SEE: Firenado in Northern California swirls dangerously close to emergency responders

A swirling dust devil-like vortex of fire can be seen dancing toward the road before it spins out as they pass.

A firenado is just what it sounds like; a tornado of fire.

The phenomenon is also known as a fire whirl or a fire devil, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA.

Firenadoes are rare, according to NOAA officials, but when they occur they “generally form when superheated air near the surface of a large fire zone rises rapidly in an airmass” where spin is also present.