The Line Fire in Southern California is giving rise to massive billowing “fire clouds.”
The Line Fire in Southern California is giving rise to massive billowing “fire clouds.”
As a gray plume rises from the fire now spreading through the San Bernardino Mountains, water is condensing around bits of soot, causing clouds to form atop the towering column of smoke, as captured in satellite imagery from NASA.
These pyrocumulus clouds are generating wind, rain, hail, and lightning. On Saturday, officials recorded 3,700 lightning strikes inside the clouds over the Line Fire, as well as more than 280 strikes that hit the ground. Lightning from “fire clouds” can spark new blazes, making it harder to keep flames contained.
Read more at: Yale Environment 360
Clouds form from the smoke generated by the Line Fire, September 9, 2024. (Photo Credit: NASA)
