A massive fire that has already ravaged over 20,000 acres of land in Northern California, now presents firefighters who strive to contain it with a new challenge in the form of what ABC News describes as "a towering tornado of swirling flames, smoke and ash".
A huge fire cloud known as a pyrocumulonimbus ended up forming over the fire which started east of the town of Loyalton, located near the Nevada border, with high winds colliding with the fire and leading to a formation of a tornado-shaped flame spiral.
As the National Weather Service issued what the media outlet dubbed as a "fire tornado warning", videos that appear to depict the aforementioned phenomenon started popping up online.
#2020. Of course. pic.twitter.com/LhEN8qEgzw
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) August 16, 2020
No one:
— 209 Times (@209TimesCA) August 16, 2020
2020: Record heat wave, lightning and thunder? Release the Fire Tornadoes.
1st ever “Fire Tornado Warning” issued by the National Weather Service in Reno, NV as a result of the wild fire in Loyalton, CA where this video was captured by Tasha Joy. 🔥 🌪 pic.twitter.com/kUcWfBg6Mr
FIRENADO WARNING: The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a rare fire tornado, or "firenado," warning for the Loyalton Fire currently burning near the California border outside Reno. #firenado #loyaltonfire pic.twitter.com/visxBZcdts
— Eyewitness News (@ABC7NY) August 17, 2020
According to CNN, officials in California, Oregon and Colorado are "battling a series of wildfires" that have already collectively devastated over 100,000 acres, with the media outlet warning that "things could get worse with intense heat descending on much of the US".
