Perfect Disaster: Fire Storm

Don't forget, tonight on the Discovery Channel...

"Perfect Disaster" Episode 5: Fire Storm

9 PM EASTERN, REPEATS AT 1 AM: There is a point at which a wildfire becomes unstoppable, and a phenomenon is born that can destroy anything its path. The Australian city of Sydney faces this threat every year. For the men and women working at the forefront of fire science, the nightmare is about to begin. (Preview video here)

This is the next-to-last episode in the mini-series. I was lucky enough to watch the entire episode earlier this week, thanks to AccuWeather's promotional agreement with the Discovery Channel. "Action" Steve Penstone (PREMIUM | PRO) also did this writeup describing what you'll see on TV tonight. I'll quote a little:

The latest in the Discovery Channel series on weather disasters details what events would have to conspire to create a massive firestorm that would consume much of Sydney, Australia. The depiction of the destruction of one of the largest cities in Australia could easily have been filmed using several United States cities as the locale. The episode shows how an ongoing drought, La Nina and El Nino and most importantly, the human factor, combine to create a firestorm that can quickly overwhelm even the largest firefighting efforts.

Already this year, wildfires have consumed 1.2 million acres in Texas and more than 46,000 acres in Oklahoma. Some of those fires threatened areas near Oklahoma City and Amarillo, Texas. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that a fire such as that shown marching on Sydney could one day soon threaten residents of a major American city.

See my , the Dallas Super Tornado.