Santa Rosa & Northern CA Fires DEFY THE LAWS of PHYSICS

[OmegaLogos]

Explanation: I propose that it was possibly a fire whirl that was responsible for the bizzare aftermath.

A fire whirl – also commonly known as a fire devil, or, (in many cases) erroneously, as a fire tornado, firenado, or fire twister – is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often made up of flame or ash. They usually start with a whirl of wind or smoke. Fire whirls may occur when intense rising heat and turbulent wind conditions combine to form whirling eddies of air. These eddies can contract into a tornado-like vortex that sucks in burning debris and combustible gases.

Fire whirls are sometimes colloquially called fire tornadoes, but are not usually classifiable as tornadoes as the vortex in most cases does not extend from the surface to cloud base. Also, even in such cases, even those fire whirls are not classic tornadoes, in that their vorticity derives from surface winds and heat-induced lifting, rather than a tornadic mesocyclone aloft. The literal fire tornado is a rare phenomenon, much more powerful and destructive than the a typical fire whirl, in which the wildfire generates a pyrocumulonimbus cloud that then spawns a tornado. When this tornado forms in or enters the fire zone, it fans flames enormously, draws flame and burning debris into itself, and scatters burning debris over a wide area.

A fire whirl consists of a core of ash, and an invisible rotating pocket of air. A fire whirl can reach up to 2,000 °F (1,090 °C), hot enough to potentially reignite ashes sucked up from the ground. Often, fire whirls are created when a wildfire or firestorm creates its own wind, which can turn into a vortex of fire .This causes the tall and skinny appearance of a fire whirl's core.
Fire whirls most often move fairly slowly. Fire whirls can set objects in their paths ablaze and can hurl burning debris out into their surroundings. The winds generated by a fire whirl can also be dangerous. Large fire whirls can create wind speeds of more than 100 mph (160 km/h) – strong enough to knock down trees – and people who get caught by a fire whirl can be burned alive.

Fire whirls can last for an hour or more, and they cannot be extinguished directly

Personal Disclosure: As a survivor of the 2003 Canberra bushfires I saw the fire burn some houses straight to the ground and leave the house next door untouched. It is possible as Wallfire pointed out.