MetaFilter posts tagged with bushfires

Firestorm 2003

rschram — Sun, 26 Oct 2003 15:04:00 -0800

Santa Ana Speeds the Spread of So Cal Fires
Five separate fires are burning in San Diego County, including several densely populated suburban areas. Dozens of homes have been burned. Marine Corps Air Station Miramar has been affected, including an FAA air traffic control installation. 16,000 people in the South Bay lost electricity when a major distribution line went down. Many San Diego firefighters went up to Camp Pendelton yesterday. (1, 2)

rschram — Mon, 21 Jan 2002 09:15:48 -0800

US Agency Says El Nino Pattern Emerging
Vanuatu decided this a few days earlier, and told its residents to start conserving water (1).
In 1997, a major El Nino pattern created droughts in the Pacific followed by floods toward the end of the year (1, 2). I think one can reasonably attribute fires in Australia to El Nino influenced dry spells and high temperatures (1). If you care to make your own predictions, the number to watch is the SOI.

rschram — Sun, 30 Dec 2001 18:38:06 -0800

"Acts of bastardry" are still going around Sydney.
Bad conditions help along the Christmas bushfires started by lightning and mad, wicked behaviour. (I certainly know what it's like.) But why did the fires spread so quickly? Didn't something like this happen in 1997? Is it very dry in southern Australia, or is it El Nino?!