Fire tornado causes big problems for fire crews in Missouri

A northwest Missouri grass fire spawned a 'fire toado' that damaged up to 1,500 acres of land.

Officials said the blaze was largely contained by late Thursday but that they were continuing to damp down hotspots. 

These will likely continue until the area some rainfall or colder temperatures, they added, because the region is currently experiencing unusually high temperatures and low humidity.

In a video of the blaze, a truck can be seen driving away as a twisting fire, also known as a fire toado, shoots up in the air behind it.

Onlookers captured photos and video of at least one funnel of flames that looked like a small, orange toado moving across the site. 

The fire started when a large mower attached to a hauler malfunctioned and threw sparks.

The video also shows fire crews working to contain the blaze as high winds of 30 to 45mph continued to blow flaming debris around.   

Two old outbuildings were destroyed but no injuries were reported. 

Dean Cull, deputy chief of the Southe Platte Fire Protection District, told KCTV 5 that the crews had to relocate the command post twice 'because we thought we were going to make a stand and we couldn't make a stand'.

'The wind, it's just fierce...A fireman walking along the side of the truck could not keep up with the wind,' he added. 

A total of 12 brush trucks, five tanker trucks filled with water and 60 firefighters from across the area worked to contain the fire. 

Whirls of flames reached heights of more than 10 feet at times, according to Cull. 

Firefighters from Kansas and Missouri are continuing to watch the site.

Officials had to close highway 92 near Beverly, Missouri, on Thursday.

Missouri was not the only state with intense fires yesterday. Texas, Kansas and Oakland, Califoia, also had grass fires ignite due to high temperatures and strong wind gusts. 

There are 24 states today under Wind Waings and Advisories, from Califoia to New York, according to ABC News.