By Iliya Kure, LOS ANGELES
Firefighters in Los Angeles Wednesday battle against brush fire in northwestern Los Angeles County.
Footage captured by local television news helicopter of KTLA-TV showed an apparent “fire tornado” — a swirling vortex of flames and a rising column of smoke.
A firefighting helicopter was seen on television making a water drop on the flames.
By about 8:15 p.m. local time, officials said the fire which had spread up to 148 acres was 60% contained.
So far, no structure was threatened, but Highway 138 was closed in the area.
In a tweeter post, Los Angeles Fire Department’s Air Operations Section said, “Short range spotting and fire whirls on the #SamFire tell the story of dry, receptive fuels and erratic winds from intense surface heating.”