A fire whirl or fire devil (sometimes referred to as a fire tornado) is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often (at least partially) composed of flame or ash. These start with a whirl of wind, often made visible by smoke, and may occur when intense rising heat and turbulent wind conditions combine to form whirling eddies of air.

Fire tornadoes are rare atmospheric tornado events. They are also referred to as “pyrogenetic tornadoes,” which refers to the way in which they are formed, with a tornado-strength vortex much like a traditional tornado.

In general, they are known as fire whirls but are also called fire devils, fire twisters or fire tornadoes, though experts discourage that name since they are not formed in the same way as tornadoes. Tornadoes pop into existence when conditions are just right as warm moist air near the surface of the Earth rises into the cooler air above.

Pyrocumulonimbus clouds also occasionally trigger fire tornadoes, which form when the updraft twists and stretches the air that is being sucked into the sky at high speeds. These fiery whirls tend to last only a few minutes and reach no more than 150 feet tall.