Flame Whirls

The largest fire tornado ever recorded occurred during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake in Tokyo, where a massive fire whirl, fueled by intense urban fires, killed approximately 38,000 people in just 15 minutes.

In modern history, the 2018 Carr Fire in California produced a fire tornado with 143 mph (230 km/h) winds, equivalent to an EF3 tornado, causing widespread destruction.

Fire tornadoes form when extreme heat generates rising columns of air, which, combined with wind shear, create a vortex of fire and debris, making them one of the most dangerous wildfire phenomena.