how come wildfire embers can travel miles and start new fires, whereas fire pits and bbqs can be 10’ from a house?
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For one thing, anyone using a BBQ grill or fire pit at their house also has immediate access to water. So if an ember were to land on or near the house the homeowner would be able to extinguish it immediately. Heck, usually you can just stomp it out with your shoe.
But another reason is the draft caused by the fire itself. Fires create wind. The bigger the fire, the more powerful the wind. The fire pit in the back yard is not nearly big enough to send an ember traveling for miles. In fact, small fires like you would have in a fire pit send very few embers into the air, and they nearly always go out immediately when they land.
Finally, there usually isn’t as much burnable material in the area immediately around a person’s house. Lawns don’t burn so well. Barkmulch actually doesn’t burn all that great, either. So when an ember does land on the ground near the house, it is very unlikely that it will be able to actually start a fire. And, again, if it does – you have water.
But despite all of that there is always some small risk with BBQ grills and fire pits, which is why when it has been especially hot and dry, the local authorities may put fire restrictions in place.
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