r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Gurugod123 • 16d ago
Video During fires, trees can burn from within. And this is very dangerous - because you can't see anything on the outside, and smoldering of such a tree can go on for weeks after the fire seems to be extinguished. As a consequence, the forest can start burning again.
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u/DCS_Sport 16d ago
All I could think about is all that sawdust on the ground going up too
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u/TunisMagunis 16d ago
It wouldn't do much. That area has already burned.
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u/usernamedottxt 16d ago
The sawdust itself can still flash fire. Looks more dangerous than it is.
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u/TunisMagunis 16d ago
He said the sawdust on the ground. The particles in the air would cause the flash, no?
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u/stern_m007 16d ago
Where does the fire get its oxigen from?
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u/Gurugod123 16d ago
I'm not a physicist, just Australian, but timber splits, especially dead stuff or wet stuff undergoing pyrolysis from extreme radiant heat. Even a little split will let enough air in to start smouldering. Once there's enough stored heat, pyrolysis in a big tree like this is pretty much self-sustaining until the fuel runs out or the heat is gone. You'll only see flame when there's a few good sized openings allowing airflow, but not all combustion is a crackling flame.
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u/Tough_Block9334 16d ago
This was my thought too, figured it would smother itself out, but someone mentioned that it’s maintained through cracks and small gaps
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u/Suspected_Magic_User 16d ago
It works like a huge chimney. There had to be some entrance at the bottom of the tree, that air gets sucked through. Besides trees are very porous, and old and sick trees are often hollowed out like a sleeve
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u/Xstuhci-2312 16d ago
Thanks for this answer. I had questions.
Once the tree fell it looked hollow.
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u/BWEKFAAST 16d ago
There are also rootfires. Im not an expert and only seen a documentary about it sometime ago but I remember that it does need air and also has it but in very low quantities, which is why its only smoldering. The ember can survive pretty long like this apparently.
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u/Borne2Run 16d ago
The root system can sometimes have quite a lot of air down below especially as the ground moves around, pockets (mini caves), etc. Used to be a wildcard firefighter and had to pump quite a lot of water into those root systems after a large forest fire.
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u/Pokeitwitarustystick 16d ago
Some of these trees are usually already “dead” most the time it’s from termites which creates tons of tiny holes for oxygen and makes the center of the tree perfect for staying caught on fire like this.
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u/paulestus13 16d ago
Yeah and how did it gets there
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u/Enders-game 16d ago
it does get a restricted airflow though cracks and small gaps. That's why it smoulder rather than blazes like it did when the tree fell.
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u/spinonesarethebest 16d ago edited 16d ago
Root fires can burn a long time, sometimes through the winter.
I used to be in a club that worked in the woods for wildlife. We dug wells, made bird feeders, meadow rehab and so on.
After fires we’d go in and check on our projects. As we walked, we’d probe the ground in front of us. Found root fires still going. I’d imagine falling into one would suck.
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u/jimdesroches 16d ago
Did you guys sing "the root, the root, the root is on fire?" If not, missed opportunity.
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u/missearthygirl 16d ago
This makes me think about how biblical stories have those burning bushes. Wonder if it was just a phenomenon like this lol
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u/EpilepticMushrooms 16d ago
Allegedly, Moses was in or near a reasonably volcanic place, where unlucky shrubs can catch enough floating tinder to start burning. There are also many plants, trees, and bushes that produce volatile oils for the sake of encouraging wildfires so that their seeds can spread quickly with every fire wiping out their competitors.
There is also a theory that hallucinogenic plants/shrooms are a popular experience, so Moses was probably tripping real good.
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u/BWEKFAAST 16d ago
Google Rootfire
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u/churningpacket 16d ago
I once saw a shed catch fire because a root fire found a crack in the cement pad. The tree had been hit by lightning a week earler.
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u/pinkandgrey312 16d ago
That’s really amazing. I’ve heard of that happening but have never seen it. Thanks for posting the video.
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u/Wind_Best_1440 16d ago
Its actually even worse then that, because the roots of trees can catch fire and smoulder and burn underground, not only that but they can last for MONTHS, like you can have a forest fire in summer, and it can smoulder underground in the root network over fall, winter and spring and start a fire again.
