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Watch: 'Firenado' phenomenon blamed for rapid spread of US wildfires explained by Dan Corbett using 3D modelling

July 30, 2018

1 NEWS meteorologist Dan Corbett talks us through them.

As massive wildfires continue to burn out of control across the US, devastating "firenadoes" are being blamed for them spreading so rapidly.

The fire tornadoes are highly dangerous and form during fierce winds and dry conditions.

Using augmented reality technology, 1 NEWS weather presenter Dan Corbett explained how the towering spirals are created.

"It's all about the heat, these massive fires generating intense heat along the ground and as many of us may remember from science classes hot air rises.

"However, as it moves up it leaves a void below it and that gets filled by more air sucked in from every direction.

"That continuous action creates rotation, a twisting motion, the more pulled in the faster it moves and the taller it gets," Corbett explained.

Perhaps there most dangerous aspect is how they cause fire to spread.

"These "firenadoes" pick up burning embers, ash and debris, sucking them often hundreds of metres into the air.

"Then they hurl them back to ground, often jumping fire lines and starting new fires away from the main one," Corbett said.

Nearly 60 large fires are burning out of control across 14 states, the worst in California where eight major blazes are raging.

A state of emergency has been declared and the flames are blamed for six deaths so far with at least seven people still missing.

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