Wildfires: Fire Tornadoes and Air Quality

Fire Tornado

• heat given off by fire creates unstable, hot, buoyant air
• rising columns of hot air
• winds sucked into the base of the tornado bring oxygen to the fire
• can throw fiery debris miles away, potentially starting new fires

Air Quality

• smoke is a mixture of gases (CO, CO2, SOx) and fine particles (carbon, tar)
• fine particles can cause burning eyes, runny nose, and heart and lung disease (prolonged exposure or high-risk individuals)
• high- risk individuals: heart or lung diseases, diabetes, older adults and young children

2020 Wildfires - Air Quality

• worst air quality on record for the US west coast
• most unhealthy air on the planet
• some parts of Oregon were off the scale of the Air Quality Index

2020 Wildfires - NY State

• smoke can drift thousands of miles
• smoke from west coast (California, Oregon, Washington) wildfires reached NY in September 2020
• high (15,000-20,000 ft) in the atmosphere, so little effect on air quality
• hazy skies

Secondary Effects

• after the fire is extinguished…
  • erosion and landslides
  • due to loss of vegetation
  • introduction of invasive species
  • ex: invasive grasses colonize a burned area → these grasses are more susceptible to fires, increasing the fire risk
  • degradation of water quality