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List of wildfire behaviors

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The following is a list of different types of wildfire behaviors. Many types of fire behaviors are known, but some still not fully understood.[improper synthesis?]

List of fire behaviors
Name Description Examples Notable Occasions
Flammagenitus cloud A dense cumuliform cloud associated with fire or a volcanic eruption.[1] Includes the pyrocumulus and the larger pyrocumulonimbus(Cumulonimbus Flammagenitus).[2]
A Pyrocumulus cloud created by the Boise Fire (2024).
 Many
Cumulonimbus flammagenitus/pyrocumulonimbus A type of cumulonimbus cloud that forms above a heat source, typically a wildfire or volcano.[3] Pyrocumulonimbus clouds can produce lightning, hail, erratic winds, and even tornadoes. However, they are not typically associated with significant precipitation. Typically indicative of intense fire activity.[4]
A pyrocumulonimbus cloud created by the Creek Fire (2020). This photo is from the United States Forest Service, with no provided date.
Satellite imagery of the Creek Fire cumulonimbus cloud. Taken by MODIS on September 5, 2020.
 Dixie Fire[5]

Creek Fire (2020)[6]

2019–20 Australian bushfire season[7]

Carr Fire[8]

Plume-dominated fire behavior This occurs when the fire's behavior is mostly controlled by winds generated by the fire's own plume.[9] This could lead to erratic conditions such as a column collapse and rapid runs.[10]
Typical appearance of a plume-dominated fire. This picture was taken at the Silver Fire in Oregon in 1987.
 Many
Running This occurs when the head of the fire rapidly advances, along with an increase in fire intensity and rate of spread.[9] May pose a danger to firefighters. N/A North Complex Fire[11]

Dixie Fire[12]

Spotting Spotting refers to the transport of burning pieces of firebrand by wind which may ignite new fires beyond the main fire.[13] Spotting requires wind, and the firebrand often comes from a torching tree. There are two types of spotting: short-range spotting and long-range spotting. Short-range spotting occurs when the spot fire is not very far from the main fire, so it gets overrun. In long-range spotting, firebrands are often carried by a convection column away from the main fire area.[14]
Diagram of how spotting occurs and the factors contributing to spotting
 Many
Torching This occurs when the fire burns the foliage of trees from the bottom up.[9] Occurs in crown fires, and tends to reinforce or increase the rate of spread. May lead to spotting.[15]
Picture of trees being torched by a wildfire. Taken in the Tetlin National Wildlife Reserve in Alaska.
 Many
Creeping This occurs when the fire burns with a low flame and spreads slowly.[9] Typically easier to control than crown fires.
Typical appearance of a creeping fire.
 Many
Smoldering Smoldering(Smouldering in British English) is when a fire burns without much flame but with large amounts of smoke. It typically occurs after the flaming combustion phase. [9] Smoldering fires contribute significantly to carbon emissions. Some examples include peat fires, which can last for several months. Holdover fires are a type of smoldering fire.
A smouldering peat fire deep in the soil of the Great Dismal Swamp, on the border of Virginia and North Carolina
 Many
Fire whirl/Fire tornado/Firenado A spinning vortex column of ascending hot air and gases rising from a fire.[9] Fire whirls can range from less than a meter in diameter up to possibly 3 kilometers in diamater. This phenomenon can pose significant danger to wildland firefighters.[16]The terms fire whirl and fire tornado have often been used interchangeably to describe a vortex of any size or duration occurring in a wildfire. Only in recent years have scientists begun to distinguish types of vortices from one another, in particular highlighting the rare cases of actual pyro-tornadogenesis (or tornado formation during/due to a wildfire).
A fire tornado on the Park Fire.
 Park Fire[17]

Carr Fire[18] 2003 Canberra bushfires[19]

Loyalton Fire[20]

Creek Fire (2020)[21]

