Here's my attempt to create a similar look/feel.
I'm using
PS Elements 2 and Richard Lynch's book Hidden Powers.
I took a picture of a tiger which I had taken at the zoo.
I made a copy of the background and removed everything but the back half of the tiger and its head.
Then I created a new layer called "Red" and painted the red streaks.
I took the smudge tool at various sizes and intensities and drug around making the flames.
Then I created a new layer called "Orange" and painted the orange streaks.
Then I again took the smudge and drug around making the next level in the flames.
I then repeated it once more for yellow.
Then I took my image of the tiger itself and did the same kind of streaking. I used the eraser to blend the back of the tiger into the other colors.
I didn't create the inserted level, but thought this might give an idea about doing the affect.
Richard Hanlon