![Old video of Los Angeles wildfire recirculates as 'fire tornado' in 2022 - Featured image](https://belux.edmo.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/9dc993a51842b891d79aad3b208edb0f41d68caa-ipad.jpg)
A video has been viewed thousands of times in multiple social media posts in Chinese and English alongside a claim it shows a “fire tornado” in the US city of Los Angeles in August 2022. Although local media reported that a dramatic brush fire erupted in Los Angeles County on August 10, the video has been shared in a false context. It has circulated online since December 2017 in reports about another Los Angeles wildfire.
The 18-second video — which shows a raging wildfire seen from a highway — was published on Twitter on August 13.
“A powerful fire tornado begins in Los Angeles,” the tweet’s simplified-Chinese caption reads.
The clip, viewed more than 7,000 times, appears to have been filmed from inside a moving vehicle.
![](https://belux.edmo.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/ab9cdacea19933b75af74f9c65e6d3174e675032-ipad.jpg)
The video garnered more than 10,000 views after it was shared in both Chinese and English-language posts on Twitter and Weibo alongside a similar claim.
It circulated online after local media reported that a growing brush fire in Los Angeles County had produced a “fire tornado”.
Earlier in August, AFP reported that at least four people died and thousands were forced to flee their homes after a wildfire swept through northern California.
The video, however, has been shared in a false context.
Dramatic footage
A combined reverse image and keyword search on Google found the video was taken from longer footage posted by Twitter user @WLV_investor here on December 6, 2017.
The Twitter post was embedded here on the website of US television network ABC News on December 7, 2017.
The report is headlined: “Dramatic images of LA fire looming over the 405 Freeway during morning commute”.
It reads in part: “The latest wildfire in Southern California broke out in Los Angeles County overnight near the Getty Center and the 405 Freeway — a shocking sight for early morning commuters.”
Below is a screenshot comparison of the video in one of the false posts (left) and the 2017 clip (right):
![](https://belux.edmo.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/82e5f2c06f2958e1eb741f6a28f16c0b528d6975-ipad.jpg)
Getty Center is an art museum located near Interstate 405, a major highway in California.
Using a road sign seen in the video in the misleading post, AFP located the highway here on Google Maps.
Below is a screenshot comparison of a keyframe in the video (left) and the highway on Google Street View (right):
![](https://belux.edmo.eu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/d4e39a76fb32d693e602f0313399baa3b459431b-ipad.jpg)
This report by US-based media site Mashable on December 6, 2017 also featured the same video credited to Twitter user @WLV_investor.
The video was debunked by AFP in 2020 after it circulated alongside a claim that it shows wildfires burning in the US state of California in September 2020.