Wildfires In The West So Extreme They’re Creating Lightning (Pyrocumulus Clouds)
Francis Xavier
Sobering look at the 80+ wildfires that are currently burning in 13 states across the U.S. impacting nearly 1.3 million acres. One of the worst remains in Southern Oregon — the Bootleg Fire. It has been burning for two weeks straight and has already scorched an area a third of the size of Rhode Island. Meteorologists are reporting multiple instances of pyrocumulus clouds (also known as flammagenitus clouds) actually making their own weather with lightning. Carrie Bilbao with the National Interagency Fire Center joins PBS News Hour with the latest on the fires:
Satellite footage from NOAA to give you some perspective:
