Rare 'fire tornado' spotted near blaze in California

A rare "fire tornado" formed on Saturday near a fire in California, CNN reports.

The news outlet added that its official meteorological name is a firenado - a flaming tornado.

The National Weather Service Office (NWS) subsequently issued a warning about the possibility of a pyrocumulonimbus cloud being formed by the Loyalton Fire.

Sky News reports that this is the first time the NWS has issued a firenado warning.

CNN meteorologist Haley Brink said that the fire was "capable of producing a fire-induced tornado and outflow winds in excess of 60 mph."

Watch footage of the firenado below: 

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Pyrocumulonimbus clouds typically form above volcanoes or fire and they are created by insense rising heat.

They also give way to the birth of fire tornados because of the heat from the blaze pulling in smoke, fire, and dirt. According to Brink, this is what creates the rotating vortex.

While fire tornadoes are rare, the danger they pose cannot be overstated.

John Mittelstadt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, told Fox News: "The big concern is that it’s extremely erratic fire behavior.

"For any of the firefighters who are working on one flank of the fire, all of a sudden, there is no way to predict what the winds are going to do or how strong they are going to be."

In 2018, firefighter and bulldozer lost their lives while battling the Carr Fire because of a firenado, CNN reports, and when the National Weather Service assessed the damage, they concluded that its winds were in excess of 143 mph, making it the equivalent of an EF-3 tornado.

According to the Sun, firenados have the ability to uproot trees that are 49 feet (15 meters) and taller.

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The firenado comes as blazes are tearing through California, Oregon, and Colorado, having already consumed up to 100,000 acres of land. It is believed that the scale of destruction could increase as the heat rises.

Five percent of the Loyalton Fire was contained by Sunday morning, and it has burned through 20,000 acres so far.

CNN reports that the blaze is still raging east of the town of Loyalton.