Untitled

Evening Star, Issue 13091, 26 October 1908, Page 7

Tho great- fire which destroyed the garden city of Chelsea, near Boston, was marked by the curious meteorological phenomenon of cloud formation by the fire. The fire began under conditions of a clear sky and a high north-west wind. After the fire had been burning for about three hours the updraught from it was strong enough to overcome the high wind, and occasionally to carry water vapor to the ! level of cloud formations. Cumulus 1 clouds resulted, capping the smoke, and i appearing and disappearing according ae ; the smoke rose or failed ,to rise to the : requisite height. Angular measurements of these clouds gave their least height as somewhere between four and five miles. Their velocity accompanied with the surface wind also indicated that they were much higher than the ordinary cumulus clouds which float at the level of about a mile. It was certainly the artificial conditions which gave rise to these clouds, because the air was too dry for the ordinary currents rising from the earth to j cool to the cloud-condensation point e'- cn 1 if they had not been broken up by the I strong wind. The clouds appeared be' formed not directly over the fire, but a considerable distance to leeward, vh’.e. the high wind permitted the ris’ng a.V fo reach the proper altitude.