2015 California wildfires
2015 California wildfires | |
---|---|
![]() Smoke from the 2015 California wildfires as seen from space, on August 18, 2015 | |
Statistics[1] | |
Total fires | 8,745 |
Total area | 893,362 acres (3,615 km2) |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 2 firefighters and 7 civilians killed |
Non-fatal injuries | At least 1 |
Damage | ≥4.771 billion (2015 USD)[2][3] |
Map | |
![]() A map of wildfires in California in 2015, using Cal Fire data | |
Season | |
←2014
2016→ |
The2015 California wildfire seasonwas a series ofwildfiresthat burned across the state ofCalifornia.By the end of 2015 a total of 8,745 fires were recorded, burning 893,362 acres (3,615 km2) across the state.[1]Approximately 3,159 structures were damaged or destroyed by wildfires, and at least 7 fatalities were recorded.
On September 11, after theButte Fireexploded from a size of 32,000 acres (129 km2)[4]to 65,000 acres (263 km2), in theAmadorandCalaverascounties,Governor Jerry Browndeclared astate of emergency.[5]
Nationwide fire season[edit]
TheNational Interagency Fire Centerreported in mid-August that the 2015 fire season had been the most destructive since2011.Nationwide, a total of 6,058,694 acres (24,519 km2) had burned, which is roughly triple the total land area burned from the same time span in2014.[6]By the end of August, in terms of the land area burned, the 2015 nationwide wildfire season had surpassed any other wildfire season in the last 10 years, with 7,825,559 acres (31,669 km2) burned.[7]
Fatalities[edit]
The season also proved to be a deadly one forfirefightersbattling the many blazes throughout the state. AUnited States Forest Servicemember fromSouth Dakotadied on July 31 fromcarbon monoxide poisoning,while battling theFrog Firein theModoc National Forest.[8]A second firefighter was killed on August 8 by a falling tree, while battling theSierra Firesouth ofEcho Summit.[9]A 72-year-old disabled woman was killed in her home by the fast-movingValley Fire.[10]
Fires[edit]
Below is a list of all fires that exceeded 1,000 acres (400 ha) during the 2015 California wildfire season, as well as the fires that caused significant damage.[11]The information is taken fromCAL FIRE's list of large fires, and other sources where indicated.
Name | County | Acres | Km2 | Start Date | Containment Date | Notes | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Round | Inyo | 7,000 | 28.3 | February 6, 2015 | February 12, 2015 | [12] | |
Highway | Riverside | 1,049 | 4.2 | April 18, 2015 | April 24, 2015 | [13] | |
Lake | San Bernardino | 31,359 | 126.9 | June 17, 2015 | August 1, 2015 | [14] | |
Park Hill | San Luis Obispo | 1,791 | 7.2 | June 20, 2015 | June 24, 2015 | [15] | |
North | San Bernardino | 4,250 | 17.2 | July 17, 2015 | July 21, 2015 | 7 houses and 44 vehicles destroyed | [16] |
Wragg | Napa | 8,051 | 32.6 | July 22, 2015 | August 6, 2015 | [17] | |
Rocky | Lake,Colusa,Yolo | 69,438 | 281.0 | July 29, 2015 | August 14, 2015 | 96 structures destroyed | [18] |
Fork Complex | Shasta | 36,503 | 147.7 | July 30, 2015 | November 3, 2015 | [19][20] | |
River Complex | Trinity | 77,081 | 311.9 | July 30, 2015 | October 29, 2015 | [21] | |
Frog | Lassen | 4,863 | 19.7 | July 30, 2015 | August 20, 2015 | 1 firefighter killed | [22] |
Humboldt Lightning | Humboldt | 4,883 | 19.8 | July 30, 2015 | August 19, 2015 | [23] | |
Mad River Complex | Humboldt | 73,137 | 296.0 | July 30, 2015 | September 13, 2015 | includes Route Complex Fire | [24] |
Rough | Fresno | 151,623 | 613.6 | July 31, 2015 | November 5, 2015 | [25] | |
Dodge | Lassen | 10,570 | 42.8 | August 3, 2015 | August 17, 2015 | [26] | |
Gasquet | Del Norte | 30,361 | 122.9 | August 3, 2015 | October 15, 2015 | Fires: Feeder (100%), Coon (100%), Bear (100%) and Peak (100% containment) |
[27] |
Jerusalem | Lake,Napa | 25,118 | 101.6 | August 9, 2015 | August 25, 2015 | [28] | |
Cabin | Glendora | 1,723 | 7.0 | August 14, 2015 | November 20, 2015 | 5 structures destroyed | [29] |
Cuesta | San Luis Obispo | 2,446 | 9.9 | August 16, 2015 | August 28, 2015 | [30] | |
Tesla | Alameda | 2,700 | 10.9 | August 19, 2015 | August 22, 2015 | [31] | |
Butte | Amador | 70,868 | 286.8 | September 9, 2015 | October 1, 2015 | 2 civilians fatalities 475 residences & 343 outbuildings destroyed |
[32] |
Valley | Lake | 76,067 | 307.8 | September 12, 2015 | October 15, 2015 | 4 civilian fatalities, 1,955 structures destroyed; 6th most destructive wildfire in modern California history (as of 2022)[33] | [34] |
Tassajara | Monterey | 1,086 | 4.4 | September 19, 2015 | September 27, 2015 | 1 civilian fatality | [35] |
Solimar | Ventura | 1,388 | 5.6 | December 25, 2015 | December 29, 2015 | 1 minor ankle injury[36] | [37] |
See also[edit]
- List of California wildfires
- 2015 Oregon wildfires
- 2015 Washington wildfires
- Climate change in California
- 2014–15 North American winter
References[edit]
- ^ab"National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2015"(PDF).National Interagency Fire Center.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on June 28, 2018.RetrievedAugust 15,2016.
