Click for home pageEvent (2): Fire flank follows dog-leg around lee-slope.

Air Observer

Photo: Stephen Wilkes, Air Observer. 148.86°-35.30° looking ESE at about 3:00 AEDST on 18th January 2003.
In this photo the wind is blowing strongly away from the camera. The Blue Range is in the middle ground, with Uriarra Pine Plantation in the background. In the lee slope of the Blue Range a channelling event is driving the fire to the right. Note the intense convection there, compared with the more whispy smoke on the left-hand edge of the photo.
The fire edge moves away from the camera (in the lower-left corner), then makes a right-angle turn to move the the right, then makes another right-angle turn to move away from the camera again. This dog-leg configuration is diagnostic.
If observed again in, say, ten minutes, the edge moving away from the camera would have moved to the right, while the edge in the lee slope would still be anchored to the top of the slope.

Implications

Phenomenon Urgency Indicated Red Flag Warning
Dynamic channelling 3 6) Channelling event
Deep flaming zone ? 2) Conditions conducive to plume-driven fire

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This material arises from work carried out by the HighFire Risk Project.
Material prepared by R. McRae September 2009.