Un fire tornado surprised neighbors and emergency teams during a forest fire in the municipality of Moimenta da Beira, in the northern interior of Portugal. The flame whirlwind was generated in the middle of a heat wave and with gusty wind, conditions that amplified the instability of the front.
To deal with fire in the surroundings of Alvite, the authorities deployed about half a thousand people, including more than 400 firefighters, supported by 136 vehicles y nine air assetsRapid mobilization and coordination made it possible to work effectively to contain and cool the fire.
What is a fire tornado and how does it form?
A whirlpool or fire tornado is a rare phenomenon in which the intense heat of the fire produces updrafts that acquire rotation and organize a Vertical column of air, smoke, and incandescent material. To expand your knowledge of this phenomenon, you can visit this full article on the fire tornado.
For it to appear they usually coincide very high temperatures, low humidity, abundant fuel and gusts of wind that promote shear. With this cocktail, the hot air ascends at high speed and the vortex draws in oxygen, reinforcing the spin and intensity of the whirlpool.
There is a meteorological tornado in use, because its “engine” is fire itself. Even so, it can reach significant speeds, launch embers in the distance and hinder security and team maneuver of extinction.
The operation in Alvite and the evolution of the fire
In the environment of Alvite, the deployed troops exceeded the 400 effective, with the support of 136 vehicles y nine aircraft, coordinated by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority to stop the spread and defend inhabited areas.
Images taken by a forest firefighter on the ground reflect the violence of the front in the most critical hours, when the gusty wind and extreme temperatures reinforced convection and facilitated the emergence of a extraordinary birth of a fire tornado.
With the progress stabilized, officials confirmed the containment phase, although patrols were maintained to cool hot spots and avoid reactivations that could reopen the perimeter during the afternoon and evening.
The measures were extended extreme danger: limited access to forest areas, suspension of agricultural burning and restrictions on the use of machinery that can generate sparks, in order to minimize the appearance of new fires.
The population of the nearby villages was called to follow the emergency instructions, keep the areas clear firewall and quickly alerted of any smoke column, while the resources remained deployed on active surveillance. To better understand these phenomena, we recommend visiting this article about the different types of tornadoes.
This episode demonstrates how, under intense heat and wind, a fire can organize a vortex that aggravates the front; the rapid mobilization resource allocation and subsequent monitoring are essential to limit damage.
