Years ago, I worked as a photojournalist in Southern California, and part of the gig was shooting the wildfires that raced through the tinder-dry brush. Once I photographed a fire in a small valley: the air grew very still, the fire seemed to stall, the valley grew hotter, and eventually, the the 12-foot high brush on the far side of the break superheated.
A single gust of wind blew down the ridgeline, and the whole far side of the canyon spontaneously ignited. Just like that. 300 feet of flames.
Which is why videos like this one of the Cascade Complex fire in Idaho still make the hair on the back of my neck stand up (found via the Western Watersheds Project blog — a worthwhile read).
[tags]fire, brush fire, wildfire, western watersheds project[/tags]
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