| Dear Reader, The question every county official at the Kincade Fire had to struggle with over the past week was: Where might the fire go next, and what areas do we need to evacuate? The fire was spreading rapidly on fierce winds, winds capable of hurling burning embers more than a mile out front of the leading edge of the flames. And on the other side of Highway 101 is bone-dry vegetation, old and dense after some 70 years without fire. Amid the critical, life-saving decisions officials must make in situations like that, one piece of information that would be extremely helpful is impossible to know: When burning embers are whirling around in a smoke plume, and carried away on a strong wind, where is a spark going to land and start a new fire? Right now, state-of-the-art fire technology can tell firefighters what will happen if the spark lands here, or there, but not whether it will land here, or there. Danielle Venton's story this week tells us why that is. |  |
Kat Snow
Senior Editor, Science
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| | | What You Need to Know: Sonoma County's Kincade Fire | |
| Check here for useful information regarding evacuation centers, closures and other resources. | | |
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| It's Hard to Predict Where an Ember Hurled From a Fire Might Land | | As extreme winds bore down on the Kincade Fire, fire meteorologists worked to understand as much as they could about where burning branches or sparks would land and ignite new fires. It's the hardest thing to predict about fire behavior. | | |
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| Here's What Makes the Winds Driving the Kincade Fire So Unusual | | 'I've never seen it happen this way in my 10 years forecasting on the California coast,' said one Bay Area meteorologist for the National Weather Service. | | |
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| Wildfires Reignite Old Trauma for Survivors of Previous Evacuations | | In fire-torn parts of the West, some people now safe still struggle emotionally when they again smell smoke or spot an orange haze in the sky. That's normal, say therapists. | | |
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| In California, Air Tanker Pilots Help Keep Wildfires at Bay | | As fires blaze across the state, California firefighters have called in some of the biggest air tankers for help. The giant jets are dumping a fire retardant, Phos-Chek, on the flames. | | |
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| | | Automakers Side With Trump Administration in Legal Fight With California |
| | | The automakers decided to intervene in the lawsuit over the issue of California's right to set standards. | | |
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| | | Greta Thunberg, Chastising Leaders, Turns Down Major Environmental Award and $52,000 |
| | | 'It is a huge honor,' the Swedish activist said of the Nordic Council Environment Prize. 'But the climate movement does not need any more awards.' | | |
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      | | FUNDING FOR KQED SCIENCE IS PROVIDED BY: The National Science Foundation, the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Vadasz Family Foundation, the Fuhs Family Foundation, Campaign 21 and the members of KQED. | | This email was sent to newsletter@newslettercollector.com | | Read on Web | | | KQED 2601 Mariposa St. San Francisco, CA 94110
Copyright © November 1, 2019 KQED. All Rights Reserved.  |
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