{{Short description|Whirlwind induced by and often composed of fire}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}} {{Redirect|Fire twister|the 2015 film|Fire Twister}} {{Infobox weather type |name = Fire whirl |image = Fire whirl (FWS) crop.jpg |caption = A fire whirl with flames in the vortex |area of occurrence = Worldwide (most frequent in areas subject to wildfires) |season = All year (most frequent in dry season) |effect = Wind damage, burning, propagation/intensification of fires }} {{Weather}} A '''fire whirl''', '''fire devil''' or '''fire tornado''' is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often (at least partially) composed of flame and/or ash. These start with a whirl of wind, often made visible by smoke, and may occur when intense rising heat and turbulent fire-caused wind conditions combine to form whirling eddies of air. These eddies can contract to a tornado-like vortex that ingests debris and combustible gases.{{cn|date=January 2026}}
The phenomenon is sometimes labeled a '''fire tornado''', '''firenado''', '''fire swirl''', or '''fire twister''', but these terms usually refer to a separate phenomenon where a fire has such intensity that it generates an actual tornado, which an intensely rotating vortex (column of air) in contact with the surface and a cumuliform cloud above. Fire whirls are not usually classifiable as tornadoes as the vortex in most cases does not extend from the surface to cloud base. Also, even in such cases, those fire whirls very rarely are classic tornadoes, as their vorticity derives from surface winds and heat-induced lifting, rather than from a tornadic mesocyclone aloft.<ref name="McRae">{{cite journal |last = McRae |first = Richard H. D. |author2 = J. J. Sharples |author3 = S. R. Wilkes |author4 = A. Walker |title = An Australian pyro-tornadogenesis event |journal = Nat. Hazards |volume = 65 |issue = 3 |pages = 1801–1811 |date = 2013 |doi = 10.1007/s11069-012-0443-7 |bibcode = 2013NatHa..65.1801M |s2cid = 51933150 }}</ref>
Although directly fire-spawned in flammagenitus clouds and mesocyclones within fire-induced cumulonimbus flammagenitus were for decades known to occasionally produce tornadic firewhirls, the phenomenon came to wider attention after the 2003 Canberra bushfires and with the 2018 Carr Fire in California, the 2020 Loyalton Fire in California and Nevada, and the 2025 Deer Creek Fire in Utah.<ref>{{cite report|author=National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, Utah|title=Utah Event Report: EF2 Fire Tornado|url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/eventdetails.jsp?id=1285600|publisher=National Centers for Environmental Information|year=2025|access-date=February 4, 2026}}</ref>
==Formation== A fire whirl consists of a burning core and a rotating pocket of air. A fire whirl can reach up to {{convert|2000|F|C|sigfig=2|order=flip}}.<ref>Fortofer, Jason (20 September 2012) [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/09/pictures/120920-fire-tornadoes-vortex-firenadoes-devils-science-weather/#/new-fire-tornado-spotted-australia_59442_600x450.jpg "New Fire Tornado Spotted in Australia"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727143726/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/09/pictures/120920-fire-tornadoes-vortex-firenadoes-devils-science-weather/#/new-fire-tornado-spotted-australia_59442_600x450.jpg |date=27 July 2019 }} ''National Geographic''</ref> Fire whirls become frequent when a wildfire, or especially firestorm, creates its own wind, which can spawn large vortices. Even bonfires often have whirls on a smaller scale and tiny fire whirls have been generated by very small fires in laboratories.<ref>{{cite journal |last = Chuah |first = Keng Hoo |author2 = K. Kuwana |title = Modeling a fire whirl generated over a 5-cm-diameter methanol pool fire |journal = Combust. Flame |volume = 156 |issue = 9 |pages = 1828–1833 |date = 2009 |doi = 10.1016/j.combustflame.2009.06.010 |bibcode = 2009CoFl..156.1828C }}</ref>
