The US Forest Service shared a video of a fire tornado ripping through a northern California wildfire site as the Golden State braces itself for another dangerous heatwave that could break a 90-year-old record.
The fire tornado, or fire whirl, raged through the Tennant Fire in Siskiyou County last week and went viral when the National Weather Service shared the video and said its rotation was so intense that it was detected on their radar.
A fire whirl is defined by US forest service officials as a 'spinning vortex column of ascending hot air and gases rising from a fire and carrying aloft smoke, debris and flame.'
The Tennant Fire burned 10,580 acres since it started on June 28 and is 91 percent contained, the US forest service said on Friday.
While the Tennant Fire is nearly under control, firefighters are dealing with a roaring wildfire that's forcing evacuations across state lines into Nevada this weekend as the region braces for 'dangerously hot' weather.
The Beckwourth Complex Fire - which began as two lightning-caused fires in Plumas National Forest on June 30 - showed 'extreme behavior,' fire information officer Lisa Cox told the Associated Press Friday evening.
The fire tornado tears through the Tennant wildfire in Northern California
The fire tornado, or fire whirl, is defined by US forest service officials as a 'spinning vortex column of ascending hot air and gases rising from a fire and carrying aloft smoke, debris and flame'
The Beckwourth Complex Fire continues to burn and is only nine percent contained as of the more recent update on Friday
Strong winds and scorching, dry weather are driving the flames from the Beckwourth Complex Fire forward and forcing evacuations in California and Nevada
Firefighters from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection's Placerville station battle the Sugar Fire, part of the Beckwourth Complex Fire on Friday
Embers blow across the Beckwourth Complex Fire, which has already burned through over 38,000 acres
Strong winds and scorching, dry weather drove flames forward through over 38,000 acres of trees and brush and is only nine percent contained, the US forest service said in its most recent update on Friday.
There's been no reports of major injuries.
These are just two of several wildfires blazing trails on the West Coast, which is expected to see triple-digit temperatures upwards of 110F.
The stretch of weather extending through the weekend could bring 'dangerously hot conditions,' the National Weather Service said.
This heat wave
