Tornadoes in Charlestown

Bonfire creates unusual sight

One of several dozen tornadoes spawned by the fire

By Will Collette

This was my second bonfire coverage for Progressive Charlestown and this year's bonfire was even better than last year's. This year, we had live coverage from Channel 10 so the fire was lit a little early to give Mario Hilario an interesting backdrop for his live report.

Tom Ferrio douses the pyre with diesel

A nice crowd turned out to see the fire quickly take hold, thanks to the artful application of diesel fuel by my PC colleague Tom Ferrio, who is also a Charlestown volunteer firefighter. Though he didn't stick around to roast marshmallows as I had hoped, the fire-lighting went off without a hitch.

Mario Hillario does live WJAR coverage

Unlike last year, the fire spawned some pretty amazing tornadoes. At least a couple dozen. As the flames grew hotter and melted the ice and slow, the bonfire created its own mini-weather environment. Clouds of steam would form on the ground, then get organized and be picked up into twisters that rose at least 30 feet higher, maybe higher, and waft harmlessly into the crowd.

Fully involved

I asked bonfire event organizer Frank "Frankie Pallets" Glista if he had ever seen this before at previous bonfires and he told me that this was a first.

As impressive as the bonfire was, there were lots of gasps from the crowd as the twisters kept coming.

Another twister

I'm hoping that over the coming year, we'll work on some innovations for next year's bonfire, though it's hard to top tornadoes.

Many thanks to Frank, the Charlestown Fire District, Parks and Recreation and donors like Arnold Lumber (source of the pallets) and Dunkin Donuts. It was a great show!

Next year?