Most of the largest fire whirls are spawned from wildfires. They form when a warm updraft and convergence from the wildfire are present.<ref name="firewhirls">{{cite journal |last1=Umscheid |first1=Michael E. |last2=Monteverdi |first2=J.P. |last3=Davies |first3=J.M. |title=Photographs and Analysis of an Unusually Large and Long-lived Firewhirl |journal=Electronic Journal of Severe Storms Meteorology |volume=1 |issue=2 |year=2006 |pages=1–13 |doi=10.55599/ejssm.v1i2.3|doi-access=free }}</ref> They are usually {{convert|10|–|50|m|abbr=on}} tall, a few meters (several feet) wide, and last only a few minutes. Some, however, can be more than {{convert|1|km|mi|sigfig=1|abbr=on|frac=8}} tall, contain wind speeds over {{convert|200|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}, and persist for more than 20 minutes.<ref name="significant tornadoes">{{cite book |last=Grazulis |first=Thomas P. |author-link=Thomas P. Grazulis |title=Significant Tornadoes 1680–1991: A Chronology and Analysis of Events |date=July 1993 |publisher=The Tornado Project of Environmental Films |location=St. Johnsbury, VT |isbn=1-879362-03-1 }}</ref>
Fire whirls can uproot trees {{convert|15|m|ft|-1|abbr=on}} tall or more.<ref name="Otways Fire No. 22">{{Cite book | url = http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fire-and-other-emergencies/publications-and-research/fire-research-reports/research-report-20 | title = Otways Fire No. 22 – 1982/83 Aspects of fire behaviour. Research Report No.20 | publisher = Victoria Department of Sustainability and Environment | format = PDF | date = June 1983 | access-date = 2012-12-19 | editor-last = Billing | editor-first = P. | archive-date = 3 May 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130503091620/http://www.dse.vic.gov.au/fire-and-other-emergencies/publications-and-research/fire-research-reports/research-report-20 | url-status = live }}</ref> These can also aid the 'spotting' ability of wildfires to propagate and start new fires as they lift burning materials such as tree bark. These burning embers can be blown away from the fire-ground by the stronger winds aloft.
Fire whirls can be common within the vicinity of a plume during a volcanic eruption.<ref name="Thorarinsson">{{cite journal |last = Thorarinsson |first = Sigurdur |author2 = B. Vonnegut |title = Whirlwinds Produced by the Eruption of Surtsey Volcano |journal = Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. |volume = 45 |issue = 8 |pages = 440–444 |date = 1964 |doi = 10.1175/1520-0477-45.8.440 |bibcode = 1964BAMS...45..440T |doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last = Antonescu |first = Bogdan |author2 = D. M. Schultz |author3 = F. Lomas |title = Tornadoes in Europe: Synthesis of the Observational Datasets |journal = Mon. Wea. Rev. |volume = 144 |issue = 7 |pages = 2445–2480 |date = 2016 |doi = 10.1175/MWR-D-15-0298.1 |doi-access = free |bibcode = 2016MWRv..144.2445A }}</ref> These range from small to large and form from a variety of mechanisms, including those akin to typical fire whirl processes, but can result in Cumulonimbus flammagenitus (cloud) spawning landspouts and waterspouts<ref name="Lareau">{{cite journal |last = Lareau |first = N. P. |author2 = N. J. Nauslar |author3 = J. T. Abatzoglou |title = The Carr Fire Vortex: A Case of Pyrotornadogenesis? |journal = Geophys. Res. Lett. |volume = 45 |issue = 23 |pages = 13107–13115 |date = 2018 |doi = 10.1029/2018GL080667 |bibcode = 2018GeoRL..4513107L |doi-access = free }}</ref> or even to develop mesocyclone-like updraft rotation of the plume itself and/or of the cumulonimbi, which can spawn tornadoes similar to those in supercells.<ref name="Chakraborty">{{cite journal |last = Chakraborty |first = Pinaki |author2 = G. Gioia |author3 = S. W. Kieffer |title = Volcanic mesocyclones |journal = Nature |volume = 458 |issue = 7237 |pages = 497–500 |date = 2009 |doi = 10.1038/nature07866 |pmid = 19325632 |bibcode = 2009Natur.458..497C |s2cid = 1129142 }}</ref> Pyrocumulonimbi generated by large fires on rare occasions also develop in a similar way.