Torching, or candling, refers to what?

• A. Burning of foliage of a single tree or small bunch of trees from the bottom up.
• B. Burning of an entire stand from the top down
• C. Burning of ground litter
• D. Burning of soil

Answer: (A)

Torching, or candling, describes a crown-fire event that is localized to one tree or a small group. The lower foliage of the tree ignites and flames move upward through the crown, giving a candle-like appearance as the crown burns. This is a crown phenomenon confined to an individual tree or a few trees, not a fire that consumes the entire stand. The other options describe different fire behaviors—ground litter burning on the forest floor, soil ignition, or an entire stand burning from the top down—none of which capture the isolated, bottom-up crown burn of a single tree.