2016 California wildfires

Last updated

2016 California wildfires
SherpaFireSkyCraneDrop.jpg
A Skycrane makes a drop on the Sherpa Fire in June.
Statistics [1]
Total fires7,349
Total area669,534 acres (2,709.51 km2) [2]
Impacts
Deaths6 civilians killed, 2 firefighters killed [2]
Non-fatal injuriesUnknown
Damage>$480.3 million (2016 USD) [3] [2]
Map
2016 California wildfires map.png
A map of wildfires in California in 2016, using Cal Fire data
Season
←  2015
2017  →

In 2016, a total of 7,349 fires had burned an area 669,534 acres (2,709.51 km2) in California, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. [1] [2]

Contents

Climatologists had predicted an extreme version of El Niño, known as a Super El Niño, to occur during the winter of 2015–16. Although the Pacific Ocean’s warming water had been expected to bring strong storms to parts of the southwestern United States, actual precipitation totals generally underperformed those expectations. [4] Early in 2016, The National Interagency Fire Center predicted that conditions from May through at least August would put much of the western United States in above-normal wildfire danger. [5]

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. [6] [7]

Events

In June, the United States Forest Service estimated that over 26 million trees had died across 760,000 acres (310,000 ha) in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. This brought the number of dead trees to over 66 million during the past four years of drought. [8]

On August 15, the National Interagency Fire Center showed the state leading the nation in the quantity, size and intensity of wildfires. [8] A day later, on August 16, San Bernardino County announced that nearly 85,000 people were evacuated because of the Blue Cut Fire near Cajon Pass. [9] Authorities arrested a 40-year-old man in connection to the Clayton Fire, and charged him with 17 counts of arson. [8]

List of wildfires

Below is a list of all fires that exceeded 1,000 acres (400 ha) during the 2016 California wildfire season, as well as the fires that caused significant damage. [10] The information is taken from CAL FIRE's list of large fires, and other sources where indicated.

