LA Times: “Hours after the massive Lake fire exploded in the Angeles National Forest near the 5 Freeway on Wednesday, the blaze exhibited extreme and alarming behavior, at one point forming a tornado-like flaming vortex. Though such a phenomenon — commonly referred to as a fire tornado or fire whirl — is not unprecedented in California, it demonstrates the intensity with which the fire burned as it quickly grew to more than 10,000 acres.”
“The National Weather Service characterized the event as ‘an impressive and terrifying example of extreme fire behavior, when the fire is so hot it creates rotation, along with very strong updrafts and pyrocumulus.’ Video of the incident elicited stunned reactions on social media, with some Twitter users remarking that a flaming twister was a fitting chapter in a year where the news of the day had at times more resembled something out of science fiction.”