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For other uses, see Firestorm (disambiguation).
A Firestorm during the 1988 Yellowstone fires
A Firestorm during the 1988 Yellowstone fires

A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. The Yellowstone fires of 1988 together formed the largest Wildfire in the recorded history of the U It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires, forest fires, and wildfires. Ladysmith-RFSJPG|right|thumb| Ladysmith NSW RFS fire fighting tanker]]A Bushfire is a Fire that occurs in the bush (collective term for A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, Peat fire, The Great Peshtigo Fire and the Ash Wednesday fires are two examples of a firestorm. The October 8, 1871 Peshtigo Fire in Peshtigo Wisconsin, has the distinction of being the Conflagration that caused the most deaths by fire The Ash Wednesday fires were a Natural disaster that occurred in south-east Australia on 16 February 1983 Firestorms can also be deliberate effects of targeted explosives such as occurred as a result of the aerial bombings of Dresden, Tokyo and the atomic bombing of Hiroshima during World War II. An explosive material is a material that either is chemically or otherwise Energetically unstable or produces a sudden expansion of the material usually accompanied Firebombing is a Bombing technique designed to damage a target generally an urban area through the use of Fire, caused by Incendiary devices rather The Bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF and United States Army Air Force (USAAF between 13 February and 15 February 1945 12 weeks The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including

Contents

Mechanism of firestorms

A firestorm is created as a result of stack effect as the heat of the original fire draws in more and more of the surrounding air. Stack effect is the movement of air into and out of buildings Chimneys, Flue gas stacks, or other containers and is driven by Buoyancy. This draft can be quickly increased if a low level jet stream exists over or near the fire, or when an atmospheric temperature inversion cap is pierced by it. Jet streams are fast flowing relatively narrow air currents found at the Tropopause, the transition between the Troposphere (where temperature decreases In meteorology an inversion is a deviation from the normal change of an atmospheric property with altitude As the updraft mushrooms, strong gusty winds develop around the fire, directed inward. This would seem to prevent the firestorm from spreading on the wind, but for the fact that tremendous turbulence is also created by the strong updraft which causes the strong surface inflow winds to change direction erratically. This wind shear is capable of producing small tornado or dust devil like circulations called fire whirls which can also dart around erratically, damage or destroy houses and buildings, and quickly spread the fire to areas outside the central area of the fire. Wind shear, sometimes referred to as windshear or Wind gradient, is a difference in Wind speed and direction over a relatively A tornado is a violent rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a Cumulonimbus cloud or in rare cases the base of a Cumulus A dust devil is a strong well-formed and relatively long-lived whirlwind, ranging from small (half a meter wide and a few meters tall to large (over 10 meters wide and over A fire whirl, colloquially fire devil or fire tornado, is a phenomenon in which a Fire, under certain conditions (depending on air Temperature

The greater draft of a firestorm draws in greater quantities of oxygen which significantly increases combustion, thereby also substantially increasing the production of heat. The intense heat of a firestorm manifests largely as radiated heat (infrared radiation) which ignites flammable material at a distance ahead of the fire itself. Infrared ( IR) radiation is Electromagnetic radiation whose Wavelength is longer than that of Visible light, but shorter than that of

Besides the enormous ash cloud produced by a firestorm, under the right conditions, it can also induce condensation, forming a pyrocumulus cloud or "fire cloud". A pyrocumulus or fire cloud is a dense cumuliform cloud associated with fire or volcanic activity A large pyrocumulus can produce lightning, which can set off further fires. Apart from forest fires, pyrocumuluses can also be produced by volcanic eruptions. Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the

In Australia, the prevalence of eucalyptus trees that have oil in their leaves results in forest fires that are noted for their extremely tall and intense flame front. Eucalyptus (From Greek ευκάλυπτος meaning "well covered" is a diverse Genus of Trees (and a few shrubs the members of which Hence the bush fires appear more as a fire-storm than a simple forest fire.

