Video: New wildfire spawns rare 'firenado' as it burns through central Utah

KANOSH, Millard County — Utah's newest large fire spawned a rare fire-induced tornado that was caught on video as it quickly burned thousands of acres in central Utah on Tuesday.

The Widemouth 2 Fire, which ignited within Fishlake National Forest after a line of thunderstorms passed through the area on Monday, jumped from a little more than 400 acres in size at the start of Tuesday to over 4,300 acres in size by the end of the day, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

It has now burned over 5,900 acres and remains 0% contained, as of Wednesday. Some parts of Millard County were also evacuated. The fire-induced tornado, also known as a "fire whirl," "fire vortex" or "firenado," was witnessed by crews on the ground battling the blaze and residents.

Firenados form when "highly unstable, superheated, dry air near the ground breaks through the boundary layer and shoots upward in a swirling motion," per the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The U.S. Forest Service notes that these are often between 1 and 500 feet in diameter, though they can be larger.

The National Weather Service confirmed at least one firenado near Kanosh through videos posted to social media on Tuesday. Details about its size or strength weren't immediately known, and it was unclear if it produced any damage beyond the fire itself.

"Currently, it is uncertain how long the fire tornado was on the ground for, and if there were multiple," the agency wrote in its incident report.

While rare, firenadoes aren't unheard of, even in Utah. One that formed during last year's Deer Creek Fire even registered as an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, producing peak wind speeds of up to 122 mph along a narrow path that damaged or destroyed 13 structures in San Juan County.

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