<ref name="Cunningham">{{cite journal |last = Cunningham |first = Phillip |author2 = M. J. Reeder |title = Severe convective storms initiated by intense wildfires: Numerical simulations of pyro-convection and pyro-tornadogenesis |journal = Geophys. Res. Lett. |volume = 36 |issue = 12 |pages = L12812 |date = 2009 |doi = 10.1029/2009GL039262 |bibcode = 2009GeoRL..3612812C |s2cid = 128775258 }}</ref><ref name="McRae"/><ref>{{cite journal |last = Fromm |first = Michael |author2 = A. Tupper |author3 = D. Rosenfeld |author4 = R. Servranckx |author5 = R. McRae |title = Violent pyro-convective storm devastates Australia's capital and pollutes the stratosphere |journal = Geophys. Res. Lett. |volume = 33 |issue = 5 |pages = L05815 |date = 2006 |doi = 10.1029/2005GL025161 |bibcode = 2006GeoRL..33.5815F |s2cid = 128709657 |doi-access = free }}</ref><ref name="Kinniburgh">{{cite conference |first = David C. |last = Kinniburgh |author2 = M. J. Reeder |author3 = T. P. Lane |title = The dynamics of pyro-tornadogenesis using a coupled fire-atmosphere model |book-title = 11th Symposium on Fire and Forest Meteorology |publisher = American Meteorological Society |date = 2016 |location = Minneapolis, MN }}</ref>
==Classification== There are currently three widely recognized types of fire whirls:<ref>{{cite web|title=The Occurrence and Mechanisms of Fire Whirls|url=http://www.seic09.eis.uva.es/Presentaciones/IL4.pdf|publisher=MAE UCSD; Spanish Section of the Combustion Institute|author=Williams, Forman|location=La Lolla, California; Valladolid, Spain|date=22 May 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140513010536/http://www.seic09.eis.uva.es/Presentaciones/IL4.pdf|archive-date=13 May 2014|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* Type 1: Stable and centered over burning area. * Type 2: Stable or transient, downwind of burning area. * Type 3: Steady or transient, centered over an open area adjacent to an asymmetric burning area with wind.
There is evidence suggesting that the fire whirl in the Hifukusho-ato area, during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake, was of type 3.<ref name="Kuwana">{{cite journal|last1=Kuwana|first1=Kazunori|first2=Kozo |last2=Sekimoto |first3=Kozo |last3=Saito |first4=Forman A. |last4=Williams |title=Scaling fire whirls |journal=Fire Safety Journal |date=May 2008 |volume=43 |issue=4 |pages=252–7 |doi=10.1016/j.firesaf.2007.10.006 |bibcode=2008FirSJ..43..252K }}</ref> Other mechanism and fire whirl dynamics may exist.<ref name="Chuah">{{cite journal |last = Chuah |first = Keng Hoo |author2 = K. Kuwana |author3 = K. Saito |author4 = F. A. Williams |title = Inclined fire whirls |journal = Proc. Combust. Inst. |volume = 33 |issue = 2 |pages = 2417–2424 |date = 2011 |doi = 10.1016/j.proci.2010.05.102 |bibcode = 2011PComI..33.2417C }}</ref> A broader classification of fire whirls suggested by Forman A. Williams includes five different categories:<ref>{{cite journal |last = Williams |first = Forman A. |title = Scaling considerations for fire whirls |journal = Progress in Scale Modeling |volume = 1 |issue = 1 |pages = 1–4 |date = 2020 |doi = 10.13023/psmij.2020.02}}</ref>
*Whirls generated by fuel distribution in wind *Whirls above fuels in pools or on water *Tilted fire whirls *Moving fire whirls *Whirls modified by vortex breakdown
The meteorological community views some fire-induced phenomena as atmospheric phenomena. Using the ''pyro-'' prefix, fire-induced clouds are called pyrocumulus and pyrocumulonimbus. Larger fire vortices are similarly being viewed. Based on vortex scale, the classification terms of ''pyronado'', ''"pyrotornado"'', and ''"pyromesocyclone"'' have been proposed.<ref>{{cite web |first1=Patrick |last1=McCarthy |first2=Leanne |last2=Cormier |title=Proposed Nomenclature for Fire-induced Vortices |url=https://bulletin.cmos.ca/nomenclature-for-fire-induced-vortices/ |website=CMOS BULLETIN SCMO |publisher=Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society |access-date=18 October 2020 |date=September 23, 2020 |archive-date=20 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020193046/https://bulletin.cmos.ca/nomenclature-for-fire-induced-vortices/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
