Fire-devil tornado whirls around the Australian outback

AN Australian filmmaker has captured the most extraordinary video of a whirlwind of fire – commonly known as a fire-devil or fire whirl – in the Alice Springs outback.

Chris Tangey was scouting movie locations near Curtin Springs station in the Northern Territory when he was confronted by the fiery phenomenon.

“It sounded like a jet fighter going by, yet there wasn’t a breath of wind where we were,” Mr Tangey told the Northern Territory News.

“You would have paid $1000 a head if you knew it was about to happen.”

Mr Tangey had decided to start filming a small fire burning in some Aussie outback bushland, when he he suddenly caught the sight of his life.

A twister touched down on the spot fire, fanning it into a furious tower of flame.

The column of fire danced about the landscape for about 40 minutes, he said, as he and the station workers stood transfixed.

“The bizarre thing was that it rarely moved,” he said.

“These things just stood there because there was no wind to move them … but it was flickering incredibly fast.”

Darwin weather forecaster David Matthews said small twisters were common in isolated areas. But the fiery vortex was highly unusual.

“The flames would have assisted by trying to suck in air and that could have helped generate those circular winds,” Mr Matthews said.