Furious firenado becomes whirling waterspout along the Colorado River

Now this is what you call fire and fury.

Dramatic video posted to YouTube on Sunday showed a firenado, or a whirling column of fire, shifting just a short distance to the waters of the Colorado River and becoming a waterspout.

Coverage of firenadoes on Globalnews.ca:

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The video was taken by a couple who were in Blythe, Calif. at the time.

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It showed flames from a wildfire first twirling on land and sending up a massive column of smoke before they shifted to the water as the couple watched from their vehicle.

“The branches from the thing, it’s pulling them up into the air!” a man’s voice exclaimed as the waterspout formed in the video.

“We may have to go.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We may have to go."

A firenado is a natural phenomenon that happens when hot air at the base of a fire rises through a pocket of air that’s cooler and then creates a swirling vortex.

It’s distinct from a fire tornado (pyro-tornadogenesis) — literally a tornado that’s generated by a fire.

READ MORE: Firenado? Unlike a sharknado, it’s a real thing

The first documented fire tornado was confirmed by Australian researchers in 2012.

• With files from Nicole Mortillaro