Firestorms in wildfires

Firestorms often appear in thalwegs or crests or on plateaus. Thalweg (ˈtɑːlvɛg an English word compounded from the German elements Thal (since Duden 's orthography reform of 1901 written Tal In Geology and Earth science, a plateau, also called a high plateau or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting Warning signs include:

Some plants protect themselves from the heat of fire by two mechanisms: evapotranspiration, and the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC). Evapotranspiration (ET is a term used to describe the sum of Evaporation and Plant Transpiration from the earth's land surface to Atmosphere This article describes a highly specialized aspect of its subject in the "Terminology and legal definitions" section In case of drought, especially when the humidity is less than 30%, the emission of VOC is more important as evapotranspiration is drastically reduced. A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply Humidity is the amount of water vapor in the air In daily language the term "humidity" is normally taken to mean Relative humidity.

When a fire comes nearer, the emission of VOC is increased to fight the rise of temperature; at 170 °C, the rosemary plant emits 55 times more terpene than at 50 °C. Rosemary ( la Rosmarinus officinalis) is a woody perennial Herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. Terpenes are a large and varied class of Hydrocarbons, produced primarily by a wide variety of plants particularly Conifers though also by some insects such A temperature of 170 °C is considered a critical temperature, at which the emission of VOC can lead to an explosive mix with the air and thus to a flash over. Additionally, the fire itself emits pyrolysis gases that are not burnt, and that mix with the VOC; the explosive mix can be reached faster.

The topography has a complex influence. Topography ( topo-, "place" and graphia, "writing" is the study of Earth 's Surface features or those of Planets A closed relief, such as a small valley or a dry river, concentrates the heat and thus the emission of VOC, especially for rosemary, rockrose or Aleppo Pine. Rosemary ( la Rosmarinus officinalis) is a woody perennial Herb with fragrant evergreen needle-like leaves. The Cistaceae (or rock-rose family, rock rose family) is a rather small family of plants known for its beautiful shrubs vastly covered by Flowers at The Aleppo Pine ( Pinus halepensis) is a Pine native to the Mediterranean region. Contrarily, the kermes oak emits more VOC on an open relief such as plain or plateau. The Kermes Oak ( Quercus coccifera) is an Oak in the Turkey oak section ''Quercus'' sect

Other factors that influence the occurrence of a firestorm are the natural heat, especially above 35 °C in the shadow, a humidity less than 30% and no strong wind. These conditions are met in climates such as Mediterranean forests. Mediterranean forests woodlands and shrub is a temperate Biome, characterized by hot dry summers and mild and rainy winters

The firestorms can be classified in several types:

Firestorms in cities

The same underlying combustion physics can also apply to man-made structures such as cities.

Firestorms are thought to have been part of the mechanism of large urban fires such as the Great Fire of Rome, the Great Fire of London, the 1871 Great Chicago Fire, and the fires resulting from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. According to the historian Tacitus, the Great Fire of Rome started on the night of 18 July in the year AD 64, among the shops clustered around the This article is about the Great Fire of 1666 For other great fires in London see Early fires of London or Second Great Fire of London. The Great Chicago Fire was a Conflagration that burned from Sunday October 8 to early Tuesday October 10 1871 killing hundreds and destroying about four square miles in The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 1158 on the morning of September 1, 1923. Firestorms were also created by the firebombing raids of World War II in cities like Tokyo, Kobe, Hiroshima, Hamburg and Dresden. Firebombing is a Bombing technique designed to damage a target generally an urban area through the use of Fire, caused by Incendiary devices rather World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including On March 17, 1945, 331 American B-29 bombers launched a Firebombing attack against the city of Kobe, Japan. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at The large port city of Hamburg, Germany, was very heavily bombed many times by the Royal Air Force (RAF and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF during The Bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF and United States Army Air Force (USAAF between 13 February and 15 February 1945 12 weeks

