University researchers confirm fire-generated tornado over B.C. lake last August

Researchers at Western University say they’ve confirmed that a fire-generated tornado occurred in British Columbia this summer after a video of the “rarely observed” event went viral back in August. 

In a blog post, researchers from the university’s Northern Tornadoes Project say they began an extensive investigation after the video was posted showing an “intense vortex” over Gun Lake in southwest B.C. during a “raging nighttime wildfire.”

They say the investigation was very careful because it’s the first case of a fire-generated tornado recorded by the research team at the Northern Tornadoes Project. 

The post says the investigation involved the help of witnesses, and they were able to pinpoint the time and location of the fire tornado on Gun Lake’s north shore around 4:45 a.m. on Aug. 18. 

Researchers say terminology around the phenomenon is “still developing,” but clarified that the Gun Lake occurrence was an “actual tornado” rather than a short-lived, so-called “fire whirl.”

“For now, the event is being classified as a Tornado (over water) with a default rating of EF0,” they said.

The Northern Tornadoes Project says the “pyro-tornado” is the first documented by the project, which was established in 2017, and may be the “most thoroughly documented” example in Canada to date. 

The researchers say they are continuing to investigate evidence of tree damage in the fire zone onshore and whether it is directly associated with the tornado.