Did a fire tornado blow through Jasper this summer? | Forest fires in Canada

In the municipality of Jasper and its surrounding areas, debris from this summer’s forest fire suggests the passage of a “pyrotrnado”, a rare meteorological phenomenon that can create its own atmospheric system. To get to the bottom of it, researchers at Western University are trying to shed light on the subject.

There is evidence that some objects were thrown [dans les airs]says David Sills, one of the directors of the Northern Tornadoes Project, whose goal is to record every tornado in Canada. According to the expert, trees were thrown and metal objects were found in the Athabasca River.

We know we have to investigate this. There are obviously signs of extreme winds associated with the wildfire.

David Sills traveled with other scientists to Jasper National Park to assess potential damage pointing to the passage of one or more tornadoes.

Another question also arises. Did the blaze that destroyed about 30% of Jasper’s buildings and burned nearly 33,000 hectares in Jasper National Park cause these hypothetical tornadoes?

A “pyrotrnado”?

Fire tornadoes can form from a pyrocumulonimbus, a type of cloud capable of creating its own atmospheric system and sometimes arising from the intense heat of a wildfire, according to the Royal Society of Meteorologists.

It’s not very common, but it’s a very significant eventbelieves one of the students with the Northern Tornadoes Project, Areez Habib.

Very few tornadoes of this type have been recorded around the world and only one was recorded in Canada. This is the one in Gun Lake, British Columbia, last year.

It’s something newsays David Sills. This is a completely different type of tornado that is generated by fires.

More months of research

Finding out if a tornado has passed through Jasper could take months, David Sills warns. On the other hand, the evidence collected so far seems promising.

There are patterns of damage to the surface that demonstrate a rotating column of air. However, it is necessary to know if this rotating column of air was attached to a cloud or if it was part of the fire.

He adds that for the column to be categorized as a tornado, it would have to be attached to a cloud.

To do this, researchers will analyze videos taken using drones of debris left by the fire in addition to other evidence of damage.

We can study the direction of trees [tombées] to determine wind speeds in order to compare them to those of a tornado, an air avalanche or violent winds.

Shedding light on this meteorological event would, according to scientists, allow us to better prepare for the risks associated with forest fires and its other potential dangers.

With information from Julia Wong