Fire tornadoes are a risk under California's extreme wildfire conditions A controlled fire whirl burns during a test in the department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, speaks to a reporter, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
James Urban, assistant professor in the department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, left, and Fernando Ebensperger, a PhD student, watch brush burn in a wind tunnel, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Sparks fly during a controlled burning of brush in a wind tunnel in lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Brush burns in a wind tunnel in lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Fritz Brokaw, lab manager in the department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, ignites a test fire, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Flames leap during a controlled burn in a lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
FILE - This image taken from video released by Cal Fire shows a fire tornado over Lake Keswick Estates, on July 26, 2018, near Redding, Calif. (Cal Fire via AP, File)
James Urban, assistant professor in the department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, comments during a controlled burn in a lab, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
James Urban, assistant professor in the department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, watches a fire burn in a wind tunnel, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
Luqing Zhu, a PhD student in the department of Fire Protection Engineering, describes an experiment using burning embers and wind in a lab at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
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A controlled fire whirl burns during a test in the department of Fire Protection Engineering at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, speaks to a reporter, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Worcester, Mass. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)