What a Firenado Is and How It Happens
Striking phenomenon can happen during wildfires like in California.
May 15, 2014— -- Wildfires ravaging the West Coast have created the scary phenomenon of firenadoes — dangerous columns of flame that suck in debris and spew hot embers for miles around.
Firenadoes happen when ground-level winds come in contact with fire and whip it into the air, creating a shocking spiral of bright red and orange.
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![PHOTO: A wildfire-induced tornado of hot ash dances across a ridgetop as the sun sets May 13, 2002 near Rancho Santa Margarita, CA.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/Getty_Firenado_2_TG_140515.jpg)
They’re an amazing sight but dangerous for firefighters, as the tunnels suck in burning debris and can spit embers miles away, enlarging a wildfire’s path of destruction.
Most firenadoes usually last only a couple minutes.
The phenomenon can happen with smoke, too, when spiraling wind creates a smokenado.
![PHOTO: Smoke takes on the appearance of a colossal tornado as it rises from upper Borrego Palm Canyon in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park near the boundary of the Los Coyotes Indian Reservation August 7, 2002 west of Borrego Springs, California.](https://s.abcnews.com/images/US/Getty_Firenado_1_TG_140515.jpg)