City / Event Date of the firestorm Notes
Great Fire of London 2 September 1666 - 5 September 1666 Most of the City of London, (known as the "Square Mile"), this affected a much smaller area than that covered by modern London. This article is about the Great Fire of 1666 For other great fires in London see Early fires of London or Second Great Fire of London. Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. For London as a whole see the main article London. The City of London is a geographically
1871 Great Chicago Fire
Peshtigo Fire
Port Huron Fire		 8 October 1871 Hundreds killed in Chicago from 8 October to 10 October; up to 2,500 killed in Peshtigo, Wisconsin; others killed in similar fires in Holland and Manistee, Michigan. The Great Chicago Fire was a Conflagration that burned from Sunday October 8 to early Tuesday October 10 1871 killing hundreds and destroying about four square miles in The October 8, 1871 Peshtigo Fire in Peshtigo Wisconsin, has the distinction of being the Conflagration that caused the most deaths by fire The Port Huron Fire of Sunday October 8 1871 (one of a series of fires known collectively as the Great Fire of 1871 or the '''Great Michigan Fire''' Events 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Chicago (ʃɪˈkɑːgoʊ is the largest City by population in the state of Illinois and the American Midwest of the United States. Peshtigo is a city in Marinette County, Wisconsin, United States. Holland is a city in the western region of the Lower Peninsula of the U Manistee is a city in the US state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 6586
1923 Great Kantō earthquake 1 September 1923 140 000 dead, most of them in firestorms in Tokyo and the port city of Yokohama. The struck the Kantō plain on the Japanese main island of Honshū at 1158 on the morning of September 1, 1923. Events 462 - Possible start of first Byzantine indiction cycle. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. officially, is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshū. is the capital of Kanagawa Prefecture, located in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshū and is a major commercial hub of the Greater Tokyo Area Total damages amounted to 40% of the GNP of that year.
Hamburg (Germany) 27 July 1943 45,000 dead
Kassel (Germany) 23 October 1943 10,000 dead
Braunschweig (Germany) 15 October 1944 2,600 dead
Darmstadt (Germany) 11 September 1944 12,300 dead
Heilbronn (Germany) 6 December 1944 6,500 dead
Dresden (Germany) 13 February 1945 35,000 dead
Pforzheim (Germany) 23 February 1945 17,000 dead
Tokyo (Japan) 9 March 1945 120,000 dead
Würzburg (Germany) 16 March 1945 5,000 dead
Kobe (Japan) 17 March 1945 8,841 dead
Hiroshima (Japan) 6 August 1945 100,000+ dead
Oakland Firestorm of 1991 20 October 1991 25 dead, $1. The large port city of Hamburg, Germany, was very heavily bombed many times by the Royal Air Force (RAF and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF during Events 1214 - Battle of Bouvines: In France, Philip II of France defeats John of England. Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The city of Kassel in Germany was severely bombed during World War II and more than 10000 civilians died during these raids Events 4004 BC - Creation of the world begins according to the calculations of Archbishop James Ussher 42 BC - Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Bombing of Braunschweig (or Brunswick) in World War II on the night of 14/15 of October 1944 by No Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Darmstadt was bombed a number of times during World War II. The most devastating air raid on Darmstadt occurred on the night of 11/12 September 1944 when No Events 9 - The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest ends 506 - The Bishops of Visigothic Gaul Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. During World War II, the German city of Heilbronn was bombed many times by both the British and the Americans. Events 1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary 1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The Bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF and United States Army Air Force (USAAF between 13 February and 15 February 1945 12 weeks Events 1258 - Baghdad falls to the Mongols, and the Abbasid Caliphate is destroyed Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar During the latter stages of World War II, Pforzheim, a town in southwestern Germany, was bombed a number of times Events 1455 - Traditional date for the publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western Book printed from Movable Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar During World War II, on 16 March 1945 89% of the Würzburg was laid to ruins by a British Royal Air Force bombing raid Events 597 BC - Babylonians capture Jerusalem, replace Jehoiachin with Zedekiah as king Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar On March 17, 1945, 331 American B-29 bombers launched a Firebombing attack against the city of Kobe, Japan. Events 45 BC - In his last victory Julius Caesar defeats the Pompeian forces of Titus Labienus and Pompey the Younger Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at Events 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada. Year 1945 ( MCMXLV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar The Oakland Firestorm of 1991 was a large urban fire that occurred on the hillsides of northern Oakland California and southeastern Berkeley on Sunday October Events 1740 - Maria Theresa takes the throne of Austria. France, Prussia, Bavaria and Saxony Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. 5 billion in damages
2003 Canberra bushfires 16 January 2003 4 dead, 500 houses destroyed

