Delwin Delwin:
I always wondered how wide a path you would need to clear-cut in order for a forest fire not to jump it. I know the winds can carry embers pretty far but is there an actual way to grid off a forested area so that fires become isolated, the way they would with dense brush and grass ?
During the worst part of the fire season in southern California, strong Santa Ana winds will blow carpets of burning embers across eight-lane freeways. During the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park, hot embers managed to cross the Lewis Canyon, a natural canyon up to a mile wide and 600 feet (180 m) deep.[citation needed] In Australia, firebreaks are less effective against eucalyptus forest fires, since intense fires in tinder-dry eucalyptus forest spread through flying embers, which can be carried by the winds to trigger new blazes several kilometres away.[1]
So it may not be practical to build preventative firebreaks around towns. Also people want trees on their properties for shade etc.