Video of Camp Fire “Firenado” Captured in Butte County

The Camp Fire has ravaged Butte County, specifically the community of Paradise. With over 20,000 acres burned, many structures destroyed and zero containment, the worst fear of the fire has been experienced by the people in its path.

Read all the Camp Fire updates




And now, a new fear is being realized with a video of a Firenado. See the video below captured by ABC7’s Laura Anthony near the town of Paradise:

Northern California knows the Firenado all too well. In July, a giant Firenado moved through the community of Redding during the Carr Fire, creating 143 mph winds that accelerated the fire and destroyed 1,600 structures.




A Firenado, if it’s large enough, basically creates it own weather pattern. The heat sucks out all the moisture out of plants and brush, and when the triple degree heat of the afternoon creates an unstable atmosphere above the fire plume, the collapse of the clouds creates a dangerous downdraft for everything on the ground.

https://www.facebook.com/ActiveNorcal/videos/1727964197241435/

So think about it this way: when the fire sucks the oxygen out of the dry plants, the force of that suction create gusts of winds. When the fire gets so intense, the winds pick up around the flames, creating a self-sustaining tornado of flames and destruction.




Of course, this Firenado isn’t nearly the size of the one in Redding. And hopefully a incident of that size never happens again. Let’s hope the Camp Fire slows down soon.

Active NorCal

Telling the Stories of Northern California

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