100-Foot Tall “Firenado” Caught on Tape

A firefighter posted a video on Instagram of a 100-foot tall “fire whirl” shot during a fire fight in Idaho.

Firenado

Fire whirls, also referred to as “fire tornadoes” or simply “firenadoes,” are caused when heat from a large fire rises quickly, which leads to fire and smoke swirling in the manner of a tornado. They act similar to dust devils, with the addition of flames and embers.

The Idaho fire is referred to as the Soda Fire, which has been blazing since August 10. It has burned nearly 300,000 acres.

U.S. Forest Service firefighter Craig Fluer shot the stunning footage and posted it on Instagram.

Saw a #firewhirl for the first time last night. This sucker was shooting flames 100 ft in the air before it passed right in front of the line, all while dropping hot dirt and ash on our helmets. #boise #sodafire #extremefirebehavior #megafire #wildlandfirefighting

A video posted by Craig Fluer (@craigfluer) on Aug 14, 2015 at 6:53pm PDT

Although the Soda Fire incident is large, a 1600 ft wide fire whirl was observed in the 2003 Canberra bushfires. The fire whirl at this location was compared to that of an F2 tornado.

The surreal-looking fire whirl below was filmed in 2014 during a prescribed burn near Denver, Colorado.

There are three classifications of fire whirls: Type 1 – Stable over a burning area, Type 2 – Stable or transient downwind of a burning area, and Type 3 – Stable or transient centered over an open area that is next to an asymmetric burning area with wind. Type three is said to be potentially the most severe.

Bottom Line

A 100-foot fire tornado was filmed by a firefighter in Idaho. Fire whirls are akin to burning dust devils, although on very rare occasion their severity can reach the strength of an actual tornado, such as the one observed at the 2003 Canberra bushfires.