The All-Purpose Wildfire Thread

don't know why people wait for the last minute to get out of the way of these fires. When the wind is blowing, get out.

The Redding fire is not driven by stiff winds, as witnessed in Santa Rosa, the Oakland hills and other fatal California wildfires, he said. Instead, the fire created its own heat source, aided by an afternoon sun that baked the ground with air temperatures to 113 degrees.

As super-hot smoke ascends, it creates a wicked updraft — so strong it begins to rotate.

“It rises, stretches and spins, like a ballerina,” Swain said.

A 32-year-old Temecula man was charged Friday with intentionally starting nine fires, including a wildfire that has burned at least five homes and forced thousands to evacuate in the Riverside County mountains.