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DPChallenge Forums >> Individual Photograph Discussion >> Southern California Wild Fires - Pyrocumulus Cloud
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09/01/2009 02:15:01 AM · #1
Here is a photograph I took today of the Pyrocumulus cloud from the "2009 La Cañada Wild Fires" in southern California, as seen from Anaheim, California (Orange County).

Normally, there are no clouds what-so-ever in the skies over southern California this time of the year. It's generally solid blue sky. Having said that, this pyrocumulus cloud really stands out and is visible for at least 90 kilometers away and probably many more km/miles.

This fire has been burning out-of-control for almost a week and fire authorities say that it may be a couple more weeks before containment is possible. As of today (31 Aug 2009) many residents have been evacuated as the fire threatens 12,000 homes. Also, as of the aforementioned date, 164 square miles have been burned.


09/01/2009 10:20:25 PM · #2
01-Sep-2009 03:11 GMT Firestorm Update:

- More than 127,000 acres have burned (~200 square miles)
- Fire is 22% contained
- South flank is giving the firefighters a challenge at this time

Here's an interactive Google map of this firestorm.

Here's a static map of what has burned.

Message edited by author 2009-09-01 22:20:32.
09/01/2009 10:29:16 PM · #3
Scary stuff going on over there.

I didn't realise that such clouds were called "Pyrocumulus". I took a photo of a similar cloud back in Feb when we had the fires here.



Though... this image didn't really capture the scale of the cloud.

Hope you and any other DPCer (and non DPCers for that matter) are alright.
09/02/2009 01:00:28 AM · #4
Way over here in Colorado the sun is a big red ball of fire as a result of all the smoke. No photos yet, maybe I'll try for one tomorrow on the way into work.
09/02/2009 01:11:51 AM · #5
Here's a photo (not from me) that was in the Orange County Register. It's of downtown Los Angeles with the "mushroom cloud" (Pyrocumulus Cloud) in the background.


09/02/2009 01:41:52 AM · #6
I grew up in La Canada....lived there for 37 years of my life...until I moved up here to Washington. I keep watching news feeds, I recognize all the names of the streets, very scary. I have alot of family and friends in the area. Everyone has had manadatory evacuations....and the smoke is terrible. The fire fighters are dong a terrific job at keeping everyone safe and I think only two homes have been lost. I always thought those hills would go up again (they burned in 1977 as well). They did start a back-fire last night and I have heard reports that it is working well. I always hated fire season in So. Cal..
09/02/2009 01:47:48 AM · #7
I have seen those in the last two years here in Eugene when they do field burning after grass season is over. However, this was the last year it was legal (lots of respiratory problems) so I don't think I'll see them much after this.
09/02/2009 10:36:04 AM · #8
Originally posted by vlado:

Scary stuff going on over there.

I didn't realise that such clouds were called "Pyrocumulus". I took a photo of a similar cloud back in Feb when we had the fires here.
...
Hope you and any other DPCer (and non DPCers for that matter) are alright.

Being down in Huntington Beach (about a 30-45 minute drive from the fires), I fortunately, am not directly threatened by the firestorms. Nonetheless, I'm sure there are DPCers that live much closer to the fires, if not directly in the fire zone. I hope all is well with those folks.

During last year's fire season, the Yorba Linda fire was much closer to my house and I was downwind from it. In fact, the sun was blocked by the smoke and I had a steady fall of ash all day, one day. As a swimming pool owner, I had a lot of work to do to keep the pool clean--constantly vacuuming the ash out of it every hour or two.

09/03/2009 04:52:36 PM · #9
.

Here's a collection of photographs from other photogs, showing the magnitude of this firestorm.

.


Message edited by author 2009-09-03 16:52:58.
09/03/2009 11:12:26 PM · #10
I was in LA today and everything looked surprisingly clear. Minor smoke/haze/smog, but nothing like these dramatic cloud photos. They're being very strict about access to the fire and burned areas. A friend of mine with a video press pass from a major national TV news station was detained when he tried to get close.

But last I heard, it wasn't two house burned, but 70-something. I also heard another fire broke out nearby this afternoon.
09/04/2009 02:45:36 AM · #11
Originally posted by geinafets:

I was in LA today and everything looked surprisingly clear. Minor smoke/haze/smog, but nothing like these dramatic cloud photos. They're being very strict about access to the fire and burned areas. A friend of mine with a video press pass from a major national TV news station was detained when he tried to get close.

But last I heard, it wasn't two house burned, but 70-something. I also heard another fire broke out nearby this afternoon.

There were two additional houses burned yesterday, for a total of 64. The fire increased in size by 3000 acres, which is a small increase when compared to previous days. I think the total acreage burned is about 147,000.

Today (or yesterday, if you're reading this late), the air wasn't as calm as earlier in the week, so no new pyrocumulus clouds formed.


09/11/2013 02:22:09 PM · #12
Pulling up an old thread for an update on California fires ... we had one locally which as of today is 70% contained -- I took this stitched panoramic three days ago, about three hours after the fire started.



I'll look for links to NASA satellite photos of the Rim Fire burning around Yosemite later ...
09/11/2013 02:42:09 PM · #13
Amazing, Paul. Even more amazing: 33 images????
09/11/2013 03:14:38 PM · #14
//epod.usra.edu/blog/2012/06/pyrocumulus-cloud-over-the-rockies.html The "High Park" fire. 65,000 acres burned west of Fort Collins, CO.

The "Fern Lake" fire in October - December 2012. //epod.usra.edu/blog/2012/10/fern-lake-fire-in-colorado.html

Small fire in RMNP. The "Big Meadows" fire of 2013.

Wildland fires create their own weather. These are terrifying events.

Message edited by author 2013-09-11 15:20:17.
09/11/2013 05:24:29 PM · #15
Originally posted by tanguera:

Amazing, Paul. Even more amazing: 33 images????

I'm pretty sure not all of the images I "submitted" were included in the final composite by the stitching software -- I was hoping there would be more sky, but there's no detail to match up there. This is a tiny version of the uncropped (un-cloned, just a tiny bit), unadjusted "original" ...

What's amazing is that my 12 year old computer using the default settings of free demo software was able to make that at all ...
09/11/2013 06:08:14 PM · #16
Progression of California's  Rim Fire

Progression of the Rim Fire at Night

After A Fire, Before A Flood
09/12/2013 12:07:31 PM · #17
Just how fast are wildfires?

This one's exceptionally fast - clearly some very lucky people to even have survived the defense attempt.
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