A fire tornado is just like a tornado but made of fire instead of air.
When we picture a tornado, most of us imagine a whirling column of air poking down from the clouds. But this tornado-like effect is not just limited to air. Imagine what it might look like if winds could twist a ground level forest fire into an enormous fire tornado that dances across the tops of the trees. It’s not a special effect found in a movie—it’s a real-world danger that firefighters battle in the most extreme forest fires imaginable. This special demonstration is reserved for science teachers who want to share a small version of this amazing phenomenon.
WARNING! TEACHERS ONLY!
This demonstration write-up is provided for educational purposes only and should only be performed by properly trained science demonstrators. In other words, if you’re a kid and you want to see this in action, bookmark this page and share it with your middle or high school science teacher.