Chaotic Wind Inside Cameron Peak Fire Produced Smoke Tornado Near Masonville Saturday

From CBS Denver:

By Chris Spears

October 20, 2020

LARIMER COUNTY, Colo. – The intensity inside of an out-of-control wildfire is rarely captured on film because of the obvious danger that is present. But with a smart phone almost constantly in hand these days, sometimes you’re just in the right place at the right time to document extreme conditions.

That is what happened to Lorri Provow near Masonville on Saturday. She captured some incredible pictures of a smoke tornado not too far from the local post office. The circulation appears to reach several thousand feet into the sky. So how does something like this form?

It all comes down to physics. One factor is the incredible heat inside the fire which creates strong areas of rising air called updrafts. Meanwhile strong westerly winds blowing over the complex terrain of Larimer County on Saturday created a downslope flow that at times reached speeds up to 80 mph.

Read more at CBS Denver