Integrating fireline observations to characterize fire plumes during pyroconvective extreme wildfire events: implications for firefighter safety and plume modeling

Firefighter entrapments occur when wildfires suddenly transition into extreme wildfire events (EWEs). These transitions are often caused by pyroconvective fire-atmosphere coupling, triggered by a combination of high fire intensity and atmospheric vertical thermodynamic structure. Pyroconvection indices calculated using coarse atmospheric modeling data crudely detect these dynamic transitions due to highly localized atmospheric processes and changes in atmospheric conditions caused by the fire. Consequently, fire managers may remain unaware that fire behavior intensification due to fire-atmosphere coupling is outdating the safety protocols in place. This study presents a new in-plume profiling methodology to improve the assessment of fire-atmosphere interaction dynamics in real-time. As proof of concept, we analyzed 173 successful sondes (148 in-plume) launched during the 2021–2025 fire seasons in Spain, Chile, Greece, and the Netherlands. As a strategy to measure the fire-atmosphere coupling, we propose simultaneously launching two radiosondes: one to measure ambient conditions and another to capture data within the plume updraft. Comparing these profiles, we measure in-situ and in-real time the modification of state variables by the fire-atmosphere interaction. These new observations and methodology improve our assessment of pyroconvection dynamics, demonstrating practical implications that support their use by incident management teams. It has the potential to enhance awareness of possible near-accidents and tactical failures during extreme pyroconvective wildfire events. Additionally, it offers a comprehensive observational dataset to improve pyroconvection nowcasting and advance research on fire-atmosphere interaction.