2022 Arizona wildfires

Last updated
2022 Arizona wildfires
Crooks Fire, Arizona.jpg
Plumes of smoke from the Crooks Fire seen from Prescott, Arizona, on April 24, 2022
Statistics
Total fires1,263
Total area143,601 acres (58,113 hectares)
Impacts
Deaths3
Non-fatal injuries6
Structures destroyed700
DamageUnknown
Season
  2021
2023  

This article is a summary of the 2022 Arizona wildfire season, comprising the series of significant wildfires that burned in the U.S. state of Arizona during the calendar year 2022. According to statistics published by the Southwest Coordination Center (an interagency government organization providing logistical and other support for wildland fire incidents), a total of 1,263 fires burned a total of 143,601 acres (58,113 hectares) in Arizona in 2022. [1] :6

On 20 April 2022, the Tunnel Fire, the biggest incident of the year in Arizona, burned thousands of acres north of Flagstaff. This included the entirety of Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. More than 700 homeowners were forced to evacuate, and at least 30 structures were destroyed. A state of emergency was also declared. [2] [3]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), produced significant structural damage or casualties, or were otherwise notable.

NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment dateNotesRef
Tunnel Fire Coconino 19,088April 17, 2022June 3, 2022Undetermined cause [4]
Crooks Fire Yavapai 9,402April 18, 2022June 27, 2022Undetermined cause. The fire started 11 miles (18 km) south of Prescott. It was 96% contained on May 25 but, due to inaccessible terrain, it took until June 27 to contain the remaining 4%. [5] [6] [7] [8]
Presumido Peak Fire Pima 2,591March 26, 2022April 3, 2022Human-caused. The National Centers for Environmental Information documented that over $800,000 (2022 USD) was spent to extinguish the fire. [9] [10]

Related Research Articles

InciWeb is an interagency all-risk incident web information management system provided by the United States Forest Service released in 2004. It was originally developed for wildland fire emergencies, but can be also used for other emergency incidents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Texas wildfires</span> Series of wildfires in Texas

The 2011 Texas wildfires were a series of destructive wildfires in Texas that occurred in the 2011 fire season. During 2011 in Texas, around 31,453 fires had burned 4,000,000 acres or 16,190 square kilometres, 2,947 homes, and over 2,700 other structures. 47.3% of all acreage burned in the United States in 2011 was burned in Texas. The fires had been particularly severe due to the 2011 Southern US drought that covered the state, and was exacerbated by the unusual convergence of strong winds, unseasonably warm temperatures, and low humidity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mendocino Complex Fire</span> 2018 wildfire in Northern California

The Mendocino Complex Fire was a large complex of wildfires that burned in northern California for more than three months in 2018. It consisted of two wildfires, the River Fire and Ranch Fire, which burned in Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, and Glenn Counties in the U.S. State of California, with the Ranch Fire being California's single-largest recorded wildfire at the time until the August Complex fire in 2020. The Ranch Fire burned eight miles northeast of Ukiah, and the River Fire burned six miles north of Hopland, to the south of the larger Ranch Fire. First reported on July 27, 2018, both fires burned a combined total of 459,123 acres (1,858 km2), before they were collectively 100% contained on September 18, though hotspots persisted until the complex was fully brought under control on January 4, 2019. The Ranch Fire alone burned 410,203 acres (1,660 km2), making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time until the August Complex fire that occurred in 2020. The Ranch Fire also surpassed the size of the 315,577-acre Rush Fire, which burned across California and Nevada, as well as the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889, which was previously believed to have been California's all-time largest wildfire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 California wildfires</span>

The 2019 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the U.S. state of California as part of the 2019 wildfire season. By the end of the year, according to Cal Fire and the US Forest Service, 7,860 fires were recorded, totaling an estimated of 259,823 acres of burned land. These fires caused 22 injuries, 3 fatalities, and damaged or destroyed 732 structures. The 2019 California fire season was less active than that of the two previous years, which set records for acreage, destructiveness, and deaths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 California wildfires</span>

