# Advice on Surviving a Wildfire? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2017, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885 "2017-08-17T18:09:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![JackieLikesVariety](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackielikesvariety/32/296_2.png) [@JackieLikesVariety](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JackieLikesVariety)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/41 "2017-08-18T23:25:28Z")
I’ve lived in Nevada 2 1/2 years and twice I stood out in the street in front of my house and watched aircraft bombard a fire. it’s not just a fact of life in some places, it’s getting more common. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/42 "2017-08-19T00:14:48Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > Depends what you mean by unlikely. > I have stood on the roof of my house watching the helicopter and fixed wing water bombers fight a fire that came within a few hundred metres of my house. You know it is a bad day when there are 13 fire fighting appliances in your street ready for the approaching front, and you know that in the last fire 5 houses were lost on the other side of the hill with a number of fatalities. Sadly, come summer wildfire threat is a part of life here. We prepare for the risk every year. Sorry for your (near) sad personal experience, but that doesn’t necessitate an equivalent expectation for someone viewing the eclipse on 8/21/17, somewhere in the continental US. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/43 "2017-08-19T00:34:17Z")
I will comment that wool and leather [_cough_ welders coat and gauntlets _cough_] tend to not melt, and smoulder rather than burst into flame. Cotton will char, and the char can get embedded in the skin but woolens tend to be a bit thicker and provide a few moments to take the garment off if it does get more than a few smouldering areas. Something like a Navy [Pea Coat](http://ebay01.i.lithium.com/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/7833iE6886A3A493FC725?v=1.0) [or similar weight [woolen](http://www.iwto.org/flame-resistance)] can take quite a fair amount of sparks and embers before getting dangerous. Last time I did deal with a camp fire log exploding and sending embers around, I was able to safely brush the solids off before anything more than a hot spot occurred. And there is a reason [welders coats](https://www.weldersupply.com/P/72/TillmanLeatherWeldingJac) and gauntlets are made of leather. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/44 "2017-08-19T00:51:27Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > Sorry for your (near) sad personal experience, but that doesn’t necessitate an equivalent expectation for someone viewing the eclipse on 8/21/17, somewhere in the continental US. From the o.p.: > [@](#): > > We’re going camping _ **in Oregon** _ this weekend to see the eclipse. [Here](http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/Fire/FireIntelGIS/20170818_ODFFires_BriefingMap.pdf) are active fires in Oregon. With all of the inexperienced and illegitimate campers trying to find a place to camp, concerns about incidence of accidental fire are hardly misplaced, as are worries about congestion preventing egress from an active fire zone. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/45 "2017-08-19T01:41:18Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > From the o.p.: > > [Here](http://www.oregon.gov/ODF/Documents/Fire/FireIntelGIS/20170818_ODFFires_BriefingMap.pdf) are active fires in Oregon. With all of the inexperienced and illegitimate campers trying to find a place to camp, concerns about incidence of accidental fire are hardly misplaced, as are worries about congestion preventing egress from an active fire zone. > > Stranger If so, then best to stay home.:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/46 "2017-08-19T02:10:27Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > It’s amazing the unlikely fatal scenarios some folks obsess about. > It’s **INCREDIBLY** amazing how many quasi-_experts_ that manage to pop up and feed this obsession with their notions. [AP breaking news](http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article168115942.html) “So far fire crews have not been able to contain any part of the wildfire, which is burning in the so-called “zone of totality” for Monday’s solar eclipse. The region is considered a top eclipse-viewing location, but heavy smoke and the rapidly growing fire has prompted officials to close nearby campsites, recreational areas and roads. The McKenzie Pass Highway 242 has been closed between Highway 126 and Sisters. Heisey says the closures will likely have a big impact on people traveling through the region for the eclipse.” Yes that is an amazingly unlikely scenario. ---
**Author:** ![steatopygia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steatopygia/32/3132_2.png) [@steatopygia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steatopygia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/47 "2017-08-19T02:27:50Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > [AP breaking news](http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article168115942.html) > “So far fire crews have not been able to contain any part of the wildfire, which is burning in the so-called “zone of totality” for Monday’s solar eclipse. The region is considered a top eclipse-viewing location, but heavy smoke and the rapidly growing fire has prompted officials to close nearby campsites, recreational areas and roads. > The McKenzie Pass Highway 242 has been closed between Highway 126 and Sisters. > Heisey says the closures will likely have a big impact on people traveling through the region for the eclipse.” > > Yes that is an amazingly unlikely scenario. **Beeeezil** , have you left for your trip yet? ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/48 "2017-08-19T12:23:25Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > [AP breaking news](http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article168115942.html) > “So far fire crews have not been able to contain any part of the wildfire, which is burning in the so-called “zone of totality” for Monday’s solar eclipse. The region is considered a top eclipse-viewing location, but heavy smoke and the rapidly growing fire has prompted officials to close nearby campsites, recreational areas and roads. > The McKenzie Pass Highway 242 has been closed between Highway 126 and Sisters. > Heisey says the closures will likely have a big impact on people traveling through the region for the eclipse.” > > Yes that is an amazingly unlikely scenario. This info was not mentioned in the OP, nor is it the top news story here in Ohio. Sorry, I was unaware that Oregon was presently ablaze. This being the case: I can definitely state that one’s car is the best defense against the possibility of being burned alive… Leave it (and yourselves) parked at the house. ---
**Author:** ![ZurBob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/71e660/32.png) [@ZurBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZurBob)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/49 "2017-08-19T15:04:50Z")
> [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > \Fire fighter’s trucks are designed to allow surviving a fire. \ Not around here in Ohio, USA. What design parameters are you referring to, down under? ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2017, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/50 "2017-08-19T18:08:32Z")
> [@ZurBob](#): > > This info was not mentioned in the OP, nor is it the top news story here in Ohio. Sorry, I was unaware that Oregon was presently ablaze. It’s **INCREDIBLY** amazing how many quasi-experts that manage to pop up and feed this misapprehension with their ignorance. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/51 "2017-08-20T02:57:02Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Here, [this](https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=ed0a7dad32fe4848b20c6f91c74c79ea) might be helpful. At the moment the worst fire in the path of totality is the Warm Springs fire, that’s around Mt Jefferson and the fire line is a bit south of Olallie Lake. No. The fire on the Warm Springs Reservation is called the **[Nena Springs Fire](https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5489/).** That fire has nothing to do with the fire neat Mt Jefferson on the Willamette National Forest called the **[Whitewater and Little Devil Fire](https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5420/).** ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/52 "2017-08-20T04:30:41Z")
> [@steatopygia](#): > > No offense but we are talking western forest fires here. There will be wind. Where do you suggest he waits before calmly walking back into the burned area. While I don’t question your statement about firefighter fatalities, **Beeeezil** sounds more like a casual camper. No radio support, unknown age and fitness level, and responsible for his family. > > Here is a 2 minute YouTube [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvPa_yEEd4E) that looks like a 30 minute time-lapse. Its not. > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > Yeah, these are not wet deciduous forests; wildfires in the Cascades, Mammoth, Siskiyou, Coastal, and other West Coast/Oregon ranges are populated by resin-rich coniferous forests (which actually require periodic fires for healthy growth) and can literally flash across the landscape due to all of the ready fuel on the forest floor. If you get caught in one your survival may be estimated in tens of seconds. I’ve been caught on the periphery of fires in the Sierras and Trinity Alps, and those fires can move so fast that they become difficult to even establish containment. (Near real time satellite imagery has become a boon for wilderness firefighting efforts as even aerial surveillance is often not fast or complete enough. > > Stranger > [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > It’s **INCREDIBLY** amazing how many quasi-experts that manage to pop up and feed this misapprehension with their ignorance. > > Stranger I have a forestry degree from Washington State University, 15 years experience as a forester in eastern Washington and Alaska and have fought fire in Washington, Alaska, California and Oregon. I will be teaching a class on fire ecology in ponderosa pine forests in Spokane this fall if your interested. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2017, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885/53 "2017-08-20T08:42:00Z")
While its wise not to drive through a fire front, if you are trapped in some area with a wild fire approaching , and you have a vehicle, you might protect yourself in the vehicle as you drive through. You might do this only at a point in the road when you know the road is reasonably straight and safe. I don’t think a vehicle is safe for any length of time, eg the temperature inside can become too hot in the sun inside 10 minutes, the 5 minutes of a wildfire can cook it through ! A far better solution would be underground, any well, drainage tunnel, cave, even fox holes or just creeks or springs. Cover yourself with wet clothes , blankets, wet seat covers, anything to protect yourself from the heat smoke and embers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/advice-on-surviving-a-wildfire/793885.md?page=2)