County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service has shared a video (watch it below) of a dust devil that formed in a Suffolk field in the aftermath of an extinguished fire.
Dust devils, which look like mini tornados, are rare to England. They form when a pocket of hot air rises quickly through cooler air above it, forming a upward-spiralling vortex of dust-filled air.
However, they are nowhere near as destructive as tornados; they travel across the ground as they grow upwards, as opposed to down from the clouds, and carry loose and light debris such as dust and hay.
According to the Met Office they may vary in height from a few, to over 1,000ft, and mainly occur in desert and semi-arid areas, where the ground is dry and high surface temperatures produce strong updrafts.
They only last a few minutes because cool air is sucked into the base of the rising vortex, cooling the ground and cutting off its heat supply.
The fire
The dust devil, also known as a willy willy, formed in the aftermath of a grass fire in the Scripton Gill area of Brandon yesterday (Thursday, August 11).
Five fire crews, along with the water bowser and specialist wildfire officers attended the fire. County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said that firefighters worked with the farmer to pull the bales apart and dampen the fire itself.
This field fire is one of many that have resulted in the last few days as a result of the current hot weather.
Yesterday – and not all of these were agriculture-related – Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service said it took 117 calls and responded to 22 incidents, which is on average an incident every eight minutes; this is a busy time for fire services.
Fire safety
In light of the fire-risk that comes with the current hot weather, Agriland would like to remind farmers and contractors to maintain caution.
A fire extinguisher – fully charged – should be available on all working farm machinery; all machinery should be clean and free from combustible material i.e. dry grass, straw and hay; particular attention should be paid to engine parts; and combustible items and actions should be avoided around flammable material, e.g. a lit cigarette in a dry field.
