The Chernobyl forest is burning after the fall of drones: a terrible fire tornado appeared over the exclusion zone

In the Chernobyl zone alienation recorded causing horror fire tornado, arose during extinguishing forest fires.

Ukrainian rescuers continue to work in conditions of heat, dry vegetation and strong winds that raise dust, smoke and flames into a dangerous rotating crater.

According to Ukrainian services, fires in the exclusion zone appeared after the fall of Russian drones. Firefighters create mineralized strips, clear access for equipment and try to prevent the fire from spreading through contaminated forest areas.

What is a fire whirlwind

A fire whirlwind, or pyrotornado, occurs when intense local heat from a fire combines with wind and rising air currents. A funnel can draw in smoke, ash, dust and flames, quickly change direction and create an additional hazard for firefighters.

In the Chernobyl zone, this situation is especially dangerous, not only because of the fire itself. The fires lift particles of soil and vegetation into the air, which can carry radionuclides accumulated since the 1986 accident. That is why they simultaneously monitor the spread of smoke and the background radiation.

More than 260 people and dozens of pieces of equipment

More than 260 firefighters, forest guards and emergency services specialists are participating in the operation. About 65 units of special equipment are involved.

Ukrainian services report that the main efforts are focused on localizing individual outbreaks, laying firebreaks and preventing the fire from spreading to new areas of the forest.

The situation is complicated by heat, dry vegetation, strong winds and complex logistics inside the exclusion zone. In some areas, there is an additional risk of mines and unexploded ordnance, which restricts the movement of people and equipment.

Radiation background, according to authorities, is normal

Ukrainian authorities say radiation levels in the area of ​​the fires remain within control limits. Monitoring is carried out constantly, since smoke from forest fires in the exclusion zone can potentially be transferred towards Kyiv and populated areas of the Kyiv region.

Previously, Ukrainian meteorological services reported that emissions from the fires were already worsening air quality and visibility in some areas around Kyiv. Satellite observations recorded plumes of polluted air, in which levels of carbon monoxide and fine particles increased.

Why are the Chernobyl forests burning especially dangerous?

An ordinary forest fire is a disaster in itself. But in the Chernobyl zone, it turns into a double threat: fire destroys the forest, and smoke can carry radioactive dust from contaminated soil and vegetation.

After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, a significant part of the radionuclides settled in the upper layer of soil and forest litter. During a fire, these particles can be re-entered into the atmosphere, although this does not automatically mean a sharp jump in background radiation in cities.

The main danger now is not sensational footage of the whirlwind, but a combination of fire, wind, contaminated territory and war. Fires in the exclusion zone always require special control, and the fall of drones turns them into another side effect of the war, which may not appear in reports about the front for a long time.

Editorial comment

Chernobyl again reminds us that war is not limited to the front line. One fallen drone can start a fire where any spark has a completely different weight: around forests, contaminated soils, old infrastructure and the memory of Europe’s largest nuclear accident.

The fiery whirlwind looks spectacular in the video, almost like a natural special effect, which the Internet immediately turns into an attraction. But for firefighters, this is not a picture, but an extremely dangerous moment when the fire can suddenly change direction and disrupt all work.

So far, Ukrainian services say that background radiation remains normal. But the very need to extinguish the forest in the Chernobyl zone after the fall of the drones shows how absurdly the geography of the war has expanded: now its consequences have to be measured not only by the number of destroyed houses, but also by where the smoke will blow.

Sources: Ukrinform; The New Voice of Ukraine; TVP World.

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