Fire tornadoes, a rare yet powerful natural phenomenon, capture attention due to their destructive nature. These swirling columns of fire and smoke emerge from intense blazes, showcasing interactions between fire and atmospheric conditions. Their visual spectacle and potential for widespread damage make them subjects of fascination.
Understanding Fire Tornadoes
A fire tornado, also known as a fire whirl or firenado, is a rotating column of flame and smoke forming over a large fire. It consists of a burning core enveloped by spinning air. Unlike atmospheric tornadoes, their rotation derives from surface winds and heat-induced lifting, not from a tornadic mesocyclone aloft.
These fiery vortices range in size from a few feet to over a kilometer in height, lasting minutes to over 20 minutes. Temperatures inside a fire whirl can reach 2,000°F (1,093°C). Rotational winds can exceed 100 mph, reaching up to 300 mph, causing substantial wind damage, intensifying fires, and spreading embers and debris over considerable distances.
How Fire Tornadoes Form
Fire tornadoes develop under specific environmental and fire conditions, requiring a delicate interplay of intense heat, wind patterns, and atmospheric instability. The process begins when a large, concentrated fire generates intense heat, causing the air directly above it to warm and rise. As this superheated air ascends, cooler, denser air from the surrounding area rushes in to replace it, creating a strong updraft.
This inward rush of air, combined with turbulent wind conditions, can create whirling eddies. These eddies then contract into a vertical vortex, similar to how water drains from a basin. The updraft from the fire establishes a localized low-pressure zone that continuously draws in more air, which then begins to spin. Wind shear can also initiate horizontal rolls of air that are then tilted vertically by the fire’s updraft, further contributing to the spinning column. This self-sustaining rotation can suck in combustible gases and burning embers, intensifying the fire and allowing it to spread rapidly.
Significant Fire Tornado Events
Fire tornadoes, while uncommon, have been observed across the globe, particularly during large and intense wildfires. Most recently, in August 2025, a fire whirl erupted during wildfires in the León region of northern Spain. Earlier in 2025, small fire tornadoes were spotted in January during the Palisades Fire in Los Angeles, California. In October 2023, a fire whirl was also documented amid bushfires in Tennant Creek, Australia.
The 2018 Carr Fire in California produced one of the most well-documented modern fire tornadoes, with wind speeds reaching 143 miles per hour, equivalent to an EF-3 tornado. This powerful vortex caused significant destruction, including uprooting trees, flipping vehicles, and the death of a firefighter. Another notable event occurred during the 2003 Canberra bushfires in Australia, where a fire whirl with horizontal winds of 160 miles per hour was documented.
Historically, some of the most devastating fire whirls have emerged from massive firestorms. During World War II, firebombing campaigns, such as those in Hamburg in 1943, generated fire whirls that contributed to destruction. The most catastrophic fire tornado on record occurred after the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake in Tokyo, Japan. A gigantic fire whirl formed amidst the post-earthquake fires, claiming the lives of an estimated 38,000 people in just fifteen minutes in one area of the city.
Earlier, in 1871, witnesses during the Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin, the deadliest wildfire in U.S. history, described spinning fire columns tearing through forests. These events underscore the danger posed by fire tornadoes when they occur in conjunction with large, intense fires.