Scientists Stunned by ‘Exceptionally Rare’ California Fire Tornado

Scientists are stunned by the size and strength of the fire tornado that ripped through Northern California on July 26 alongside the still-raging Carr Fire, with some positing that it is the strongest tornado in the state’s history, despite not technically being a real tornado. The Los Angeles Times reports that the so-called fire tornado lasted about an hour and a half, measuring up to 500 yards (five football fields) in diameter, with wind speeds estimated as exceeding 143 miles per hour. Fire tornadoes are caused by the extreme amount of heat often generated by long-burning wildfires, the Times notes, but are still exceptionally rare. “Depending on the final number, this might actually be the strongest ‘tornado’ in California history, even if it wasn’t formally a tornado,” one scientist told the Times. “But this fire whirl was almost certainly longer-lived, larger in spatial scope and perhaps even stronger from a wind speed perspective.” Another scientist added that “It was definitely a massive one, and that just speaks to how intense the heating was [...] It was quite a monster.”