Skip to Content

Winds Fan The Flames For Better Or Worse

Fire is a chemical process. Three things are needed for this process: oxygen or air, heat, and fuel.

Our local mountains have plenty of fuel in dry brush. As the wind picks up across the terrain, it drives the fire to grow.

The most dangerous situation is wind sheering off the mountain, pushing the fire into neighboring towns. We saw that with the Sawtooth Fire.

As the flames spread across Pioneertown, the concern was if northwest wind would blow the fire down into Morongo Valley.

We’ve also seen wind jump flames across a gully, cutting off the escape route for fire crews. Tragically, we saw this with the Esperanza Fire.

There are times the wind can help during a firefight.

In Big Bear, we saw a fire climbing up the mountain. The winds changed direction and blew the fire back on itself.

When there are Santa Ana winds, firefighters say they have a pretty good idea of where the fire will go, what it will do, and where they can put some control lines.

Article Topic Follows: News

Jump to comments ↓

KESQ News Team

BE PART OF THE CONVERSATION

News Channel 3 is committed to providing a forum for civil and constructive conversation.

Please keep your comments respectful and relevant. You can review our Community Guidelines by clicking here

If you would like to share a story idea, please submit it here.

Skip to content