Massive fire raging in California, Nevada spawning dangerous ‘fire whirls’

San Francisco, Aug 2

A massive fire is raging across the US states of California and Nevada, with authorities saying that it is generating extreme fire behaviour, spawning “fire whirls” and creating dangerous conditions for firefighters.

The 'York Fire', which is the largest in California this year, has already burnt 80,000 acres as of Tuesday, reports CNN.

The blaze began on July 28 in the New York Mountain Range of California’s Mojave National Preserve and crossed state lines into Nevada on Sunday as winds picked up under scorching temperatures.

Firefighters were able to gain some control of the fire on Monday night and by Tuesday morning, the blaze was 23 per cent contained.

“An infrared flight was completed last night, which provided a better assessment of fire size and activity,” CNN quoted the National Parks Service as saying on Tuesday.

Firefighters battling the blaze have seen fire whirls -- “a vortex of flames and smoke that forms when intense heat and turbulent winds combine, creating a spinning column of fire”, according to the Mojave National Preserve.

As the fire-heated air rises, cold air dashes to take its place, creating a spinning vortex rising from a fire and carrying aloft smoke, debris, and flame, also referred to as a fire tornado in some cases.

Fire whirls range in size from a few feet to several hundred feet in height, and their rotational speed can vary widely, officials at the Mojave National Preserve said.

With the same intensity as that of a tornado, it can change direction suddenly, making them unpredictable and difficult to anticipate, CNN quoted the officials as saying.

As hot and dry conditions continue, 64 active large fires are burning across nine states, including 12 large new fires were reported on Sunday, the National Interagency Fire Center said in its latest update.

More than 11,500 wildland firefighters and other personnel are assigned to incidents throughout the country, the agency said.

As of July 31, 1.1 million acres have burned across the US in 2023, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

But still well below the 5.7 million acres that had burned by the end of July 2022.