Chris Dicus, Ph.D., a wildland fire expert and professor at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo demonstrates the fire behavior phenomenon known as a fire whirl or vortex in his fire ecology lab. More popularly known as a “fire tornado,” this unpredictable aspect of wildland fire behavior made news headlines after a 1,000-foot-wide “fire-nado” was observed at the 2018 Carr Fire in Redding, California.
Visit Calstate.edu/CSU-system/News to learn more about the faculty experts and researchers at the CSU who are helping California better understand wildfire behavior and mitigate its devastation.
