I assume that all the grape vines were still living, therefore full of water. I cannot see how a fire could spread so quickly throughout the whole vineyard. I notice in the movie how it was billowing out in fireballs, how did this occur?
sharegrapevines, though living, are pretty dry and flaky vines. Grapesvines also branch across the wires and wind around other grapevines. Any fire that is set on one of the vines is going to make the others combust pretty quickly.
It's like setting a peice of paper on fire and then the whole room with paper ignites in just seconds.
Well, I didn't believe this extremely fast spreading of the fire, either. There was no dry underbrush, because the vines were well-kept, they were green, full of sap, the paths between were clear apart from the also green grass, and vines are not full of pitch like pine-trees are. There is no way they would burst into flame that fast.
To get a fire spread that quickly, someone would have had to drench the vines with gasoline or other accelerant.
Dogs are sons of bitches.
Rumrunner. Period.
actually, if you actually looked at the vines, they were all yellow. I once lived next to a grape vinyard when I lived in California. One days a vine somehow caught on fire, and they whole place was up in at most 5 minutes. I know from first hand that grape vines can light very fast. And considering all of the vines are connected in rows and very dry most of the year, it's easy to see why they would ignite so fast. I think this should put this arguement to rest.
shareuep I noticed that too, I bet they had those explosive thingys, it didn't work well though, because we noticed! I was sighing throughut that whole scene.
shareOk, so grape vines can be pretty flammable when they get a little dry. But how did the tree at the end of the field EXPLODE? It reminded me of lighting a fuse connected to fireworks, with the grapevines serving as the fuse and the tree serving as twenty pounds of explosives. I think this scene was a little excessive.
shareObviously, you folks are NOT native to California. Grapes are harvested in late September after a looooong, HOT summer. The vines are literally tinder-dry, as is everything else in the area. There has been no rain, and you do not overwater vines or the grapes are worthless -- just big green orbs of water. A fire would, indeed, burn that rapidly and the tree, if it was dry enough, would literally explode. I have seen it happen. With pine trees during a dry spell.
shareCalifornia is not the ONLY place where grapes are harvested and made into wine. Kansas, Missouri, Florida, New York, and not to mention many more places here in the states as well as overseas have vineyards as well and do very well.
to everyone else-- as the person states above, grapes are harvested after a long dry summer. That's why the Aragon's vineyard went up in smoke.
Don't you all remember when they were "blessing" the harvest and were blowing the conch shell to the four winds? and if you know your history, WW2 for the guys fighting in the Pacific ended in early August of 1945. Which puts Paul's return around late August, early September. Paul and Victoria's romance then gets its chance to blossom for the few days or weeks that he is there staying at the Aragon's place. So, when Paul comes back to propose to Victoria and then fights with her dad, it's later in the month.
Smile Please =)
Okay fine - a vineyard is a tinder box around harvest time. Why then, oh why would the father be so cavalier with the lantern?
Somebody's seen her. Somebody always sees a girl with $40,000.
Because he was drunk as a skunk.
shareI realize that, but it seems "No smoking or lanterns or live flame of any kind" would be the strictest of rules on such a farm.
Somebody's seen her. Somebody always sees a girl with $40,000.
but there was a frost! therefore the fire wouldnt have spread so quickly bc they were not dry?
shareOIL
that's how it spread so quikly
the leaves of the grapevines have oil
oil elevates the smoking grade (or something like that) so the lamp heated the oil on the leaves until they reached their smoking point after that there's fire everywhere, try it with your next natural christmass tree.. on the open of course... (no, don't try anything, or there'll be a mothers meeting asking to censor the internet... again)
I have 15 acres of useless sultana vines(due to the plummeting price of dried fruit) here in Australia. Believe me even after a long dry spell,which we have had for the last two summers,there is no way that vines would burn as seen in this movie.Even in winter the main trunk of the vine contains some moisture which would prevent such a fierce fire. Anyone who wants to try and emulate the fire the movie is welcome to try on my block!!!!
shareHow did the fire spread so quickly?
Simple answer...
It might shock you...
Prepare yourself...
You ready...
It's a movie. Accelerants. End of.
The answer is HOLLYWOOD. You need to suspend reality or ther would be no moviemaking..
shareI read that they had to use a flammable starter to get them to burn like that because they were green.
shareTotal nonsense - they went up like they were dried twigs soaked in lighter fluid. No way this would happen with live grape vines. I don't even think they would burn.
shareAnd here we go again. The bark on grapevines is always shedding and dries out very fast. Those shreds of dry bark still attached to the vines catch fire very fast. They also don't water the last month or so which prevents the grapes from rotting in the tight clusters they grow in. I also grew up in grape country in Mendocino County 2 hours north of San Francisco. To the vintner in Australia I don't know how your vines are not so dry but in California they are quite dry at harvest time in late September. The vines may be water laden but those clinging shreds of bark are not and for that reason a fire could easily spread fast.
shareOkay, maybe the vines will burn and the fire will spread very rapidly. But would it be realistic that all the roots of the vines would die?
And would it be realistic that only the guy with no background in working with vines would think to check the original rootstock??
And would it be a good idea to just rip the original rootstock out of the ground???
=*=*=*=*=
The main reason that Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live
Pedro senior was the one that set the fire accidently when trying to fight Paul in his drunken state causing the fire to spread and destroy the family vineyard.
shareIn answer to the question posed by the original poster, this type of fire (with billowing fireballs) spreads quickly by threading gas pipes up through plastic trees for a pyrotechnics display.
11... 92... 12...share
The fire did spread way too quickly. Plus, they would not have had the vines on wires yet in the 1940s. That was a much later development. Each vine would be free standing, not connected to one another.
share