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Operational Awareness for Advanced Firefighters & Fire Behaviour Analysts | ||||||
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Operations staff must be wary of lee-slope eddies. They may appear rapidly, they may behave erratically, and they may produce intense fire behaviour. Established fire training indicates that after a wind-driven uphill run a fire will abate when it enters a downhill run, with wind and slope opposing. The uphill runs is where spotting is most likely to start, and a spotfire on the lee-slope should be mild. However, if a lee-slope eddy is present, that spotfire will experience a wind-driven uphill run, equally likely to produce spotting. Observations of extreme fires show that fires may leap-frog across complex landscapes as a series of such runs, making containment lines ineffective and jeopardising crew safety. Consideration should be given to issuing watchouts or Red Flag Warnings (Wind change). . |