Chasing Fire Clouds in Utah

NASA Science reports that wildfires can generate towering, smoke-infused clouds called pyrocumulonimbus—or pyroCbs—that punch through the upper atmosphere with enough force to inject particles into the stratosphere, where they linger for months or even years. The Widemouth 2 fire in Utah, ignited by lightning, produced two of these dramatic pyroCbs as intense winds and hot, dry conditions caused the blaze to more than double in size. Particularly unusual was that a pyroCb also formed during pre-dawn hours—a rarity, since these clouds typically require daytime heating to develop. To understand how pyroCbs work and their influence on Earth's atmosphere, NASA's INSPYRE mission deployed aircraft and ground sensors to chase and sample the smoke plumes. A research aircraft sampled the Widemouth 2 smoke at roughly eight miles above the surface, collecting data at altitudes rarely incorporated into forecast models—data that could improve fire forecasting and evacuation planning. The research matters because wildfires produce roughly seventy pyroCbs annually worldwide, and scientists believe these clouds may contribute up to twenty-five percent of the black carbon and organic aerosols in the lower stratosphere, a mass that can rival some volcanic eruptions over the course of a single fire season.

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