==Notable examples== thumb|right|upright=1.3|A flame-filled fire whirl
During the 1871 Peshtigo fire, the community of Williamsonville, Wisconsin, was burned by a fire whirl; the area where Williamsonville once stood is now Tornado Memorial County Park.<ref>[http://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/transactions/WT1990/reference/wi.wt1990.jmmoran.pdf Tornadoes of Fire at Williamsonville, Wisconsin, October 8, 1871] {{Webarchive|url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://images.library.wisc.edu/WI/EFacs/transactions/WT1990/reference/wi.wt1990.jmmoran.pdf |date=9 October 2022 }} by Joseph M. Moran and E. Lee Somerville, 1990, Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, and Letters, 31 pp.</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://doorcountypulse.com/fire-took-williamsonville/|title=The Fire That Took Williamsonville|last1=Skiba|first1=Justin|date=September 2, 2016|publisher=Door County Living|access-date=January 22, 2019|archive-date=24 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924211214/https://doorcountypulse.com/fire-took-williamsonville/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200113055040/http://map.co.door.wi.us/parks/kiosks/Tornado.pdf Tornado Memorial Park] kiosk historical notes, also see [http://archaeolab.anthro.uwm.edu/WIS_57_Project/WIS_57_Public_Interpretation/WIS_57_Documents/Summary_Handout_(Version_3).pdf p. 19] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210624200537/http://archaeolab.anthro.uwm.edu/WIS_57_Project/WIS_57_Public_Interpretation/WIS_57_Documents/Summary_Handout_(Version_3).pdf |date=24 June 2021 }} of the County C Park and Ride lot panel draft pdf</ref>
An extreme example of the phenomenon occurred in the aftermath of the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake in Japan, in which a city-wide firestorm in Tokyo produced the conditions required for a gigantic fire whirl that killed 38,000 people in fifteen minutes in the Hifukusho-Ato region of the city.<ref name="fire behavior">{{cite book |last=Quintiere |first=James G. |title=Principles of Fire Behavior |publisher=Thomson Delmar Learning |year=1998 |isbn=0-8273-7732-0 }}</ref>
Numerous large fire whirls (some tornadic) that developed after lightning struck an oil storage facility near San Luis Obispo, California, on 7 April 1926, produced significant structural damage well away from the fire, killing two. Many whirlwinds were produced by the four-day-long firestorm coincident with conditions that produced severe thunderstorms, in which the larger fire whirls carried debris {{convert|5|km|0|abbr=on}} away.<ref name="San Luis Obispo">{{cite journal |last=Hissong |first=J. E. |title=Whirlwinds At Oil-Tank Fire, San Luis Obispo, Calif |journal=Mon. Wea. Rev. |volume=54 |issue=4 |pages=161–3 |date= 1926 |doi=10.1175/1520-0493(1926)54<161:WAOFSL>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode = 1926MWRv...54..161H |doi-access=free }}</ref>
Fire whirls were produced in the conflagrations and firestorms triggered by firebombings of European and Japanese cities during World War II and by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Fire whirls associated with the bombing of Hamburg, particularly those of 27–28 July 1943, were studied.<ref name="Ebert">{{cite journal |last = Ebert |first = Charles H. V. |title = The Meteorological Factor in the Hamburg Fire Storm |journal = Weatherwise |volume = 16 |issue = 2 |pages = 70–75 |date = 1963 |doi = 10.1080/00431672.1963.9941009 |bibcode = 1963Weawi..16b..70E }}</ref>
