An uncontrolled wildfire in Southern California threatened thousands of homes and businesses on Sunday, after quadrupling in size Saturday to over 17,000 acres and forcing mandatory evacuation orders for over 11,000 people.
As firefighters struggle to contain the blaze, known as the Line fire, in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains, they are dealing with a dangerous heat wave that is expected to affect Southern California and part of the Southwest until at least Monday.
Some of the problematic weather conditions were created by the fire itself.
“The fire itself helped spawn its own thunderstorms,” said Dave Munyan, a meteorologist at the San Diego office of the National Weather Service.
“Most of the aviation-based fire tactics had to be suspended yesterday due to the lightning.” The phenomenon is called a pyrocumulonimbus, or fire-generated storm.
The blaze roaring across the earth’s surface generates heat that rises into the air, Mr. Munyan said, and if enough moisture is present, generates a thunderstorm.
Not only do such storms hamper firefighting, but they can even cause new blazes by producing dry lightning.
The late-summer heat wave worsening the Line fire is raising the risk of more fires.
On Sunday, the region stretching from the Pacific coast to the mountains northwest of Los Angeles, including parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties, was under a red flag warning.
That is the highest National Weather Service alert for conditions — warm temperatures, low humidity and high winds — that may result in extreme fire behavior.
After growing to over 17,000 acres on Saturday and requiring the mandatory evacuation of over 11,000 people, an uncontrolled wildfire in Southern California on Sunday threatened thousands of homes and businesses.
Firefighters are battling a deadly heat wave that is predicted to impact Southern California and a portion of the Southwest until at least Monday as they work to contain the Line fire, which is burning in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains.
A number of additional difficulties were also mentioned by Christopher Prater, a firefighter and public information officer with San Bernardino County Fire: winds and “erratic fire behavior” caused by thunderstorms; drones that appeared to be operated by civilians and required firefighters to ground their aircraft multiple times yesterday; and scarce resources as a result of the numerous wildfires raging across the Western United States.
The fire itself was partially responsible for the unfavorable weather.
According to Dave Munyan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in San Diego, “the fire itself helped spawn its own thunderstorms.”. Because of the lightning yesterday, the majority of aviation-based fire tactics had to be discontinued. “.
We refer to this phenomenon as a pyrocumulonimbus, or storm generated by fire. According to Mr. Munyan, heat from the fire rising through the earth’s surface causes airborne heat waves, which, in the presence of sufficient moisture, can result in thunderstorms. These storms not only make fighting fires more difficult, but they also have the potential to start new ones by releasing dry lightning.
There’s a greater chance of more fires because of the heat wave that’s exacerbated the Line fire in late summer.
Red flag warnings were in effect on Sunday for an area that included portions of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties and stretched from the Pacific coast to the mountains northwest of Los Angeles. This is the highest alert level issued by the National Weather Service for conditions that could lead to extreme fire behavior, such as warm temperatures, low humidity, and strong winds.