Counter-rotating vortex pair(CRVP/CVP) Two counter-rotating(one clockwise, one counterclockwise) vortices rotating around one another. May be dangerous to firefighters.[22]
A counter-rotating vortex pair produced by the Mill Fire in 2024. Note the bifurcated plume.
 El Dorado Fire[23]
Column collapse A column collapse occurs when the fire is no longer able to sustain its column, causing the column to collapse to the ground. It can send embers far from the fire past control lines and intensify the fire. This can pose a significant danger to firefighters.[24] N/A Thomas Fire[25]

June 2017 Portugal wildfires[26]

2017 Chile wildfires[26]


References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Pyrocumulus entry in the AMS Glossary". Archived from the original on 2022-12-19. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  2. ^ "Flammagenitus Types". Retrieved 2024-08-14.
  3. ^ "Explanatory Remarks and Special Clouds". Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  4. ^ Fromm, Michael; Servranckx, René; Stocks, Brian J.; Peterson, David A. (2022). "Understanding the critical elements of the pyrocumulonimbus storm sparked by high-intensity wildland fire". Communications Earth & Environment. 3 (1): 243. Bibcode:2022ComEE...3..243F. doi:10.1038/s43247-022-00566-8. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  5. ^ "Pyrocumulonimbus clouds with lightning produced by the Dixie Fire in California". 19 July 2021. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  6. ^ "California's Creek Fire Creates Its Own Pyrocumulonimbus Cloud". 8 September 2020. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  7. ^ Peterson, David A.; Fromm, Michael D.; McRae, Richard H. D.; Campbell, James R.; Hyer, Edward J.; Taha, Ghassan; Camacho, Christopher P.; Kablick, George P.; Schmidt, Chris C.; Deland, Matthew T. (2021). "Australia's Black Summer pyrocumulonimbus super outbreak reveals potential for increasingly extreme stratospheric smoke events". npj Climate and Atmospheric Science. 4 (1): 38. Bibcode:2021npCAS...4...38P. doi:10.1038/s41612-021-00192-9. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  8. ^ "Carr Fire pyrocumulonimbus in California". 27 July 2018. Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  9. ^ a b c d e f "NWCG Glossary of Wildland Fire". Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  10. ^ "Plume-Dominated Fire Safety". Retrieved 2024-08-15.
  11. ^ "Timelapse Shows North Complex Fire's 'Historic Run' Toward Oroville in California's Butte County". Retrieved 2024-08-17.
  12. ^ "The Dixie Fire Has Destroyed Most Of A Historic Northern California Town". Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  13. ^ "Quantifying rare events in spotting: How far do wildfires spread?". Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  14. ^ "Crown Fire: Spotting Fire Behavior". Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  15. ^ "Stages of Crown Fire". Retrieved 2024-08-16.
  16. ^ "Fire Whirl Research". Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  17. ^ "Video shows a vortex form in the Park Fire smoke". Retrieved 2024-08-22.
  18. ^ Erdman, Jonathan (August 3, 2018). "The Giant Fire Whirl From California's Carr Fire Produced Damage Similar to an EF3 Tornado in Redding, an NWS Survey Found". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on 5 August 2018. Retrieved 16 February 2019.
  19. ^ McRae, Rick; Sharples, Jason; Wikles, Stephen; Walker, Alan (October 12, 2012). "An Australian pyro-tornadogenesis event" (PDF). Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  20. ^ "Loyalton Fire: Fire Tornado Forces Quick Action". storymaps.arcgis.com. National Weather Service Reno. January 29, 2021. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  21. ^ Selva, Jenn (September 24, 2020). "California's largest single wildfire spawned two massive firenados – one was an EF2". CNN. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  22. ^ "El Dorado Incident Counter Rotating Vortex Pair". storymaps.arcgis.com. April 20, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  23. ^ "Counter Rotating Vortex Pairs". YouTube. November 16, 2023. Retrieved August 30, 2024.
  24. ^ Condon, Michael (September 1, 2021). "The smoke column collapse — what is it and why is it such a concern?". Plumas News. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Time lapse shows 'fire cloud' collapsing in Thomas Fire". KSBW. December 14, 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
  26. ^ a b Fredenburgh, Jez (May 13, 2021). "How the biggest wildfires create their own weather". BBC. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
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