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| I explain them pretty much the same way. The areas of the Ranch Fire/Mendocino complex fire, largely resided on public land. The area was so horribly over grown that it was impassable on foot. Much private property was similar. The brush was in excess of 14 feet high. In a 20 MPH wind, that brush can be casting a flame nearly as long as a football field more in a higher wind. Some of these fires never crown and stay under 9 feet, sometimes under 4. Had it been prescribed burned over the years, it would not have been nearly as tall/thick and would not have gone nearly as fast. It is so bad that I cannot see where I am running the dozer. You cannot see through the brush as it is much higher than the dozer. Add to that unfamiliar terrain, crap photo copied topo maps, heavy smoke, and working in the dark and it is life threatening situation and every year several dozer operators die. Also, the topography of some of that area is straight up and straight down and not accessible.
Also these areas, Clear Lake, Paradise, Sonoma, are in draws that the wind compresses and accelerates through. I can run my propane forge on 15PSI. When it warms I may drop to ten. If I put a blower on it, I can drop to 2 PSI. Less fuel, more air, hotter fire. On this terrain we have more air, and more fuel. These fires preheat everything in front of them dropping moisture content of the material in front to single digits. That is less than your hay or firewood. Everything is just right.
Interestingly, when I watch them light back fires in these events, they cannot get them to ignite. Where we are at does not have the wind or the topography to drive the wind or fire.
Fire with even moderate brush and wind in such topography moves quickly and we can't get all the way around it due to steepness of terrain. Add to it heavy, heavy brush and and high winds and we are off to the races. We had frost this morning in Sonoma County and are under a red flag later today. It has little to do with temperature. In fact, when the Diablo or Santa Ana winds break through the inversion layer it is often a 60 something MPH wind but a wind 20- over 100 MPH. You're talking about fighting a fire in a hurricane.
The area around and in Paradise was built in a forest or on the edge of it. Look at the satellite image of these areas on Google Maps. The area behind us was white with dead debarked pine. I'm certain the pine that was planted after the 1964 fire was meant to be harvested but could not be due to permit restrictions. Yes the beetle is in there, but the variety of pine should have been harvest are 25-30 years and wasn't. Instead it was tinder on the ground. Paradise is similar. It was moving at 8 football fields a minute. Fast stuff.
On top of this, people build wooden fences up top their house, often out of cedar (simply a fuse), wooden decks are the kiss of death, wood stacks within 100 feet of a structure are a death knell, palm trees cast off flaming spears, wood chip landscaping is kindling, leaf debris, shrubs, bushes, and low trees to sheild homes from view/wind and ladders for fire. I did not see a single house in Paradise on the news that was defendable and I see this on every fire. Crews choose homes they have a shot at, not losers. Often embers go through vents and ignite the homes hours later. No one thinks about building a fire safe home.
Where I live, the fire burned straight lines across the pasture dividing the areas that were grazed and those that were mowed/hayed (we use a shock fence to divide. Very telling that a properly grazed area not only reduces fuel but enable the plants and soil to retain more moisture.
Much that has to do with these fires is mismanagement.
Thanks for asking. When ever I write about it I think more and become more aware and probably safer.
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California wild fires caused by global warming
