenary of its music department. The result was A Spa Overture first performed in July 1982.

Other lighter compositions include the Diversions on a Theme of Paganini, Cotswold Folk Dances, Divertissement for clarinet, harp and strings, A Maritime Overture, Prestbury Park, Three Spanish Dances and a number of works themed around the Christmas season - the three Wassail Dances (three orchestral extemporisations based on the Somerset Wassail, Yorkshire Wassail and the Gloucestershire Wassail), Overture on French Carols and Three Christmas Pictures (the latter a compilation of individual original works; the "Sleighbell Serenade", "Starlight Lullaby" and the "Christmas Eve Waltz"). In December 2009 he was commissioned by the Boston Pops Orchestra to write their annual Holiday Pops work, The Christmas Story, which received 38 performances.

In addition, in 2007 Lane composed a setting of The Night before Christmas for narrator and orchestra, the commercial recording of which featured Stephen Fry as the narrator. Concert performances have taken place worldwide including the US and Asia.  The sequel - Another Night before Christmas to a text by Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy - was premiered in Liverpool in December 2009 with narrators Dame Joan Bakewell and Simon Bates.  This was commercially released by Naxos in November 2011 with Simon Callow as narrator.

Lane's compositions for television have included BBC drama including The Merchant of Venice and Sir Thomas More and the children's animated series Captain Pugwash. He has since composed the music for three other TV animation series - Tom,  Marco and Gina and Wicked!. In 2005, he composed a ballet, Hansel and Gretel, for the National Youth Ballet.

Film score reconstruction
After being invited to look after the estate of Richard Addinsell in 1993, Lane began a new career reconstructing lost film scores of Addinsell's, the first being Goodbye, Mr Chips, and later the full Warsaw Concerto amongst others, the originals of which had been destroyed by the studios as was common practice at the time. Lane has since performed similar rescue work on film scores such as The Quiet Man, The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes and Kind Hearts and Coronets by composers such as Malcolm Arnold, Georges Auric, William Alwyn, Arthur Bliss, Francis Chagrin, Ernest Irving, Clifton Parker, Victor Young and many others.

Having perfect pitch, Lane reconstructs the original orchestrations by watching the original films repeatedly, listening to the original soundtrack recorded, often under character dialogue and sound effects. In the case of recent scores there are usually soundtrack CDs devoid of extraneous sounds to work from, but despite the change in status of film music, present day composers still mislay their scores. He has consequently reconstructed music by Jerry Goldsmith, Randy Edelman and James Horner. If the composers are still alive, the composer usually encourages them to do the reconstruction themselves, although so far, they have declined. He has since been asked to appear and write a number of radio documentaries about his reconstructions of film music.

References

Living people
Musicians from Cheltenham
English composers
Light music composers
Alumni of the University of Birmingham
Year of birth missing (living people)

Philip Lane (composer)