A violent, intense reaction or criticism; historically, a massive fire created by the combination of many smaller fires, especially during bombing.
From German 'Feuersturm,' combining 'Feuer' (fire) and 'Sturm' (storm). The term was originally used to describe literal fires during World War II bombing, then adopted metaphorically for intense public outrage.
The original 'firestorms' were catastrophic—when multiple fires ignite over a large area, they create their own weather system with hurricane-force winds that actually funnel more oxygen to the flames! Meteorologists and fire scientists study these events to understand extreme fire behavior.
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