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, particularly in 1978–1979, fire whirls ranging from the transient and very small to intense, long-lived tornado-like vortices capable of causing significant damage were spawned by fires generated from the {{val|1000|ul=MW|fmt=commas}}-{{ill|Météotron|qid=Q139309059|s=1|v=sup}}, a series of large oil wells located in the Lannemezan plain of France used for testing atmospheric motions and thermodynamics.<ref name="Church">{{cite journal |last1=Church |first1=Christopher R. |first2=John T. |last2=Snow |first3=Jean |last3=Dessens |title=Intense Atmospheric Vortices Associated with a 1000 MW Fire |journal=Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. |volume=61 |issue=7 |pages=682–694 |date= 1980 |doi=10.1175/1520-0477(1980)061<0682:IAVAWA>2.0.CO;2 |bibcode = 1980BAMS...61..682C |doi-access=free }}</ref>
During the 2003 Canberra bushfires in Canberra, Australia, a violent fire whirl was documented. It was calculated to have horizontal winds of {{convert|160|mph|abbr=on|order=flip}} and vertical air speed of {{convert|93|mph|abbr=on|order=flip}}, causing the flashover of {{convert|300|acre|ha|order=flip}} in 0.04 seconds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://esa.act.gov.au/emergency-management/fire-tornado-video/|title=Fire tornado video|publisher=ACT Emergency Services|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128122637/http://esa.act.gov.au/emergency-management/fire-tornado-video/|url-status=live}}</ref> It was the first known fire whirl in Australia to have EF3 wind speeds on the Enhanced Fujita scale.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2018/08/03/fire-tornado-california-carr-fire-143-mph-winds/897835002/|title=California 'fire tornado' had {{convert|143|mph|km/h|abbr=on|order=flip}} winds, possibly state's strongest twister ever|newspaper=USA Today|date=August 3, 2018|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128075429/https://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2018/08/03/fire-tornado-california-carr-fire-143-mph-winds/897835002/|url-status=live}}</ref>
On 22 May 2015, a Conair Group float-equipped Air Tractor AT-802 fighting a fire near Cold Lake, Alberta encountered a fire whirl. The encounter resulted in a loss of control and collision with terrain, killing the pilot on board.<ref>{{cite report |url=https://www.tsb.gc.ca/sites/default/files/rapports-reports/aviation/A15W0069/eng/a15w0069.pdf |title=Loss of control and collision with terrain Conair Group Inc., dba Conair Air Tractor AT-802A Fire Boss Amphibian, C-FDHV Cold Lake, Alberta, 25 nm NW 22 May 2015 |publisher=Transportation Safety Board of Canada |id=A15W0069}}</ref> [[File:Carr Fire tornado dashcam.webm|thumb|227x227px|Dashcam video of the 2018 Carr Fire tornado]] A fire whirl, of reportedly uncommon size for New Zealand wildfires, formed on day three of the 2017 Port Hills fires in Christchurch. Pilots estimated the fire column to be {{convert|100|m|abbr=on}} high.<ref>{{cite news |last1=van Beynen |first1=Martin |title=Firestorm |url=https://assets.stuff.co.nz/interactives/2017/firestorm/ |access-date=12 March 2017 |work=The Press |date=11 March 2017 |pages=C1–C4 |archive-date=12 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312005611/https://assets.stuff.co.nz/interactives/2017/firestorm/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
On 26 July 2018, the massive 2018 Carr Fire tornado would hit Redding, California.<ref name="Erdman">{{cite news |last = Erdman |first = Jonathan |title = The Giant Fire Whirl From California's Carr Fire Produced Damage Similar to an EF3 Tornado in Redding, an NWS Survey Found |newspaper = The Weather Channel |date = August 3, 2018 |url = https://weather.com/safety/wildfires/news/2018-08-03-fire-whirl-carr-fire-california-damage |access-date = 16 February 2019 |archive-date = 5 August 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180805083134/https://weather.com/safety/wildfires/news/2018-08-03-fire-whirl-carr-fire-california-damage |url-status = live }}</ref>
