FOREST FIRE

uncontrolled fire occurring in vegetation more than 6 feet (1.8 m) in height. These fires often reach the proportions of a major conflagration and are sometimes begun by combustion and heat from surface and ground fires. A big forest fire may crown, that is, spread rapidly through the topmost branches of the trees before involving undergrowth or the forest floor. As a result, violent blowups are common in forest fires, and they may assume the characteristics of a fire storm. See wildland fire.