Impressive fire whirl on the Sam Fire in LA County

Fire whirl on the Sam Fire in LA County, Aug. 10, 2022
Fire whirl on the Sam Fire in LA County, Aug. 10, 2022. KTLA-2

On Wednesday afternoon the Sam Fire burned nearly 150 acres of grass and brush in northwestern Los Angeles County. No structures were damaged and there were no reports of injuries.

The KTLA Channel 5 helicopter captured some interesting video of an impressive fire whirl. It’s hard to appreciate it from seeing still photos since it did not appear to be very tall like many large fire whirls, but the indrafts it created are fascinating. At the end of the video below, an Air-Crane helicopter dropped water that at least for a while took most of the energy out of it.

Fire whirl on the Sam Fire in LA County, Aug. 10, 2022
Helicopter drops water on a fire whirl on the Sam Fire in LA County, Aug. 10, 2022. KTLA

Maybe a helicopter pilot can tell us how ballsy it was, or was not, to fly close enough to drop water on the fire whirl.

Fire whirls, much like dust devils, are not uncommon on a fire when the atmosphere is unstable, and are much smaller than fire tornados. In 1978 a researcher for the National Weather Service in Missoula, David W. Goens, established parameters for the two.

He said the average size of a fire whirl is usually 33 to 100 feet, with rotational velocities of 22 to 67 MPH.

But a fire tornado dominates the large scale fire dynamics. They lead to extreme hazard and control problems. In size, they average 100 to 1,000 feet in diameter and have rotational velocities up to 90 MPH.

 

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Pat.

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Author: Bill Gabbert

After working full time in wildland fire for 33 years, he continues to learn, and strives to be a Student of Fire.

One thought on “Impressive fire whirl on the Sam Fire in LA County”

  1. The convective column was still active following the drop. I wish they had kept shooting a while longer.

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