A firenado was caught on tape Thursday by firefighters in Shasta County, California, as they were driving through a hellish scene near Redding.

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A swirling dust devil-like vortex of fire can be seen dancing toward the road before it spins out as they pass.

A firenado is just what it sounds like; a tornado of fire.

The phenomenon is also known as a fire whirl or a fire devil, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.

Firenadoes are rare, according to NOAA officials, but when they occur they “generally form when superheated air near the surface of a large fire zone rises rapidly in an airmass” where spin is also present.

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Atlanta art and antiques appraiser and auctioneer Allan Baitcher (right) takes bids during a 2020 auction. Baitcher and his company, Peachtree Antiques, are being sued by a Florida multimillionaire who says he paid them $20 million for fakes. (AJC 2020)

Credit: Phil Skinner / Staff