LOS ANGELES – Fire tornadoes are a rare and frightening phenomenon that can be produced by wildfires.
These fiery whirlwinds of flames form when gusty winds interact with intense heat columns rising from the fire, creating a vacuum that sucks in cooler air from the sides.
This leads to the formation of a rotating column of fire, which can spread flames quickly and create powerful wind currents.
While most fire tornadoes are small and short-lived, they can still intensify the fire’s destruction.In rare cases, fire tornadoes can become extremely powerful.
One of the most intense examples occurred during the 2018 Carr Fire in California, where a massive fire tornado was observed with winds reaching 143 mph, equivalent to an EF-3 tornado.
This fire tornado was tracked on Doppler radar, uprooted trees, and remained on the ground for about 30 minutes, causing significant damage over a mile-long path.