- ^Geiling, Natasha (September 23, 2016)."California fire becomes the most expensive in history".ThinkProgress.RetrievedNovember 15,2016.
- ^Ken Pimlott (2016)."2015 Wildfire Activity Statistics"(PDF).CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 20, 2017.RetrievedSeptember 11,2018.
- ^Helsel, Phil (September 11, 2015)."California Town of 2,700 Warned Ahead of Explosive Wildfire".NBC News.RetrievedSeptember 13,2015.
- ^Serna, Joseph; Rocha, Veronica (September 11, 2015)."Brown declares state of emergency in 65,000-acre Gold Country fire".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedSeptember 12,2015.
- ^Pydynowski, Kristina (August 10, 2015)."Heart of Already Busy California Wildfire Season is Yet to Come".AccuWeather.Archived fromthe originalon August 13, 2015.RetrievedAugust 28,2015.
- ^"Year to date totals".National Interagency Fire Center.Archived fromthe originalon September 3, 2015.RetrievedAugust 31,2015.
- ^Locke, Cathy (August 4, 2015)."Firefighter at Frog fire died of carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, autopsy shows".Sacramento Bee.RetrievedAugust 28,2015.
- ^Rocha, Veronica (August 9, 2015)."Firefighter, 21, Is 2nd Killed Battling Northern California Wildfires".Los Angeles Times.RetrievedAugust 28,2015.
- ^Kurtis Alexander; Kale Williams; Evan Sernoffsky (September 14, 2015)."Worry to horror: A caretaker's desperate attempt to get help for fire victim".SF Gate.RetrievedSeptember 16,2015.
- ^"Large Fires 2015"(PDF).CAL FIRE.2016. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 11, 2017.RetrievedDecember 11,2017.
- ^"Round Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon August 11, 2015.RetrievedAugust 2,2015.
- ^"Highway Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon July 23, 2015.RetrievedAugust 2,2015.
- ^"Lake Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon August 9, 2015.RetrievedAugust 6,2015.
- ^"Park Hill Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon June 24, 2015.RetrievedAugust 2,2015.
- ^"North Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon July 21, 2015.RetrievedAugust 6,2015.
- ^"Wragg Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon July 25, 2015.RetrievedAugust 2,2015.
- ^"Rocky Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon August 17, 2015.RetrievedAugust 8,2015.
- ^"Fork Complex Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon December 4, 2015.RetrievedNovember 30,2015.
- ^Fire areas reopened on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
- ^"River Complex Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon October 26, 2015.RetrievedNovember 14,2015.
- ^"Frog Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon August 31, 2015.RetrievedAugust 28,2015.
- ^"Humboldt Lightning Fires".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon September 6, 2015.RetrievedAugust 27,2015.
- ^"Mad River Complex Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon August 28, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 16,2015.
- ^"Rough Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 16,2015.
- ^"Dodge Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon August 16, 2015.RetrievedAugust 19,2015.
- ^"Gasquet Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon December 5, 2015.RetrievedNovember 30,2015.
- ^"Jerusalem Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon August 17, 2015.RetrievedAugust 13,2015.
- ^"Cabin Fire".InciWeb.Archived fromthe originalon November 10, 2015.RetrievedNovember 27,2015.
- ^"Cuesta Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon September 5, 2015.RetrievedAugust 31,2015.
- ^"Tesla Fire".CALFIRE.Archived fromthe originalon March 4, 2016.RetrievedSeptember 14,2015.
- ^"Butte Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon September 25, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 19,2015.
- ^"Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires"(PDF).Cal Fire.January 13, 2022.Archived(PDF)from the original on March 20, 2022.RetrievedMarch 29,2022.
- ^"Valley Fire".CAL FIRE.October 15, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon October 22, 2015.RetrievedOctober 23,2018.
- ^"Tassajara Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon September 21, 2015.RetrievedSeptember 21,2015.
- ^@VCFD_PIO (December 26, 2015)."#SolimarFire Update 1250 Acres, Forward progress slowed significantly, 4 fixed wing tankers released, 1 minor injury (ankle), @VCFD"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
- ^"Solimar Fire".CAL FIRE.Archived fromthe originalon December 30, 2015.RetrievedDecember 26,2015.
External links[edit]
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- 2015 California Fire Map(a Google map created by CAL FIRE)
- California current incident information from CAL FIREArchivedFebruary 20, 2011, at theWayback Machine
- California wildfires on the US Forestry Incident Information System(InciWeb)