The First-Ever Fire Tornado Warning Was Issued in California Because 2020

Pandemic, murder hornets, and now, a fire tornado. Yes, really.

For the first time in our history, the National Weather Service issued a tornado warning in Northern California for a firenado.

The Loyalton Fire in Lassen County, California, has been burning intensely after a lightning strike ignited the surrounding timber, sagebrush and tall grass. And, on Saturday, they had a new problem to worry about - a firenado.

This isn't the first firenado in history; it is, however, the first time that the NWS has issued an actual warning for it.

Firenados can develop after a pyrocumulonimbus cloud is formed, usually above intense rising heat like a fire or a volcano. The fire pulls in smoke, dust, and dirt, which then forms into a violent vortex.

They're rare, but they're dangerous - in 2018, a firenado killed a firefighter and one other person in the Carr, CA fires.

We're really at a loss for words about this year. It's just...

via GIPHY