Is that a fire tornado? What it is & what to know about smoke covering Horry County

As fire crews continue to monitor the approximate 200-acre wildfire smoldering along the Marion/Horry county line, residents will continue to see residual smoke settling across Horry County.

Photos of the smoke cloud resembled a tornado to some residents. While it was certainly not a tornado, The Sun News spoke with National Weather Service Warning Coordination Meteorologist Brandon Locklear to determine Horry County’s risk of seeing fire tornadoes.

Also called a fire whirl, a fire tornado typically occurs during very intense and severe fires. The fire burns so hot it creates vortices, or funnels, of smoke and flames. Locklear said the threshold for these conditions is when a fire is burning at 125 degrees Celsius, or 257 degrees Fahrenheit.

Fire tornadoes are not associated with supercell, thunderstorm-driven tornadoes. They occur mostly out west where wildfires tend to burn out of control, but even then they are very rare, happening maybe once a year.

Locklear said they are very unlikely to occur in this part of the country, but as climate continues to change, bigger wildfires and different weather phenomena could appear in the future.

Current status of Marion County’s wildfire

According to South Carolina Forestry Commission’s live wildfire page, Marion County’s wildfire near Woodburry Road is 60% contained as of 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. Horry County Fire Rescue expects the smoke to be seen through the week, according to a Facebook post.

Because of the lingering smoke, Locklear advised residents with breathing sensitivities to limit their time outdoors.

He also encouraged residents to be mindful of leaving cigarette butts and burning lawn debris due to the dry conditions. Unincorporated areas of Horry County are currently under an outdoor burn ban.

Residents are encouraged to call Horry County 911 if active flames are seen, but crews are closely monitoring the area.