Investigators are still trying to understand what happened to the 19 firefighters who were killed last weekend in Arizona, while battling a wildfire. Climatewire’s Nathanael Massey explains how a dangerous-but-dealable blaze can quickly become something much more deadly. READ THE REST
Just a shout out to my local meteorology expert, Prof Cliff Mass at the UW here in Seattle. He covered this yesterday as well http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-yarnell-hill-fire-meteorological.html
Maybe one day we’ll realize that it’s all one big solar powered system, that everything we see, hear, feel, smell, touch, is all connected. If the weather was a factor in the intensity and intractability of the fire — of any fire — watching it through a meteorologist’s eyes should be required.
Strong winds at this fire unpredictable and random?
"You can see why I find this disaster so unsettling. Hours before the incident it was clear there was a real threat…satellite and radar showed developing convection to the north that was moving south towards the fire. High-resolution numerical models showed a threat. Were there any meteorologists working the fire? If not, why not? This terrible tragedy needs to be reviewed carefully.
A number of media outlets called the strong winds unpredictable and random. This is not correct, as shown by the information I provided above."
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