Redding firefighter Jeremy Stoke died after he was enveloped in seconds by a fire tornado with a diameter of 1,000 feet (300 meters) and winds up to 165 mph (265 kph), the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said in a report released Wednesday detailing his death and the death of a bulldozer operator. The ... more

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A firefighter who died while helping people evacuate a Northern California blaze was killed by a fire tornado that at one point reached a temperature of 2,700 degrees Fahrenheit (1,480 degrees Celsius), officials said. (AP Photo/Michael Burke) less

From left, Shasta County Health and Human Services workers Mike Rinehart, Jon Taylor, Melanie Gilchrist and Theresa Ellis stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in ... more

Shasta County Health and Human Services workers and others stand and watch as the procession for Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke passes in Redding, Calif., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2018. Since erupting on July 23, the fire has charred about 334 square miles, destroyed more than 1,000 homes and damaged nearly 200 others. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Thursday firefighters made some gains and the blaze is now a third contained. “But this is the largest documented fire whirl — a fire-generated tornado — in California history.”

The 37-year-old fire inspector was driving his pickup truck down a Redding road, working on evacuating people from the larger blaze, when he radioed out a “mayday” call, according to the report. Advertisement

Stoke was last heard at 7:40 radioing a mayday, calling out for a water drop, and said he was getting burned over, the report said. Stoke's remains were not found until the next day, and it took more time to analyze the ferocity of the tornado that ripped roofs off houses and flung power line towers, cars and a shipping container into the air near the spot where Stoke was overtaken by the flames, according to the report.
Analysis shows that a rare fire tornado that barreled into the city of Redding on July 26 during the Carr Fire was responsible for the death of a firefighter as he raced towards a neighborhood in flames.