The 2020 California wildfire season, part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season, was a record-setting year for wildfires in California. Over the course of the year, 8,648 fires burned 4,304,379 acres (1,741,920 ha), more than four percent of the state's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history. However, it is roughly equivalent to the pre-1800 levels which averaged around 4.4 million acres yearly and up to 12 million in peak years. California's August Complex fire has been described as the first "gigafire", burning over 1 million acres across seven counties, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. The fires destroyed over 10,000 structures and cost over $12.079 billion in damages, including over $10 billion in property damage and $2.079 billion in fire suppression costs. The intensity of the fire season has been attributed to a combination of more than a century of poor forest management and higher temperatures resulting from climate change.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Utah wildfires</span> Wildfire season

The 2020 Utah wildfire season was a series of prominent wildfires throughout the state of Utah, lasting from June 1 through October 30, as defined by state law. Part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season, Utah saw record-breaking numbers of human-caused fires. The largest fire of the season, the East Fork Fire, burned an area of 89,568 acres. In total, the suppression costs for the fires amounted to at least $103 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Loyalton Fire</span> 2020 wildfire in California and Nevada

The 2020 Loyalton Fire was a large wildfire in Lassen, Plumas and Sierra counties in California and Washoe County in Nevada. After it was ignited by lightning on August 14, 2020, the fire burned 47,029 acres (19,032 ha) in the Tahoe National Forest and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest before it was fully contained on August 26. The Loyalton Fire was notable for generating three fire tornadoes on August 15, necessitating first-of-their-kind warnings by the National Weather Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August 2020 California lightning wildfires</span> An overview of major wildfires in California during August in the year 2020.

The August 2020 California lightning wildfires were a series of 650 wildfires that ignited across Northern California in mid-August 2020, due to a siege of dry lightning from rare, massive summer thunderstorms, which were caused by an unusual combination of very hot, dry air at the surface, dry fuels, and advection of moisture from the remains of Tropical Storm Fausto northward into the Bay Area. These fires burned between 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km2) to 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) within a 2–3 week period. The August 2020 lightning fires included three enormous wildfires: the SCU Lightning Complex, the August Complex, and the LNU Lightning Complex. On September 10, 2020, the August Complex set a record for the single-largest wildfire in the modern history of California, reaching a total area burned of 471,185 acres (1,907 km2). On September 11, the August Complex merged with the Elkhorn Fire, another massive wildfire of 255,039 acres (1,032 km2), turning the August Complex into a monster wildfire of 746,607 acres (3,021 km2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Complex Fire</span> 2020 wildfire in Northern California

The North Complex Fire was a massive wildfire complex that burned in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California in the counties of Plumas and Butte. Twenty-one fires were started by lightning on August 17, 2020; by September 5, all the individual fires had been put out with the exception of the Claremont and Bear Fires, which merged on that date, and the Sheep Fire, which was then designated a separate incident. On September 8, strong winds caused the Bear/Claremont Fire to explode in size, rapidly spreading to the southwest. On September 8, 2020, the towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls were immediately evacuated at 3:15 p.m. PDT with no prior warning. By September 9, 2020, the towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls had been leveled, with few homes left standing. The fire threatened the city of Oroville, before its westward spread was stopped. The fire killed 16 people and injured more than 100. The complex burned an estimated 318,935 acres (129,068 ha), and was 100% contained on December 3. The fire was managed by the U.S. Forest Service in conjunction with Cal Fire, with the primary incident base in Quincy. The North Complex Fire is the eighth-largest in California's history, and was the deadliest fire in the 2020 California wildfire season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Western United States wildfire season</span>

The Western United States experienced a series of major wildfires in 2020. Severe August thunderstorms ignited numerous wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington, followed in early September by additional ignitions across the West Coast. Fanned by strong, gusty winds and fueled by hot, dry terrains, many of the fires exploded and coalesced into record-breaking megafires, burning more than 10.2 million acres of land, mobilizing tens of thousands of firefighters, razing over ten thousand buildings, and killing at least 37 people. The fires caused over $19.884 billion in damages, including $16.5 billion in property damage and $3.384 billion in fire suppression costs. Climate change and poor forest management practices contributed to the severity of the wildfires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 California wildfires</span>

