California is on fire. Pamela lived here as a little kid, and I’ve lived here for most of my adult life, and these past couple of years are like nothing either of us can remember. This year’s Dixie Fire has grown to roughly half a million acres in size and is now generating its own weather patterns. And this means there are tendrils of fire reaching hundreds of feet into the air, and the fire-related cloud cover is reaching more than 40,000 ft into the air, essentially making a no-fly zone for even international planes that normally fly around 35,000 ft. These kinds of pyrocumulonimbus clouds can drive winds, generate lightning, and make fires worse instead of better. There are even fire whirls – essentially fire tornados – but instead of carrying off Dorothy to Oz, they simply cook whatever gets caught inside them.

Today, the Dixie fire is the second-largest wildfire in the history of California. It was triggered by PG&E equipment. Yes, California’s electrical company started more fires this year, by accident, and now some news reports are saying this fire will continue to burn until the weather changes and help from rain can be found. Unfortunately, drought conditions and a lowered water table mean we don’t know when that might happen.

More Information

Dixie fire generates fire whirl, pyrocumulonimbus cloud at 40,000 feet (Los Angeles Times)