2015 California wildfires

The 2015 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the state of California. 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.

2015 California wildfires
Smoke from the 2015 California wildfires as seen from space, on August 18, 2015
Statistics[1]
Total fires8,745
Total area893,362 acres (3,615 km2)
Cost≥4.771 billion (2015 USD)[2][3]
Deaths2 firefighters and 7 civilians killed
Non-fatal injuriesAt least 1
Season
← 2014
2016 →

On September 11, after the Butte Fire exploded from a size of 32,000 acres (129 km2)[4] to 65,000 acres (263 km2), in the Amador and Calaveras counties, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.[5]

Nationwide fire season

The National Interagency Fire Center reported in mid-August that the 2015 fire season had been the most destructive since 2011. 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 in 2014.[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

The season also proved to be a deadly one for firefighters battling the many blazes throughout the state. A United States Forest Service member from South Dakota died on July 31 from carbon monoxide poisoning, while battling the Frog Fire in the Modoc National Forest.[8] A second firefighter was killed on August 8 by a falling tree, while battling the Sierra Fire south of Echo Summit.[9] A 72-year-old disabled woman was killed in her home by the fast-moving Valley Fire.[10]

Fires

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 from CAL FIRE's list of large fires, and other sources where indicated.

Name County Acres Km2 Start Date Containment Date Notes Ref
RoundInyo7,000 28.3February 6, 2015February 12, 2015[12]
HighwayRiverside1,049 4.2April 18, 2015April 24, 2015[13]
LakeSan Bernardino31,359 126.9June 17, 2015August 1, 2015[14]
Park HillSan Luis Obispo1,791 7.2June 20, 2015June 24, 2015[15]
NorthSan Bernardino4,250 17.2July 17, 2015July 21, 20157 houses and 44 vehicles destroyed[16]
WraggNapa8,051 32.6July 22, 2015August 6, 2015[17]
RockyLake69,438 281.0July 29, 2015August 14, 2015[18]
Fork ComplexShasta36,503 147.7July 30, 2015November 3, 2015[19][20]
River ComplexTrinity77,081 311.9July 30, 2015October 29, 2015[21]
FrogLassen4,863 19.7July 30, 2015August 20, 20151 firefighter killed[22]
Humboldt LightningHumboldt4,883 19.8July 30, 2015August 19, 2015[23]
Mad River ComplexHumboldt73,137 296.0July 30, 2015September 13, 2015includes Route Complex Fire[24]
RoughFresno151,623 613.6July 31, 2015November 5, 2015[25]
DodgeLassen10,570 42.8August 3, 2015August 17, 2015[26]
GasquetDel Norte30,361 122.9August 3, 2015October 15, 2015Fires: Feeder (100%), Coon (100%),
Bear (100%) and Peak (100% containment)		[27]
JerusalemLake and Napa25,118 101.6August 9, 2015August 25, 2015[28]
CabinGlendora1,723 7.0August 14, 2015November 20, 20155 structures destroyed[29]
CuestaSan Luis Obispo2,446 9.9August 16, 2015August 28, 2015[30]
TeslaAlameda2,700 10.9August 19, 2015August 22, 2015[31]
ButteAmador70,868 286.8September 9, 2015October 1, 20152 civilians fatalities
475 residences & 343 outbuildings destroyed		[32]
ValleyLake76,067 307.8September 12, 2015October 15, 20154 civilian fatalities, 1,955 structures destroyed; 6th most destructive wildfire in modern California history (as of 2022)[33][34]
TassajaraMonterey1,086 4.4September 19, 2015September 27, 20151 civilian fatality[35]
SolimarVentura1,388 5.6December 25, 2015December 29, 20151 minor ankle injury[36][37]

See also

References
  1. "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2015" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  2. Geiling, Natasha (September 23, 2016). "California fire becomes the most expensive in history". ThinkProgress. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
  3. Ken Pimlott (2016). "2015 Wildfire Activity Statistics" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  4. Helsel, Phil (September 11, 2015). "California Town of 2,700 Warned Ahead of Explosive Wildfire". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  5. Serna, Joseph; Rocha, Veronica (September 11, 2015). "Brown declares state of emergency in 65,000-acre Gold Country fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
  6. Pydynowski, Kristina (August 10, 2015). "Heart of Already Busy California Wildfire Season is Yet to Come". AccuWeather. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  7. "Year to date totals". National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  8. Locke, Cathy (August 4, 2015). "Firefighter at Frog fire died of carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, autopsy shows". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  9. Rocha, Veronica (August 9, 2015). "Firefighter, 21, Is 2nd Killed Battling Northern California Wildfires". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  10. 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. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  11. "Large Fires 2015" (PDF). CAL FIRE. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  12. "Round Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  13. "Highway Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  14. "Lake Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  15. "Park Hill Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  16. "North Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
  17. "Wragg Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
  18. "Rocky Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  19. "Fork Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  20. Fire areas reopened on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
  21. "River Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  22. "Frog Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
  23. "Humboldt Lightning Fires". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
  24. "Mad River Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 28, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  25. "Rough Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
  26. "Dodge Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
  27. "Gasquet Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  28. "Jerusalem Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
  29. "Cabin Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
  30. "Cuesta Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  31. "Tesla Fire". CALFIRE. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  32. "Butte Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  33. "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires" (PDF). Cal Fire. January 13, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
  34. "Valley Fire". CAL FIRE. October 15, 2015. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
  35. "Tassajara Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
  36. @VCFD_PIO (December 26, 2015). "#SolimarFire Update 1250 Acres, Forward progress slowed significantly, 4 fixed wing tankers released, 1 minor injury (ankle), @VCFD" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  37. "Solimar Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2015.
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