On 15 August 2020, for the first time in its history, the U.S. National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for a pyrocumulonimbus created by a wildfire near Loyalton, California, capable of producing a fire tornado.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.sacbee.com/news/weather-news/article244993335.html |title=A 'fire tornado' warning? Weather service issues what could be a first at California blaze |access-date=16 August 2020 |archive-date=16 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200816050603/https://www.sacbee.com/news/weather-news/article244993335.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=Daryl |last=Herzmann |title=IEM :: Valid Time Event Code (VTEC) App |url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2020-O-NEW-KREV-TO-W-0001/USCOMP-N0Q-202008152135 |website=mesonet.agron.iastate.edu |access-date=14 September 2020 |language=en |archive-date=1 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200901234400/https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/vtec/#2020-O-NEW-KREV-TO-W-0001/USCOMP-N0Q-202008152135 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name= cappucciWildfireSmokePlumes >{{Cite web |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/californias-wildfire-smoke-plumes-are-unlike-anything-previously-seen/ar-BB18Y54b?li=BBnb7Kz |title=Matthew Cappucci (September 13, 2020) California's wildfire smoke plumes are unlike anything previously seen |website=MSN |access-date=14 September 2020 |archive-date=14 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200914140119/https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/californias-wildfire-smoke-plumes-are-unlike-anything-previously-seen/ar-BB18Y54b?li=BBnb7Kz |url-status=live }}</ref>
On 11 January 2025, a fire whirl was spotted in the Palisades wildfire.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://apnews.com/video/fires-wildfires-los-angeles-los-angeles-area-wildfires-california-574351467d2142ad958c212a0413ad96 |title=Fire tornadoes spotted in blazing Pacific Palisades fires |language=en |access-date=2025-01-14 |via=apnews.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='Fire tornado' spotted in Los Angeles Pacific Palisades blaze |url=https://news.sky.com/video/fire-tornado-spotted-in-los-angeles-pacific-palisades-blaze-13287014 |access-date=2025-01-14 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>
On 12 July 2025, a strong and nearly stationary fire tornado was spawned from the Deer Creek wildfire in San Juan County, Utah. Despite being rated EF2 and damaging a fire engine belonging to the Bureau of Land Management, no injuries or fatalities would occur in relation to this fire tornado.<ref>{{cite web | last=Williams | first=Carter | title=13 structures damaged or destroyed by Deer Creek Fire; rare 'firenado' rated as EF-2 | website=KSL.com | date=2025-07-16 | url=https://www.ksl.com/article/51346742/13-structures-damaged-or-destroyed-by-deer-creek-fire-rare-firenado-rated-as-ef-2 | access-date=2025-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Akrherz@Iastate.Edu | first=Daryl Herzmann | title=IEM :: PNS from NWS GJT | website=Iowa Environmental Mesonet | date=2025-07-16 | url=https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/wx/afos/p.php?pil=PNSGJT&e=202507161727 | access-date=2025-09-13}}</ref>
