A fire tornado is basically a phenomenon in which a fire, under certain conditions (depending on air temperature and currents), acquires a vertical vorticity and forms a whirl, or a tornado-like vertically oriented rotating column of air. Continue reading to see one made with window fans and a barrel of flames.
Fire whirls can uproot trees up to 15 metres (49 ft) tall. These can also aid the ‘spotting’ ability of wildfires to propagate and start new fires as they left burning materials such as tree bark. These burning embers can be blown away from the fireground by the stronger winds aloft.
