What is really critical in wildfire behavior is weather, so pay attention to that. The drier, hotter, and windier the ambient conditions, the more unpredictable the fire will be. This is especially ture with respect to wind. An increase in velocity and/or direction will cause a fire to spread faster than you can outrun it. A stiff breeze will push burning embers ahead of the flame front and start satellite fires in advance.

Fire managers do pay particular attention to fire weather, especially local conditions. So should you.

A fire line is not necessarily a guarantee of safety, whether natural or man made. Fires have been known to jump four lane freeways. But sometimes you can feel secure. i was on West Anacapa island, looking up the Ventura River valley at a horrendous fire that was threatening Ojai, fifteen miles inland. Since Anaccapa is fourteen miles out in the santa Barbara Channel, I thought "That should keep us safe." Even so, we got considerable ash fall from the fire, fortunately nicely cooled. Even at that distance, the sight of exploding pine trees was quite impressive.