==Blue whirl== In controlled small-scale experiments, fire whirls are found to transition to a mode of combustion called blue whirls.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal |last1=Xiao |first1=Huahua |last2=Gollner |first2=Michael J. |last3=Oran |first3=Elaine S. |title= From fire whirls to blue whirls and combustion with reduced pollution |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=2016 |volume=113 | issue = 34 | pages= 9457–9462 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1605860113|pmid=27493219 |pmc=5003231 |arxiv=1605.01315 |bibcode=2016PNAS..113.9457X |doi-access=free }}</ref> The name ''blue whirl'' was coined because the soot production is negligible, leading to the disappearance of the yellow color typical of a fire whirl. Blue whirls are partially premixed flames that reside elevated in the recirculation region of the vortex-breakdown bubble.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Coenen |first1=Wilfried |last2=Kolb |first2=Erik J. |last3=Sánchez |first3=Antonio L. |last4=Williams |first4=Forman A. |title=Observed dependence of characteristics of liquid-pool fires on swirl magnitude |journal=Combustion and Flame |date=July 2019 |volume=285 |pages=1–6 |doi=10.1016/j.combustflame.2019.03.032|arxiv=2202.06567 |bibcode=2019CoFl..205....1C |s2cid=132260032 }}</ref> The flame length and burning rate of a blue whirl are smaller than those of a fire whirl.<ref name=":0" />
==See also== {{Portal|Tornadoes}} * Dust devil * Steam devil * Waterspout
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== * {{cite journal |last = Graham |first = Howard E. |title = Fire Whirlwinds |journal = Bull. Am. Meteorol. Soc. |volume = 36 |issue = 3 |pages = 99–103 |date = 1955 |doi = 10.1175/1520-0477-36.3.99 |bibcode = 1955BAMS...36...99G |doi-access = free }}
==External links== {{commons category|Fire whirls}} * [https://www.flickr.com/photos/christangey/15034579939 photo fire whirl outback Australia] * {{cite web | url=http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2012/11/fire-tornadoes-a-rare-weather-phenomenon/ | title=Fire tornadoes: a rare weather phenomenon | first=Elizabeth | last=New | date=1 November 2012 | work=Australian Geographic | access-date=6 March 2017 | archive-date=6 August 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806205542/http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2012/11/fire-tornadoes-a-rare-weather-phenomenon | url-status=dead }} * [http://vimeo.com/alicespringsfilmtv/skyfire/ Fire tornado video (whirl) 11 September 2012 Alice Springs Australia] * [http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/viewsingleimage.html?mode=singleimage&handle=Photo5150&number=178&album_id=51&thumbstart=0&gallery=#slideanchor Photo] * [https://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-11-19/researchers-document-world-first-fire-tornado/4380252 www.abc.net.au/news] Australian researchers document world-first fire tornado (Canberra). And [https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/21/australian_fire_tornado/ First FIRE TORNADO documented in Australia • The Register] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqYEeivt8Eg 2013 'Fire Tornado' video. Canberra 2003 groundtrack, lee side spread, weather. 11:08 ] * [https://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3774941.htm Catalyst story: Fire Tornado] * [http://uk.news.yahoo.com/setting-the-world-on-fire-stunning-pictures-of-rare-devil-tornado-emerge.html Another photo] * [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssn2kmNf0ME www.youtube.com] Video of a Fire whirl (0:30), Brazil. * {{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-latin-america-11086299 |title=Rare Footage of Fire Tornado |date=25 August 2010 |publisher=BBC }} * [http://fox5sandiego.com/2014/05/14/raw-fire-tornado Video of a Fire Tornado in San Diego country] * [http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire98/art079.html Fire Whirl Simulations] * [https://www.check123.com/videos/9520-1923-great-kanto-earthquake-fire-tornado 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake - Fire Tornado | Video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103193253/http://www.check123.com/videos/9520-1923-great-kanto-earthquake-fire-tornado |date=3 November 2020 }} - Check123
{{Fire}} {{Cyclones}}
Category:Wildfires Category:Severe weather and convection Category:Weather hazards Category:Wind Category:Vortices Category:Types of fire