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Rare fire whirl spotted amid devastating Canadian wildfire in British Columbia

By Chris Williams
Published  August 23, 2023 1:01pm EDT
Unusual
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'Incredibly rare' fire whirl forms over Canadian lake

The wildfire service in British Columbia has released dramatic footage of what they described as a fire whirl spinning over a lake during an out-of-control wildfire. (Credit: BC Wildfire Service via Storyful)

In the middle of a devastating Canadian wildfire, crews spotted a rare find: a fire whirl.  

Footage of the phenomenon was released showing the fire whirl spinning over a British Columbia lake during an out-of-control wildfire. 

Ground personnel crews captured the dramatic footage from the Downton Lake wildfire in the Gun Lake area on August 17.

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The fire service said the fire whirl formed as a result of a "combination of high fire intensity, strong winds and air mass instability."

"Fire whirls are an incredibly rare phenomenon," they said. "These unique conditions and extreme fire behaviour are not experienced on the majority of fires in British Columbia."

As of Wednesday, the fire  had burned over 18,200 acres, according to the wildfire service.

Storyful contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.