Department of Geosciences, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2023 Sep 1;18(9):e0291026. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291026. eCollection 2023.
Although anthropogenic climate change is causing increased wildfire activity in the United States (US), humans are also an important ignition source. Humans cause a surge in wildfire ignitions every 4th of July (Independence Day in the US) through the use of fireworks. We examine the 4th of July peak in fireworks-caused wildfire ignitions and show that their spatial distribution varies but has been heavily concentrated in the west and north central US and predominantly on tribal lands. Further, we show that the weekly timing of the 4th of July influences both the number and weekly distribution structure of fireworks-caused ignitions. We interpret these weekly and daily-scale distribution patterns of fireworks-caused ignitions to reflect the influences of human behavioral variations, culture, and fireworks regulations. For example, our analysis suggests that weekends and religious days of rest (e.g., Saturday, Sunday) have a dampening effect on the number on wildfire ignitions due to fireworks, and that weekends and the timing of work holidays likely impact the weekly distribution of fireworks-caused ignitions. Additionally, comparisons of fireworks-caused ignitions before and after the 4th of July at the daily and weekly scale likely reflect the efficacy of firework sales regulations and human behavioral tendencies towards pre-holiday impulsiveness. Given the predictability of the fireworks-caused ignitions and rising costs of wildfire mitigation, these results have several important management and policy implications.
尽管人为气候变化导致美国（美国）的野火活动增加，但人类也是一个重要的点火源。人们通过使用烟花，在每年的 7 月 4 日（美国独立日）引发野火点火激增。我们检查了 7 月 4 日烟花引发的野火点火高峰，并表明它们的空间分布有所不同，但主要集中在美国西部和中北部，主要在部落土地上。此外，我们表明，7 月 4 日的每周时间安排会影响烟花引发的点火次数和每周分布结构。我们将这些每周和每日尺度的烟花引发点火分布模式解释为反映了人类行为变化、文化和烟花法规的影响。例如，我们的分析表明，由于烟花的原因，周末和宗教休息日（例如星期六、星期日）对野火点火数量有抑制作用，周末和工作假期的时间安排可能会影响烟花引发点火的每周分布。此外，在每日和每周尺度上比较 7 月 4 日前后的烟花引发点火，可能反映了烟花销售法规的有效性以及人类在假期前冲动的行为倾向。鉴于烟花引发的点火具有可预测性，以及野火缓解成本的上升，这些结果具有重要的管理和政策意义。