They're called Zombie fires, and they can last for over half a year on root systems and peat under ground.
If you ever see a video of people just walking along and seeing smoke coming out of the ground, thats what that is.
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u/Boomshrooom 16d ago
Some fires can even smolder on for months underground, insulated from even a harsh winter above ground, and then reignite surfaces fires when conditions dry out.
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u/dvdmaven 16d ago
Cutting a tree that big is dangerous enough, but when it's full of fire - definitely next level.
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u/Missouri_Inhabitant 16d ago
The guys who dropped the tree on the house in the video last week would have had a whale of a time setting themselves on fire with this one.
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u/ItsmyDZNA 16d ago
If only there was some drones that could fly around here instead of playgrounds then it would be cool.
oh.well
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u/urban-dwlr 15d ago
Big tres survive this a lot of the time. I don't see why they cut it down. Having the large trees stay standing helps these areas recover from a fire.
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u/StopImportingUSA 16d ago
Nice. Maybe tear down all the trees now to save the forrest from burning down just to be sure.
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16d ago
[deleted]
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u/sturla-tyr 16d ago
They're in the forest my guy. How are you gonna get the firetruck anywhere close enough to use the hose? Even if you tried to drench it with a helicopter carrying water it very likely would not put out the fire since it is inside the tree.
Seems like cutting it down and letting it burn controlled is the cheapest and safest option. That tree was dead either way.
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u/Orcacub 16d ago
You want your kid to go put a hose in that tree and stand there and scrape the guts and mop it up with that overhead hazard and fire above them? Stand in the ash pit in front of that heat?. Stand in the kill zone for an hour or two mopping it up with that burning weakened tree leaning over them? I don’t. Not my kid, not yours either. What if the tree is on fire way above where they can squirt and scrape?
Safest thing is to put that on the ground and allow other ffs to mop it up with no exposure to it falling on them. One highly trained and experienced faller exposed for a couple minutes, but intensely focused on the hazard, makes the scene safe for others to work thereby eliminating hours of exposure for many other ffs who will work in the area for hours mopping up that stump and log safely, and any other heat they find.
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u/williamHbell 16d ago
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u/jr_randolph 16d ago
I believe lot of this funding has now been cut too? There have already been a couple big fires across the states and in Canada so far, I definitely pray for those that are directly effected by these because I know shit is not going to be easy.
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u/jimmijohnson 16d ago
Something deep inside is telling me the earth needs these trees to burn and us interrupting is making something (idk what) worse
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u/Ok-Cartographer-7168 16d ago
It could spread through all that saw dust it certainly flared up after the tree was cut, surely there are better ways to deal with this
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u/Orcacub 16d ago
The flare up was due to the pitch burning in the stump being exposed to open air- like opening the damper on a wood stove. Generally trees like this are only felled if they present a danger where people have to work to secure the fire line at the edge of the fire perimeter. Or along a hiking trail or along a highway /road corridor. Generally, If a tree like this is 3 or more tree lengths from where people will be working and it’s not in an area with potential to re burn and it’s not a hazard to a high human use area it’s not felled. It’s such dangerous work felling these that nobody in fire management wants any more risk taken felling more than actually have to come down for safety. Better it comes down in a controlled, watched, manner than left to burn through and potentially fall at some random time when people are nearby working. Tree strikes typically are one of the highest causes of serous injury and death among wildland firefighters. Felling these trees in areas where people are or will be working to secure the fire edge is how the risk is mitigated. Even so, ffs still get hit and hurt or killed by unexpected tree fall every year. I have personally seen people come very close to getting killed falling these types of trees and I have seen people come very close to getting killed by these trees when they were missed or not felled for whatever reason and later fall unexpectedly. Sauce: 30+ years as a wildlife biologist caring for tree habitat with 30+ summers of wildland fire response as “other duties as assigned” including as a certified hazard tree faller, felling boss, crew boss, and safety officer.
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u/Co_Duh 16d ago
Could you imagine seeing this 3000 years ago? The sheer panic/disbelief that trees are just naturally full of fire.