A surging wildfire ripping through eastern Utah wilderness over the weekend triggered a rare “firenado”, unleashing a terrifying mix of wind and flames that left one home and several other outbuildings severely damaged.

The Deer Creek Fire had already burned several thousand acres just north of La Sal on Saturday when the column of flames and hot gases began spinning, creating the surreal sight of a firenado.

“One of our firefighters captured this unusual phenomenon of a fire vortex tearing through pinyon-juniper woodland on the Deer Creek Fire, just outside of La Sal,” said officials with the Utah Bureau of Land Management.

The firenado did significant damage as it wreaked havoc on a neighborhood caught in the blaze. The National Weather Service estimated that wind speeds inside the twister reached 122 mph – strong enough to rate an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale.

What’s worse, instead of typical tornadoes that may only spend moments to seconds blasting a neighborhood as the storm blows through, this firenado was nearly stationary, spending 12 minutes swirling its flame-infused fury.

“Dwellings and outbuildings in the area sustained a mix of fire and wind damage,” said NWS meteorologists in Grand Junction, Colorado, who later surveyed the damage. “Many of the affected structures burned after the tornado occurred, but wind damage sustained by the remaining structures resulted in the tornado being given an EF-2 rating.”

Luckily, residents had already evacuated with the approaching wildfire and no one was injured, NWS officials said.

Fire whirls or “firenados” are spinning columns of hot air and gases rising up from a fire, according to the National Wildfire Coordinating Group. When the air and gases rise, they also carry up smoke, debris, and even fire, as seen in the vortex of fire in the video.

The vortices can be as small as under one foot wide to over 500 feet wide, the NWCG said. Fire whirls on the larger side can be as strong as a tornado, as evidenced on Saturday.

One of the largest and most destructive fire whirls occurred in 2018 during the Carr Fire in Redding, California, the National Weather Service said. It had wind speeds of about 143 mph, equivalent to those found in EF-3 tornadoes.

Tornadoes in any form, be it thunderstorm or wildfire-driven, are rare in Utah.

The firenado was only the second twister to be given an EF-2 rating in Utah since the Enhanced Fujita scale was implemented in 2007. Prior to that, only nine other tornadoes had been rated at least an F2 on the original Fujita Scale since 1950.

Meanwhile, firefighters are still battling the Deer Creek Fire, which had burned more than 15,600 acres as of Thursday morning’s update. The blaze is about 7% contained. It’s one of eight large wildfires burning in Utah that have scorched over 60,000 acres so far this summer.

A Utah family narrowly escaped after driving into the Snake River Monday afternoon. | Courtesy Bonneville County Sheriff’s Office

IDAHO FALLS — A newly released video shows the dramatic rescue of a Utah family whose van ended up in the Snake River after veering off the road.

Officials responded to the incident around 12:20 p.m. Monday after the driver called for help, advising they rolled into Snake River downstream from the Fall River Campground, about 45 miles from Idaho Falls.

RELATED | Utah family rescued from Snake River after vehicle veers off road

The driver said his wife and four children were still inside the van floating downstream, and they were having difficulty getting out while water was filling up inside.

The Swan Valley Fire District posted a video of the rescue to their Facebook page Tuesday, saying they were able to save the family of 6 after the van floated 100 yards and landed on top of a high gravel bar.

“One by one they were safely extracted from the vehicle and brought back to land,” says the Facebook post. “This was an extremely lucky accident for them all to walk away unharmed and we couldn’t have asked for a better outcome!”

KSL TV reports Susan Richardson saw the van in the water and recorded the rescue.

“I always get nervous about that,” Richardson said about driving the narrow road through the Fall Creek area. “It’s scary sometimes.”

Richardson told KSL that she and her husband were relieved that the family made it out safely.

“We feel like they were very fortunate that things didn’t take a more serious turn.”