Here are some interesting facts about wildfires:

1. Firefighters have many different terms for wildfires: surface fires, dependant crown fires, running crown fires, spot fires and ground fires.

2. Conflagrations are large and destructive fires, usually boosted by strong winds that carry burning embers over man-made and natural barriers. They can often change existing weather patterns.

3. A wildfire, also known as a forest fire or peat fire, is an uncontrolled fire often occurring in grassland and wilderness areas.

4. Running crown fires burn extremely hot, travel very quickly and often change direction.

5. Running crowns  can produce massive firestorms and tornadoes that can send embers well ahead of the main fire front, causing spot fires that in turn can start new fires in another direction.

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6. Weather conditions can directly influence fires, be they lightning strikes or extremely dry situations.

7. Built up piles of grass, leaves and twigs are also a cause of wildfires. Enough dead matter can create enough heat to catch on fire.

8. Lightning strikes the surface of the planet more than 100,000 times a day; 10% to 20% of these strikes cause a fire.

9. The largest cause of wildfires in North America (4 out of 5), is mankind, whether it is outright arson, or just carelessness.

10. Dry thunderstorms are thunderstorms at a high altitude, in which thunder and lightning are observed, but little or no rain reaches the ground.

11. An average of 1.2 million acres of U.S. woodland burn every year.

12. Surface fires are the most common type of wildfires, surface fires move slowly and burn along the forest floor, killing and damaging vegetation. Ground fires are usually started by lightning, ground fires burn on or below the forest floor through the root system.

13. Crown fires are fires spread by wind moving quickly from the tops of adjacent trees.

14. Santa Ana winds are the name given to the gusty northeast or east winds that occurs in Southern California during the fall and winter months. Santa Ana winds are often hot and very dry, and greatly aggravating the fire danger in forests and bush lands.

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For more about wildfires, read Terms You Should Know About Wildfires, and Preparing for Wildfires.