A fire tornado, or fire whirl, is seen in a video shot by the BC Wildfire Service at Gun Lake in the B.C. Interior overnight on August 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - BC Wildfire Service
LILLOOET, B.C. – The BC Wildfire Service has shared a video showing what it calls an “incredibly rare” fire tornado, also known as a fire whirl, that was whipped up over Gun Lake in the Central Interior.
It says the video, showing a giant vortex of gas and flame disappearing into the night sky, was shot by its firefighters last week as they battled the Downton Lake wildfire near Lillooet.
The service says a combination of extreme fire intensity, plummeting humidity and very low dew point produced conditions that created the fire tornado.
It says “complex terrain” and downslope winds also contributed to the creation of the phenomenon.
The service says on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, that these “unique conditions” are not usually experienced in B.C.
The video has been shared hundreds of thousands of times on social media.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 23, 2023.
