Fire Dragon in Australia - very rare phenomenon

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Fire Dragon in Australia – very rare phenomenon.

A rare event near Uluru, Australia.  An astonished
film maker is coming to grips with the moment he witnessed one of nature’s
rarest phenomenonï – a tornado comprised entirely of fire  and
lived to tell the tale.  Chris Tangey had been out in Alice Springs,
Australia, scouting locations for a new movie.  After finishing the task,
he went over to help workers at a cattle station when he was confronted by one
of nature’s most intimidating spectacles.

A fire tornado.

Distant
view:  At the time, he was 300 meters away from the

30 meter high
fire swirl which ‘sounded like a fighter jet’,

despite there
being no wind in the area.

Destructive: 
A fire tornado, also know as a fire devil, is caused when a column

of warm, rising
air comes into contact – or causes – a fire on the ground.

These fire tornadoes are a natural rarity, but when they occur
they predictably cause significant damage.  These fire whirls are known to
last for around two minutes on the very rare occasions they take place. 
But Mr. Tangey found himself mesmerized by the tornado for more than 40
minutes.  The 52-year-old said:  The weather was perfectly still, and
it was about 25 degrees Celsius – it was an entirely uneventful day.  Then
the next thing a man is yelling, ‘What the hell is that?’, and I turned around
and saw a 30 meter fire tornado. I was about 300-meters away and there was no
wind but the tornado sounded like a fighter jet. My jaw just dropped. Mr
Tangey, who runs Alice Springs Film and Television, in central Australia,
described it as a ‘once in ten lifetimes experience’.

Brewing storm:   The fire whirl occurred in the Australian outback

as the red cliffs show the area’s trademark look.

Dangerous
conditions:  The dry heat in the area made it possible for such a rare
fire storm to occur

 

Rural: 
Thankfully, the fire tornado occurred in the remote Australian outback,

and no injuries
were reported. 

He added:  I’ve been shooting in the outback for 23 years,
and I have never seen anything like it.  We’ve heard about them but
they’re never seen.  If I had known what was about to happen, I would have
happily paid $1,000 to watch it.  At any time there were three different
tornadoes, it just kept going and going for 40 minutes.  The whole
experience was staggering, and the length and variety were astonishing. 
Predictably, these rare spectacles are extremely dangerous.