A nightmare of flames facing firefighters in California.. What are fire tornadoes?
While California firefighters are already facing significant challenges, they may also have to deal with fire tornadoes, a rare but dangerous phenomenon.
The warnings, which extend through Wednesday, do not mention fire tornadoes, but meteorologist Todd Hall said fire tornadoes are possible given the extreme conditions.
The National Wildfire Coordination Group defines a fire tornado as “a rotating column of hot air and gases rising from a fire, carrying with it smoke, debris, and flames,” and explains that large eddies “have an intensity equivalent to a small tornado.”
Fire tornadoes can increase the severity of fires by drawing in air.
In 2018, a fiery tornado the size of three football fields killed a firefighter when it exploded in a massive, devastating blaze that had already erupted near the city of Redding, about 400 kilometers north of San Francisco in northern California.
Strong winds blowing
Santa Ana winds, which began blowing across the mountains before sunrise, were expected to remain strong enough to carry sparks long distances and spark new fires across the region, where at least 24 people have already been killed.
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“The damaging, life-threatening and widespread winds have already arrived,” Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Christine Crowley said at a news conference.
High level of fire risk
Much of Southern California was under a high fire risk level, with crews on high alert across a 300-mile stretch from San Diego to north of Los Angeles.
Inland areas north of Los Angeles, including the cities of Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley, home to more than 300,000 people, were most at risk, forecasters said.
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