2020 reached back into its bag of tricks and threw another surprise: this time in the form of a fiery tornado. The rare and fiery phenomenon was detected near one of the fires in California.
The US Weather Service office issued a tornado warning near the town of Loyalton. This time, the strong whirlpool mixed with the flames that plague the region, forming a wonderful, but destructive phenomenon, with an erratic character, which further complicates the work of containing the fire.
Tornado warning issued on the #LoyaltonFire near Roberts Canyon. Heed all orders by emergency managers and responding personnel. Stay away from the fire area!
— NWS Reno (@NWSReno) August 15, 2020
It didn’t take long for Internet users to capture and publish their images of the whirlpool whose gusts reached almost 100 km/h.
A fire tornado in California because it wouldn’t be 2020 without one https://t.co/5HbJVsugVm
— Natasha (@ndelriego) August 16, 2020
The National Weather Service has issued a rare fire tornado – or "firenado" – warning in California.
Watch more videos from Sky News here: https://t.co/hp7v9d6BxL pic.twitter.com/6nOiKwqDQF
— SkyNews (@SkyNews) August 16, 2020
Although fortunately there are no fatalities or injuries from this fiery tornado, there is a record that the phenomenon caused damage to an area of more than 8,000 hectares.
Currently, the United States is facing wildfires in three different states: California, Oregon, and Colorado. Firefighters are fighting with the flames that have already consumed more than 36,000 hectares (360 km 2).
The intense heatwave hitting California with temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius has overloaded the electrical system, even causing blackouts in several counties of the state.