On July 26th, the Carr Fire claimed the life of firefighter Jeremy Stoke. The cause of his death was reported to be this seemingly unreal fire tornado. Earlier this week, California's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, released a report detailing the events.
It reads: "A large fire tornado was one of the primary causes of the entrapment and death of FPI1 on July 26, 2018. The fire tornado was a large rotating fire plume that was roughly 1000 feet in diameter at its base. Winds at the base of the fire tornado reached speeds in the range of 136-165 mph (EF-3 tornado strength), as indicated by wind damage to large oak trees, scouring of the ground surface, damage to roofs of houses, and lofting of large steel power line support towers, vehicles, and a steel marine shipping container within 1⁄2 mile of the entrapment site. The strong winds caused the fire to burn all live vegetation less than 1 inch in diameter and fully consume any dead biomass. Peak gas temperatures likely exceeded 2,700 °F."
There are few tornados in California history that have reached EF-3, and those that did were not nearly as wide as this firenado. Jonathan Cox, a Cal Fire battalion chief, told CBS that "This is the largest documented fire whirl - a fire-generated tornado - in California history."
The report goes on to detail the potential factors to cause such a natural event, such as a hydraulic jump phenomenon - air temperature differences between the coast and the valley caused fast downslope winds to mix with accelerating cool winds, causing a vortex. Cal Fire, says, however, that "Regardless of the primary factors that caused the fire tornado, the resultant fire behavior was unpredictable and unusual. It surprised many highly experienced firefighters. The rotating vertical plume appeared and behaved in many aspects like an EF-3 scale tornado."
An illustration from the Cal Fire report demonstrating the hydraulic jump phenomenon.
Gary Parmely, stepfather to Stoke, told the Associated Presss into an interview, "It was something out of this world, a perfect storm. It was incompatible with life, and he [Stoke] happened to drive into it." Don Ray Smith, a bulldozer operator from Pollock Pines, also lost his life to the inferno. Our hearts and thoughts go out to the families of Smith and Stoke.
Jade Lo
January 22nd, 2023
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