How 'fire-generated thunderstorms' make wildfires more deadly

While once seen as fairly rare events, a similar example was seen during the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires in Australia, which created extreme "firestorms" that made its own weather.The event was one of the most intense and catastrophic fire seasons for the country, with at least 33 people killed - including four firefighters - and more than 11 million hectares (110,000 sq km or 27.2 million acres) of bush, forest and parks across Australia burnt.Fire officials in New South Wales reported that embers from the storm were landing 18 miles (30km) ahead of the front which was three times more than the usual distance.At the time, Nasa described pyrocumulonimbus as "the fire-breathing dragon of clouds" as they funnelled smoke like chimney into the earth's atmosphere while hurling thunderbolts, wind and rain.Getty ImagesA pyrocumulonimbus cloud generated by the Orroral Valley bushfire to the south of the Australian capital Canberra in January 2020Similarly in California through the summer of 2021, the intense fires raging across the western United States generated pyrocumulonimbus.Smoky clouds towered a mile (1.6km) and rose over the blaze in California and surrounding states.California firefighting officials said at the time the season saw more than 7,300 wildfires burning across 1 million hectares (2.5 million acres) and at least three firefighters killed.