NameCountyAcresStart DateContainment DateNotesRef
Roberts San Luis Obispo 3,712May 18, 2016May 20, 2016 [11]
Metz Monterey 3,876May 22, 2016May 25, 2016 [12]
Coleman Monterey 2,520June 4, 2016June 17, 2016 [13]
Pony Siskiyou 2,860June 7, 2016June 30, 2016 [14]
Sherpa Santa Barbara 7,474June 15, 2016July 12, 2016 [15]
Border San Diego 7,609June 19, 2016June 30, 20162 fatalities, 5 homes and 11 outbuildings destroyed [16]
Pine Ventura 2,304June 19, 2016July 17, 2016 [17]
San Gabriel Complex Los Angeles 5,399June 20, 2016July 23, 2016Reservoir Fire burned 1,146 acres; Fish Fire burned 4,253 acres [18]
Erskine Kern 48,019June 23, 2016July 12, 20162 fatalities, 285 homes destroyed, 12 damaged [19]
Trailhead Placer 5,646June 28, 2016July 18, 2016 [20]
Deer Kern 1,785July 1, 2016July 11, 2016 [21]
Curry Fresno 2,944July 1, 2016July 5, 2016 [22]
Sage Los Angeles 1,109July 9, 2016July 16, 2016 [23]
Roblar San Diego 1,245July 21, 2016July 30, 2016 [24]
Sand Los Angeles 41,432July 22, 2016August 3, 20162 fatalities, 18 homes destroyed, 4 damaged [25] [26]
Soberanes Monterey 132,100July 22, 2016October 12, 20161 fatality, 3 injuries, 57 homes and 11 outbuildings destroyed. [27]
Goose Fresno 2,241July 30, 2016August 9, 20164 homes, 5 outbuildings destroyed [28]
Cold Yolo 5,731August 2, 2016August 12, 20162 outbuildings destroyed [29]
Pilot San Bernardino 8,110August 7, 2016August 16, 2016 [30]
Mineral Fresno 7,050August 9, 2016August 18, 20162 structures destroyed [31]
Chimney San Luis Obispo 46,344August 13, 2016September 6, 201648 structures destroyed [32]
Clayton Lake 3,929August 13, 2016August 26, 2016300 buildings destroyed [33]
Blue Cut San Bernardino 36,274August 16, 2016August 23, 2016105 homes, 213 outbuildings destroyed [34]
Cedar Kern 29,322August 16, 2016September 30, 2016 [35]
Rey Santa Barbara 32,606August 18, 2016September 16, 2016 [36]
Gap Siskiyou 33,867August 27, 2016September 17, 2016 [37]
Bogart Riverside 1,470August 30, 2016September 2, 20161 outbuilding destroyed [38]
Willard Lassen 2,575September 11, 2016September 22, 20165 structures destroyed [39]
Owens River Mono 5,443September 17, 2016October 15, 2016 [40]
Canyon Santa Barbara 12,518September 17, 2016September 24, 20161 firefighter killed in crash [41]
Sawmill Sonoma 1,547September 25, 2016September 29, 2016 [42]
Marshes Tuolumne 1,080September 26, 2016October 4, 2016Burned just north of the Don Pedro Reservoir in the Stanislaus National Forest. [43] Approximately 30 homes were evacuated and two minor injuries were reported. [44] The fire briefly threatened the Hetch Hetchy Regional Water System headquarters, but normal water operations continued throughout the fire. [45] The fire was started by a vehicle parked in dry grass along Marshes Flat Road. [46] [47]
Loma Santa Clara 4,474September 26, 2016October 12, 201628 structures destroyed [48]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2016" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center . Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Ken Pimlott (2017). "2016 Wildfire Activity Statistics" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. ↑ Gilpin, Lyndsey (October 5, 2016). "The Most Expensive Wildfires in US History". High Country News. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
  4. ↑ Blankenbuehler, Paige (June 22, 2016). "El Niño adds fuel to Southwestern fires". The Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  5. ↑ Grenoble, Ryan (May 2, 2016). "Here's Where The 2016 Wildfire Season Risk Is The Highest". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post . Retrieved June 25, 2016.
  6. ↑ "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.
  7. ↑ 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.
  8. 1 2 3 Fears, Darryl (August 16, 2016). "California is in flames right now, with fires fueled by historic drought". The Washington Post . Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  9. ↑ "More than 82,000 people flee Southern California wildfire". Chicago Tribune. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Large Fires 2016" (PDF). CAL FIRE . March 29, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  11. ↑ "Roberts Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  12. ↑ "Metz Fire". CAL FIRE . Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  13. ↑ "Coleman Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  14. ↑ "Pony Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  15. ↑ "Sherpa Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on June 26, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Border Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  17. ↑ "Pine Fire". Inciweb . Archived from the original on September 3, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  18. ↑ "San Gabriel Complex". InciWeb . Archived from the original on August 10, 2016. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Erskine Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on June 29, 2016. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  20. ↑ "Trailhead Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  21. ↑ "Deer Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. CAL FIRE . Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  22. ↑ "Curry Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. CAL FIRE . Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  23. ↑ "Sage Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  24. ↑ "Roblar Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  25. ↑ Carr, Ada & Wright, Pam (July 24, 2016). "Body Found As Firefighters Continue to Battle 'Sand Fire' Near Los Angeles; 18 Homes Destroyed". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on July 25, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Sand Fire". Inciweb . Archived from the original on July 27, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  27. ↑ "Soberanes Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Goose Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  29. ↑ "Cold Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Pilot Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  31. ↑ "Mineral Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  32. ↑ "ChimneyFire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  33. ↑ "Clayton Fire". August 15, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  34. ↑ "Blue Cut Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Cedar Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  36. ↑ "Rey Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  37. ↑ "Gap Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on September 14, 2016. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  38. ↑ "Bogart Fire". CAL FIRE . Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  39. ↑ "Willard Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on September 15, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Owens River Fire". InciWeb . Archived from the original on September 22, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  41. ↑ "Canyon Fire" (PDF). Vandenberg Air Force Base . Retrieved September 25, 2016.[ dead link ]
  42. ↑ "Sawmill Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  43. ↑ "Marshes Fire". CALFIRE . Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  44. ↑ "Marshes Fire in Sonoma County Fully Contained: Cal Fire". NBC Bay Area. NBC Bay Area. September 29, 2016. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  45. ↑ McCarthy, Guy (September 29, 2016). "Marshes Fire cost $2.5 million so far". The Union Democrat . Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  46. ↑ Cowan, Jason (September 28, 2016). "Cal Fire releases cause of Marshes Fire". The Union Democrat . Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  47. ↑ "Marshes Fire". CAL FIRE . Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  48. ↑ "Loma Fire". CAL FIRE . Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
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