The First Fire Tornado Ever Recorded - California 2018

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]The fire tornado that shocked America.

[00:00:03]July 26th, 2018.

[00:00:07]California. A disaster was about to unfold that would leave firefighters, scientists, and weather experts completely stunned. A wildfire wasn't just burning out of control. It was creating a tornado. A tornado with winds reaching 143 mph. temperatures estimated at 2,700° F and a height of nearly 18,000 ft. This would become the first scientifically documented fire tornado in United States history. But to understand how it happened, we need to go back 3 days.

[00:00:47]Northern California's Sacramento Valley is known for its hot, dry summers. By July, vegetation across the region becomes extremely dry and highly flammable. The summer of 2018 was especially brutal. Years of drought, followed by a brief period of heavy growth, had left massive amounts of dry vegetation covering the landscape.

[00:01:12]Temperatures in Reading exceeded 110° F for days. The entire region had become a powder keg waiting for a spark. That spark came on July 23rd, 2018.

[00:01:28]A vehicle towing a travel trailer was traveling along State Route 299 west of Reading when one of the trailers tires blew out. As the steel rim scraped against the pavement, it produced sparks that instantly ignited dry grass along the roadside. What started as a small roadside fire quickly became known as the car fire. For the first two days, firefighters fought to contain it. The fire was dangerous but still manageable.

[00:01:59]Then came July 26th.

[00:02:02]Everything changed. A powerful weather system pushed strong winds into the region. At approximately 5:30 p.m., the car fire transitioned from a fuel-driven wildfire into a wind-driven wildfire.

[00:02:16]This is one of the most dangerous stages any wildfire can reach. The fire exploded in size. It raced downhill toward Reading, advancing nearly 3 mi in just 4 hours. It even crossed the Sacramento River. Evacuation orders were issued for more than 38,000 residents as flames moved toward neighborhoods at terrifying speed. Traffic backed up.

[00:02:42]Families rushed to escape. Firefighters struggled to keep up with a blaze that was now outrunning almost every response effort. But something even more dangerous was beginning to develop above the fire. As the wildfire intensified, it released enormous amounts of heat into the atmosphere.

[00:03:01]Columns of hot air, smoke, and ash began rising thousands of feet into the sky.

[00:03:07]At approximately 7:20 p.m., these columns punched through the upper atmosphere and rapidly expanded. Within minutes, they reached nearly 39,000 ft, forming a massive pyrouumulo nimbus cloud. A thunderstorm generated entirely by the fire itself. The wildfire was no longer just burning. It was creating its own weather system. As the storm cloud grew, it stretched and intensified rotation near the surface. Combined with powerful wind shear and extreme updrafts, that rotation rapidly strengthened. And then something extraordinary happened. A tornado formed. But this wasn't a normal tornado. This was a tornado made of fire.

[00:03:55]At around 7:30 p.m., the fire tornado touched down near Reading. It measured roughly 1,000 ft wide, reached a height of 18,000 ft, and produced winds of 143 mph, equivalent to an EF3 tornado.

[00:04:15]It became the strongest tornado ever recorded in California history.

[00:04:20]Witnesses described it as looking like something from another world. Trees were stripped bare and snapped apart. The ground was scoured. Massive electrical transmission towers collapsed. Steel objects were twisted and thrown through the air. Some homes were destroyed not by flames, but by the violent winds generated by the tornado itself. Nearby, three bulldozer operators suddenly found themselves trapped. Their windows shattered as burning debris, rocks, and embers slammed into their machines.

[00:04:56]Despite the chaos, all three men survived. Others were not as fortunate.

[00:05:03]One of them was Jeremy Stoke, a 37-year-old fire inspector with the Reading Fire Department. He had returned early from vacation to help protect his community. That evening, Jeremy was driving through neighborhoods, ensuring residents had evacuated safely. At 7:39 p.m., he transmitted a Mayday call over the radio. He reported being overrun by the fire and requested emergency assistance. It was his final transmission. Jeremy Stoke became the first firefighter in documented history to lose his life in a fire tornado.

[00:05:41]Another victim was Dawn Smith, an 81-year-old bulldozer operator working near the fire line. Rescue helicopters attempted to reach him, but the heat and smoke made conditions impossible. He did not survive. In a nearby neighborhood, Melody Bledsoe and her two young great grandchildren were also caught in the disaster. All three lost their lives. In total, the fire tornado directly claimed four lives. The car fire itself claimed eight. By 8:00 p.m., the fire tornado had finally dissipated. A wildfire can create its own weather, and under the right conditions, it can even create its own tornado. A tornado made of fire. One of the most terrifying natural disasters ever recorded.