Than threat fire tornado: a destructive fire in California
A devastating fire that raged in Northern California, was finally suppressed by the efforts of firefighters. However, the authorities and the locals still can’t get over the shock, caused by a rare phenomenon — a fiery tornado.
In fact, these vortices are not classified as “tornado” is only a common name. However, this cataclysm could be compared with atmospheric vortices in the threat to humans. The most common of the fiery tornado of dust storms: gusts of hot air blow into the fire at right angles, thereby creating a momentum of rotation. That’s just in this case, instead of dust the wind picks up particles of the burning substance — embers and flaming debris.
This phenomenon today is little studied, and many aspects of it remain a mystery. For example, it is still unknown what exactly triggers a sharp increase in the height of the fiery pillar and the burning intensity — and it is these factors constitute the destructive potential of fire tornado. The study is also hampered by the fact that the vortex usually there are only a few minutes.
A view of the #CarrFire “Firenado” from the sky pic.twitter.com/HqIt3G1EgW
Active NorCal (@ActiveNorCal) July 28, 2018
But the whirlwind Carr, contrary to all expectations, raged for an hour and a half. It went right through Redding is a city with a population of 90 000 people.
According to the National weather service, the wind speed during the fire tornado was “about 143 mph (about 230 km/h)”, making it the most destructive in comparison with the formidable predecessors.