Yeah they can move very quickly; especially around mountains due to wind effects. Plus wildfires that get large enough tend to influence the atmosphere around them (i.e. coupled fire atmosphere dynamics), making their movement even harder to predict. Though the research in this area is promising! Bonus: research in the journal of combustion which is just a fun place to browse. I was living within 2 miles of the Sand Fire last year, and it was insane and terrifying how quickly the fire line moved. Nothing like laying in bed and seeing a fire-tornado on the ridge out your window. Luckily I had a go bag by the door, so leaving quickly was easy, and the fire didn't reach my place. Same thing happened again a couple months ago when the La Tuna fire was within 2 miles of where I moved to, ha. This state is determined to almost burn me down.