Also doing the rounds is another News24 video of a “firenado”, which is technically called a fire whirl:

“Firenados” are more correctly called fire whirls, explained South African Weather Service chief forecaster Kevin Rae after a video capturing the phenomena made the rounds over the weekend.

“Recently, however, a popular concatenation of ‘fire’ and ‘tornado’ has resulted in colloquial use of the word ‘firenado’,” he said…

Rae said the phenomenon arose when one was dealing with a very hot, intense wildfire.

“Surface air rushes in, to replace air which is ascending very rapidly at the site of the fire. This sudden accumulation of air at the base of the fire tends to feed it further, increasing the intensity of the fire. One typically ends up with a very dramatic-looking column of rising air and flames, twisted into a helical (helix-shaped) column.”

Whatever you’re calling it, I’m pretty sure firefighters don’t enjoy having them around:

Just another reminder of why we should be so thankful to those who battle blazes on our behalf.

If you’re keen to volunteer as a firefighter, or see how you can help, you can check out the VWS website.

[sources:news24&news24]