The 2021 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the U.S. state of California. By the end of 2021 a total of 8,835 fires were recorded, burning 2,568,948 acres (1,039,616 ha) across the state. Approximately 3,629 structures were damaged or destroyed by the wildfires, and at least seven firefighters and two civilians were injured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Arizona wildfires</span> Wildfires in Arizona during spring and summer 2021

The 2021 Arizona wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the state of Arizona, United States. Wildfires across the state burned 524,428 acres (212,228 ha) of land in at least 1,773 fires throughout the state, fueled in part by a drought, hot temperatures, and thunderstorms producing dry lightning. At one point in late June, over 20 active wildfires were burning across the state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2020 Maricopa County wildfires</span> Series of fires in Arizona, United States

The 2020 Maricopa County wildfires were a series of major and non-major wildfires that took place in Maricopa County, Arizona, from the month of May to the month of October. In the year 2020, Arizona saw one of its worst fire seasons in the states history. Due to the lack of precipitation needed in Arizona, the state fell into an ongoing drought from late 2020 and 2021. High winds were also present during the summer when fire season is mostly active in the state. These factors led to the wildfires in Maricopa County to be destructive and costly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 New Mexico wildfires</span> An overview of major wildfires in New Mexico during the year 2022

The 2022 New Mexico wildfire season were a series of wildfires which burnt throughout the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of December 13, 2022, 904,422 acres (366,007 ha) had burned across the state. The burned acreage figure for 2022 is well above the 1995-2015 average of approximately 270,000 acres burned annually. with the fire season in the state expected to continue until the advent of the regular North American Monsoon weather pattern throughout the Southwestern United States in the summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire</span> 2022 wildfire in New Mexico

The 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was the largest and most destructive wildfire in the history of New Mexico. The fire burned 341,471 acres between early April and late June in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, in San Miguel, Mora, and Taos counties. It was the most significant fire of the record-breaking 2022 New Mexico wildfire season, as well as the largest wildfire of the year in the contiguous United States. The fire destroyed at least 903 structures, including several hundred homes, and damaged 85 more.

The 2023 Colorado wildfire season was a series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of Colorado.

This is a list of wildfires across the United States during 2024, that have burned more than 1,000 acres, produced significant structural damage or casualties, or otherwise been notable. Acreage and containment figures may not be up to date.

References

  1. Southwest Area Annual Report: 2022 Fire Year (PDF) (Report). Southwest Coordination Center. March 16, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved August 3, 2023.
  2. Healy, Jack (20 April 2022). "Arizona Wildfires Seize on Chaotic Winds and Parched Forests". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  3. "'Wall of fire' sends residents of more than 700 homes fleeing in Arizona". The Guardian . 21 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 April 2022. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  4. "Inciweb - Tunnel Fire". Inciweb - Incident Information System. Archived from the original on 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
    • National Centers for Environmental Information (July 2022). "Crooks Fire April 2022". Storm Event Database. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
    • National Centers for Environmental Information (August 2022). "Crooks Fire May 2022". Storm Event Database. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
    • National Centers for Environmental Information (September 2022). "Crooks Fire June 2022". Storm Event Database. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  5. "Wildfire update, Tuesday, May 3, 2022: Crooks Fire containment grows, many evacuations lifted, Tunnel Fire close to full containment". KNAU. 3 May 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  6. "Crooks Fire burns near Prescott". AZCentral. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  7. "Inciweb - Crooks Fire". Inciweb - Incident Information System. Archived from the original on 2022-04-29. Retrieved 2022-04-29.
  8. "Inciweb - Presumido Peak Fire". Inciweb - Incident Information System. Archived from the original on 29 April 2022. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  9. National Centers for Environmental Information (2022). "Arizona Event Report: Presumido Peak Fire". Storm Event Database. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 3 August 2023.