What Is a Fire Tornado?

Can a wildfire really make something that looks like a tornado built out of flames?

Video landing soon!The bots are polishing this one. Scroll down for the full story.

The quick answer

Mostly, what people call a fire tornado is a fire whirl: a spinning column of flame and smoke made by a fire's own heat. Most are small and short-lived. Very rarely, a huge wildfire creates one with winds as strong as a real tornado.

How it works

Heat shoots air upward
Fire makes the air above it extremely hot. Hot air is light, so it rushes up fast.
Wind from the sides adds spin
Air rushes in along the ground to replace what went up. If that air arrives from different directions, or curls around a hill, it starts to turn.
The spin tightens
The rising air stretches the spin tall and thin, and it speeds up. It is the figure skater trick again.
Flames get pulled in
Fire, smoke, ash and burning embers are drawn into the spinning column, and now you can see it.

Thunder Tidbits

A big wildfire makes its own weather: strong rising air, shifting winds, towering clouds and sometimes even lightning.
In 2018 the Carr Fire in California produced a fire vortex with winds estimated at about 143 miles per hour, as strong as an EF3 tornado.
Most fire whirls are only a few feet wide and last less than a minute.

Words to know

Fire whirl: A spinning column of fire and smoke. The usual, correct name for a 'fire tornado'.
Vortex: A spinning column of air.
Ember: A small glowing piece of burning material that the wind can carry.
Pyrocumulonimbus: A thunderstorm cloud created by the heat of a giant fire. Say it: PIE-roh-KYOO-myoo-loh-NIM-bus.

Try it: Spin without the fire

No flames needed for this one. Fill a sink or a big bowl with water, stir it gently in a circle, then pull the plug or lift a cup out of the middle. Watch the wide, slow swirl turn into a narrow, fast one as the water is pulled down. A fire whirl does the same thing with rising air.

Stay safe

Never experiment with fire. Wildfires can change direction and speed with almost no warning, which is why firefighters train so carefully and why families leave quickly when told to evacuate.