The National Water Service said it planned to investigate reports of a rare occurrence of fire tornadoes that erupted on Saturday from a 20,000-acre wildfire in Northern California.
Dawn Johnson, a meteorologist with the service in Reno, Nev., Said Sunday that the agency had received reports of fire tornadoes in an area of Lassen County, California, about 25 miles northwest of Reno.
“It’s not like a typical tornado where it happens, everything clears up and you’re going to investigate safely,” Ms Johnson said. “In this case, there’s a massive wildfire burning at the same location, so the logistics are a lot more complicated.”
Doppler radar showed at least five rotary signatures, but Ms. Johnson said she could not confirm that they were all classified as fire tornadoes.
Multiple components need to come together for fire tornadoes to form: turbulent winds, uneven terrain and extreme heat of fire, causing the air to rise faster, said Ben Gelber, a longtime meteorologist with WCMH-TV in Columbus, Ohio. Other elements, such as gas released from burning vegetation, also serve as fuel for the tornadoes.
“It applies our traditional knowledge of tornadoes to a rare phenomenon,” Mr Gelber said. ‘It’s so unusual, it’s a little tricky our heads to wrap. Of course, the magic clouds are made by fires, which we have all seen. But the tornadoes function as multiple fireballs, which is just incredible. ”
On Saturday afternoon, the Water Service issued a warning about a possible ‘fire-induced tornado’ of the Loyalton Wildfire in parts of Lassen County.
The wildfire exploded on Saturday “with a very large pyrocumulus and reports of fire tornadoes,” the service said. “Due to the possibility of very strong wind-damaged winds and extreme fire behavior with danger to fire personnel, a tornado warning was issued to increase awareness in the area of the fire.”
The wildfire started on August 14 near Loyalton, California, which is about 45 miles west of Reno. As of Sunday, it was 5 percent, the U.S. Forest Service reported.
Compulsory evacuations were ordered for several Northern California counties.
Shane Snyder, a meteorologist with the Reno Water Service, said a fire tornado warning was an unusual warning for his office.
Photos en videos of witnesses on social media showed tornadoes emerging from intimidating clouds of intense smoke and heat amidst singing vegetation.
Mr Gelber said fire vortices visible on Doppler radar reflected the intensity of the tornadoes.
In a deviation from the norm, it appears that the fire rotations on Saturday were visible moving clockwise, Mr Gelber said, a difference from the usual opposite direction of tornadoes forming in low-pressure systems.
A tornado during the 2018 Carr Fire in Northern California swept through neighborhoods in Redding, California, a town about 160 miles north of Sacramento. Eight people died as a result of the fire and about 40,000 people were forced to evacuate their homes.