Early in World War II many British cities were firebombed, a particularly notable raid was the Coventry Blitz on 14 November 1940. The Canberra bushfires of 2003 caused severe damage to the outskirts of Canberra, the Australian capital city Events 27 BC - The title Augustus is bestowed upon Gaius Julius Caesar Octavian by the Roman Senate. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The Coventry blitz was a series of Bombing raids ( blitzes that took place in the English City of Coventry. Events 1533 - Conquistadors from Spain under the leadership of Francisco Pizarro arrive in Cajamarca, Inca During the Coventry Blitz the Germans pioneered several innovations which were to influence all future strategic bomber raids during the war. Strategic bombing during World War II was greater in scale than any wartime attack the world had previously witnessed [1] These were: The use of pathfinder aircraft with electronic aids to navigate, to mark the targets before the main bomber raid; The use of high explosive bombs and air-mines (blockbuster bombs) coupled with thousands of incendiary bombs intended to set the city ablaze. Blockbuster or cookie was the name given to several of the largest conventional Bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF The first wave of follow-up bombers dropped high explosive bombs, the intent of which was knock out the utilities (the water supply, electricity network and gas mains), and to crater the road - making it difficult for the fire engines to reach fires started by the follow-up waves of bombers. The follow-up waves dropped a combination of high explosive and incendiary bombs. There were two types of incendiary bombs: those made of magnesium and those made of petroleum. Magnesium (mægˈniːziəm is a Chemical element with the symbol Mg, Atomic number 12 Atomic weight 24 Petroleum ( L petroleum, from Greek πετρέλαιον, lit The high explosive bombs and the larger air-mines were not only designed to hamper the Coventry fire brigade, they were also intended to damage roofs, making it easier for the incendiary bombs to fall into buildings and ignite them. Blockbuster or cookie was the name given to several of the largest conventional Bombs used in World War II by the Royal Air Force (RAF

Arthur Travers Harris, commander of RAF Bomber Command, wrote after the war "Coventry was adequately concentrated in point of space [to start a firestorm], but all the same there was little concentration in point of time",[2] so a firestorm was not ignited. RAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAF 's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968 It would not be until later in the war when "Bomber" Harris and the RAF managed sufficient concentration of bombers over one target close to simultaneously that a fire storm could be ignited. For example during the Dresden raid on February 13 1945, first attack was carried out entirely by No. 5 Group, using their own low-level marking methods and tactics. The Bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF and United States Army Air Force (USAAF between 13 February and 15 February 1945 12 weeks No 5 Group (Motto "Undaunted") was a Royal Air Force bomber group of the Second World War, led during the latter part (February 1943 The pathfinders marked the Ostragehege stadium as the initial aiming point and each bomber fanned out from that point releasing their bombs at slightly different preassigned times on slightly different preassigned trajectories. Ostragehege is a multi-use sports areal in Dresden, Germany. The currently mostly used part is the Heinz-Steyer-Stadion. The first bombs of No. 5 Group were released at 22:14 (CET) with all but one bomber releasing all their bombs within two minutes. Central European Time ( CET) is one of the names of the Time zone that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. The fan shaped area of destruction that the 244 Lancaster bombers created was one and a quarter miles long and at its extreme about one and three quarters miles wide. [3][4] This raid by the RAF, with follow up raids by more RAF bombers and bombers of the USAAF, caused one of the most devastating and famous firestorms in history.

Nuclear weapons can also create firestorms in urban areas. A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from Nuclear reactions either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. This was responsible for a large portion of the destruction at Hiroshima. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nuclear attacks near the end of World War II against the Empire of Japan by the United States at

See also

References

  1. ^ Taylor, Fredrick; Dresden Tuesday 13 February 1945, Pub Bloomsbury (First Pub 2004, Paper Back 2005). A wildfire, also known as a wildland fire, forest fire, brush fire, vegetation fire, grass fire, Peat fire, ISBN 0-7475-7084-1. Page 118
  2. ^ Harris, Arthur "Bomber Offensive; (First edition Collins 1947) Pen & Sword military classics 2005; ISBN 1-84415-210-3. Page 83
  3. ^ RAF: Bomber Command: Dresden, February 1945.
  4. ^ Taylor, Fredrick; Dresden Tuesday 13 February 1945, Pub Bloomsbury (First Pub 2004, Paper Back 2005). ISBN 0-7475-7084-1. pp. 277-288

Further reading

Dictionary

firestorm

-noun

  1. A fire whose intensity is greatly increased by inrushing winds
  2. An intense or violent response
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