Flaming brush spawned a rare and raging "fire tornado" in Morgan County in northeastern Colorado - endangering fire crews.
The unusual phenomenon - also known as a "fire whirl" or a "fire devil" - was photographed crossing Highway 71 between County Road H and County Road I as firefighters battled the blaze on Monday. The remarkable image shows "shows how quickly fire and wind can combine to create extreme, unpredictable conditions," according to the Morgan County Sheriff's Office said. No one was injured. No structures were lost. "Whirls are capable of wind damage similar to weak or moderate tornadoes," according to the U.S. Agriculture Department Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana. "Uprooting and breaking of large trees, tipping of automobiles, and tearing off roofs of houses have all been documented."
Burn rates also increase - by up to seven times, based on scientific studies.
Major fire whirls fueled the Missionary Ridge conflagration near Durango in July 2002. A falling tree fatally injured a wildland firefighter, Alan Wayne Wyatt, during that 73,000-acre blaze, according to Colorado Encyclopedia.
Acknowledging the tremendous risk, the Moran County Sheriff's Office saluted emergency personnel "who worked to protect our community" from Monday's blaze. [Photo: Morgan County Sheriff]
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