| quote | The second element needed for spot fires to occur is sufficient convective energy to carry the firebrands aloft. Typically the higher the embers are carried, the farther away from the fire front they will end up. Strong horizontal winds are capable of starting spot fires but these tend to be fairly close to the fire front, since the burning embers hit the ground pretty quickly in even the strongest winds. Convection columns, however, because they can lift burning fragments high into the atmosphere, can result in spot fires a considerable distance away. |