crown fire

American  

noun

1. a forest fire that spreads along treetops, often at great speeds.

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Etymology

Origin of crown fire

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Example Sentences

This is the very condition identified as important to spotted owls — dense, multistoried canopies with high vulnerability to crown fire.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 2, 2024

That could result in a high-severity crown fire similar to those that have destroyed an estimated 20% of the world’s population of the ancient giants since 2020, he said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2022

It’s also more refined, with its earthy hint of miso-agave rice just below the canopy of the taco’s crown fire.

From Washington Post • Apr. 23, 2018

"Ground fire is a good thing, crown fire is a bad thing in his case," said fire incident spokesman Dennis Godfrey.

From Reuters • Sep. 2, 2013

It wasn't a crown fire, where the flames travel through the tops of the timber; it traveled along the ground, and climbed the low trees and then reached for the big ones.

From Pluck on the Long Trail Boy Scouts in the Rockies by Sabin, Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand)