How fast can a bushfire travel?

Answer 1

Australian bushfires do not have a regulation speed they must burn at, and all bushfires behave differently.

Fire speed depends on the speed and direction of the prevailing winds, the temperature and relative humidity, whether the land is flat, hilly or undulating, the availability of fuel and degree of curing of the fuel, weather conditions and rainfall for the previous days, months or years.

You cannot outrun a bushfire and many people are killed trying to escape in cars.

A good rule of thumb for major bushfires is, if you can see the flames, you have left it too late to do anything and you are in a lot of trouble. Make prior arrangements and leave when the warnings are issued.

Answer 2

A bushfire travel faster uphilla match is a good example it burns down

but turn it over and you will see it burn quickly

(also your fingers)

* fire will rise because heat rises.

the hill adds to this affect.

Answer 3

The speed of a bushfire depends upon several factors: * the density of fuel (dry vegetation) - half the amount of fuel halves both the height and the speed of the flames * the heat and intensity of gusting winds * whether the fire is travelling uphill or downhill - fire fronts travel more quickly uphill, doubling in speed for every ten degree increase in the slope, e.g. on a slope with a 20 degree gradient, its speed is therefore four times faster * the fastest bushfire or grassfire speed has been recorded at 22kph whilst the slowest tends to be around 5 kph - but bushfires have certainly been known to travel faster than that: it is unknown how fast the Black Saturday fires of 2009 travelled through parts of Victoria, but their speed was described as "phenomenal". The fronts came upon some people too quickly for them to escape their homes, and even fleeing cars were engulfed.