2001 California wildfires

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2001 California wildfires
Astronaut picture of 2001 California wildfires STS105-E-5421.jpg
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4
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Trough Fire
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Leonard Fire
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Creek Fire
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Hoover Complex Fire
Several fires burn on either side of California's Central Valley in a photograph taken from the Space Shuttle on August 20, 2001
Statistics
Total fires9,317
Total area377,340 acres
152,700 ha
Impacts
Deaths2+
Structures destroyed389+
DamageUS$196 million ($109m in suppression costs and $87.3m in damages, per Cal Fire estimates)
Season
←  2000
2002  →

According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) statistics, 9,317 wildfires burned a total of 377,340 acres (152,700 hectares) in the US state of California in 2001. [1]

Contents

The largest wildfire of the year in California was the Observation Fire in Lassen County, which burned 67,700 acres, and the most destructive was the Poe Fire in Butte County, which burned 133 structures. [2] Cal Fire wildfire suppression costs for fires that burned within the agency's jurisdiction amounted to US$109 million. Damages for the same amounted to $87.3 million, with a total of 389 structures lost. [3] At least two fatalities occurred, both of them on the Bell Fire in San Diego County. [2]

Background

The timing of "fire season" in California is variable, depending on the amount of prior winter and spring precipitation, the frequency and severity of weather such as heat waves and wind events, and moisture content in vegetation. Northern California typically sees wildfire activity between late spring and early fall, peaking in the summer with hotter and drier conditions. Occasional cold frontal passages can bring wind and lightning. The timing of fire season in Southern California is similar, peaking between late spring and fall. The severity and duration of peak activity in either part of the state is modulated in part by weather events: downslope/offshore wind events can lead to critical fire weather, while onshore flow and Pacific weather systems can bring conditions that hamper wildfire growth. [4] [5]

Narrative

An unusually warm, dry, and windy May prompted Cal Fire to declare May 22 the beginning of fire season throughout the state, the point in the year at which the agency hires seasonal staff to be at the ready round-the-clock in California forest districts. [6] The pattern continued through June, with fires active weeks in advance of the 'usual' beginning of fire season. [7]

The National Interagency Fire Center declared that the country had reached National Preparedness Level 5 (the point at which incidents across the country had the "potential to exhaust all agency fire resources") on August 15, 2001, with the bulk of the fires in California Oregon, and Nevada. [8]

Cal Fire firefighting aircraft were temporarily grounded on September 11 by the ground stop order issued nationwide by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the deadly September 11 attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) eventually instructed firefighting agencies to apply for exemptions as needed, and the restriction (which began at about 10:00 a.m.) was lifted after about three hours, when the FAA granted Cal Fire's request for exemption. The restriction affected aircraft on the Poe Fire in Butte County, among others. [9] [10]

All Cal Fire units were declared "off season" by December 3. [3]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares), produced significant structural damage or casualties, or were otherwise notable. It is excerpted from Cal Fire's 2001 list of large (≥ 300 acres) fires, and may not be complete or reflect the most recent information. [2]

NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment dateNotesRef
Viejas San Diego 10,353January 3, 2001January 8, 2001Caused by smoking; destroyed 16 structures, damaged 13 [11]
Jones Siskiyou 1,440May 9, 2001May 14, 2001Caused by debris
Devil Lassen 4,400May 27, 2001June 1, 2001Caused by equipment use
165 Merced 1,500June 13, 2001June 13, 2001Cause undetermined
Jackson Amador 2,240June 13, 2001June 13, 2001Caused by welding; destroyed 15 structures, damaged 1
SNF-562 Merced 1,200June 13, 2001June 13, 2001
Hemlock San Bernardino 1,074June 14, 2001June 20, 2001Caused by an escaped burn
Pacheco Merced 1,550June 16, 2001June 17, 2001Caused by a vehicle
Martis Nevada 14,500June 17, 2001July 1, 2001Caused by a campfire
Watkins Riverside 1,407June 23, 2001June 24, 2001Caused by arson
McLaughlin Inyo 2,900July 2, 2001July 5, 2001Caused by lightning
Hoover Complex Mariposa 8,007July 13, 2001Caused by lightning; was allowed to burn in Yosemite National Park for ecological reasons [12]
Reche Riverside 1,798July 22, 2001July 23, 2001Caused by a vehicle
Stream Lassen 3,560July 26, 2001July 26, 2001Caused by lightning
Trough Lake, Glenn, Colusa 24,970August 8, 2001August 20, 2001Cause undetermined; destroyed 30 structures
Cowhead Modoc 1,670August 8, 2001August 9, 2001Caused by lightning
Modoc Complex Modoc 5,367August 8, 2001August 8, 2001Caused by lightning
Shaffer Lassen 1,100August 8, 2001August 8, 2001Caused by lightning
Observation Lassen 67,700August 9, 2001August 12, 2001Caused by lightning
Blue Complex Modoc 37,950August 9, 2001August 10, 2001Caused by lightning
(Emigrant) Gap Nevada, Placer 2,462August 12, 2001August 17, 2001Caused by human activity [13]
Crater Mono 5,800August 12, 2001August 15, 2001Caused by lightning
Buzz Modoc 2,206August 12, 2001August 12, 2001Caused by lightning
Ponderosa Placer 2,780August 17, 2001August 23, 2001Caused by a vehicle
Creek Mariposa, Tuolumne 11,095August 18, 2001August 24, 2001Caused by arson; destroyed 43 structures
Leonard Calaveras 5,167August 19, 2001August 25, 2001Caused by equipment use; destroyed 22 structures
Highway Fresno 4,152August 19, 2001August 29, 2001Caused by arson; destroyed 8 structures
North Fork Madera 2,930August 20, 2001
Star El Dorado 16,761August 25, 2001September 22, 2001
Oregon Trinity 1,680August 28, 2001August 31, 2001Cause undetermined; destroyed 33 structures and caused evacuations in the town of Weaverville [12]
Hyampon Trinity 1,065August 31, 2001September 5, 2001Cause undetermined
Darby Calaveras 14,280September 5, 2001September 24, 2001Cause undetermined
Poe Butte 8,333September 6, 2001September 12, 2001Caused by tree into PG&E power lines, destroyed 133 structures in the Yankee Hill area [14]
Happy Camp Complex Siskiyou 8,500September 14, 2001October 10, 2001Caused by lightning
Stables Los Angeles 6,544October 12, 2001October 15, 2001
Highway 70 Butte 1,711October 24, 2001October 26, 2001Caused by arson
Bell San Diego 1,204December 8, 2001December 11, 2001Cause undetermined; 2 fatalities

See also

References

  1. ↑ "California Wildfires and Acres for all Jurisdictions" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. August 24, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "2001 Large Fires, 300 Acres And Greater" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. February 5, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2004.
  3. 1 2 "CDF 2001 Fire Season Summary" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. March 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Weather: Fire Season Climatology (Northern California)". National Wildfire Coordinating Group . April 25, 2024. Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  5. ↑ Toohey, Grace (June 22, 2024). "California wildfires have already burned 90,000 acres, and summer is just beginning". Los Angeles Times . Archived from the original on June 25, 2024. Retrieved June 25, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Fire season declared". The Record . May 23, 2001. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  7. ↑ Gold, Scott; Bailey, Eric (June 19, 2001). "Firefighters Battle Blazes as Wildfire Season Comes Early". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  8. ↑ Cain, Brad (August 16, 2001). "Officials: Conflagration roars to crisis level". The Desert Sun . Associated Press. Retrieved January 9, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Aircraft groundings hamstring Butte County firefighting effort". Oakland Tribune . Associated Press. September 12, 2001. Retrieved January 18, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Hecht, Peter (September 12, 2001). "State gets clearance to resume firefighter flights". The Sacramento Bee . Retrieved January 18, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Viejas Wildfire". NASA Earth Observatory. January 6, 2001. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  12. 1 2 "Star & Oregon Fires". NASA Earth Observatory. August 31, 2001. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  13. ↑ "A Panoramic View of the Emigrant Gap Fire, California". NASA Earth Observatory. September 7, 2001. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  14. ↑ Olson, Ryan; Vau, Terry (February 22, 2006). "Settlement reached in aftermath of Poe fire". Chico Enterprise-Record . Retrieved January 9, 2023.
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