 Fire is the visible effect of a chemical reaction called combustion. Combustion produces heat and light through oxidation, which is the rapid combination of a specific substance with oxygen. We can see oxidation every day. The browning of the inside of an apple is an example of slow oxidation, as is the green color on copper. The Statue of Liberty was originally copper-colored, but oxidation turned the brownish metal to the green we recognize today. Rapid oxidation has much more immediate results. Fire occurs when oxidation is combined with combustible materials and high temperatures. When this process is particularly fast and violent, an explosion can be the result. Even so, combustion only occurs when the right conditions are present. Three components are required for combustion to take place. Air with at least 16% oxygen, fuel or combustible material, and a high temperature. These three components make up the fire triangle. Combustion cannot occur if one component is missing. So why is the fire triangle important? Fire can sometimes be dangerous and devastating to nature, wildlife and humans. When a forest is dry and surrounding air has little humidity, a large fire, such as the Los Conchus Fire of 2011, can grow very quickly and be difficult to stop. Firefighters can use the fire triangle to help extinguish fires. They can remove oxygen by smothering the fire with flame retardant, such as slurry dropped from planes. They can remove heat by cooling the fire with water, and they can remove fuel by digging a fire line or starting a backfire to starve the fire of fuel. While uncontrolled fires can be dangerous, natural fires are an important part of nature and can contribute to the Earth's natural life cycle. As more people move to wooded areas, understanding fire and combustion can help us prevent fire disasters.