Wildfires make their own weather, and that matters for fire management
New prediction tools zero in on how blazes throw embers and make weather that fans the flames
By
Laurel Hamers
6:00am, September 9, 2018
BIG BURN The Carr Fire, which has burned 930 square kilometers this summer, is one of the most destructive wildfires in California’s history.
Eric Coulter, Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
Wildfires are not known for their restraint. They’ll jump rivers, spew whirling dervishes of flames and double in size overnight.
Take the Carr Fire — one of California’s most destructive — sparked in mid-July when the rim of a flat tire met pavement. As the blaze grew, it jumped across the Sacramento River and sparked a flaming whirlwind that trapped and killed a firefighter near Redding. By the time it was fully contained on August 30, it had burned 930 square kilometers, destroyed more than 1,000 buildings, and killed seven people.
“Once these fires are spreading fast enough and intensely enough, you can’t stop them,†says Ruddy Mell, a combustion engineer with the U.S. Forest Service based in Seattle.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/wildfires-make-their-own-weather-and-matters-fire-management
