2016 California wildfires

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]

"Deer Fire" redirects here. For the 2020 California wildfire, see SCU Lightning Complex fires.
"Sawmill Fire" redirects here. For the 2017 Arizona wildfire, see Sawmill Fire (2017).

2016 California wildfires
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]
Cost>$480.3 million (2016 USD)[3][2]
Deaths6 civilians killed, 2 firefighters killed[2]
Non-fatal injuriesUnknown
Season
← 2015
2017 →

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]

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.[6]

On August 15, the National Interagency Fire Center showed the state leading the nation in the quantity, size and intensity of wildfires.[6] 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.[7] Authorities arrested a 40-year-old man in connection to the Clayton Fire, and charged him with 17 counts of arson.[6]

Fires

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.[8] The information is taken from CAL FIRE's list of large fires, and other sources where indicated.

Name County Acres Start Date Containment Date Notes Ref
RobertsSan Luis Obispo3,712May 18, 2016May 20, 2016[9]
MetzMonterey3,876May 22, 2016May 25, 2016[10]
ColemanMonterey2,520June 4, 2016June 17, 2016[11]
PonySiskiyou2,860June 7, 2016June 30, 2016[12]
SherpaSanta Barbara7,474June 15, 2016July 12, 2016[13]
BorderSan Diego7,609June 19, 2016June 30, 20162 fatalities, 5 homes and 11 outbuildings destroyed[14]
PineVentura2,304June 19, 2016July 17, 2016[15]
San Gabriel ComplexLos Angeles5,399June 20, 2016July 23, 2016Reservoir Fire burned 1,146 acres; Fish Fire burned 4,253 acres[16]
ErskineKern48,019June 23, 2016July 12, 20162 fatalities, 285 homes destroyed, 12 damaged[17]
TrailheadPlacer5,646June 28, 2016July 18, 2016[18]
DeerKern1,785July 1, 2016July 11, 2016[19]
CurryFresno2,944July 1, 2016July 5, 2016[20]
SageLos Angeles1,109July 9, 2016July 16, 2016[21]
RoblarSan Diego1,245July 21, 2016July 30, 2016[22]
SandLos Angeles41,432July 22, 2016August 3, 20162 fatalities, 18 homes destroyed, 4 damaged [23][24]
SoberanesMonterey132,100July 22, 2016October 12, 20161 fatality, 3 injuries, 57 homes and 11 outbuildings destroyed.[25]
GooseFresno2,241July 30, 2016August 9, 20164 homes, 5 outbuildings destroyed[26]
ColdYolo5,731August 2, 2016August 12, 20162 outbuildings destroyed[27]
PilotSan Bernardino8,110August 7, 2016August 16, 2016[28]
MineralFresno7,050August 9, 2016August 18, 20162 structures destroyed[29]
ChimneySan Luis Obispo46,344August 13, 2016September 6, 201648 structures destroyed[30]
ClaytonLake3,929August 13, 2016August 26, 2016300 buildings destroyed[31]
Blue CutSan Bernardino36,274August 16, 2016August 23, 2016105 homes, 213 outbuildings destroyed[32]
CedarKern29,322August 16, 2016September 30, 2016[33]
ReySanta Barbara32,606August 18, 2016September 16, 2016[34]
GapSiskiyou33,867August 27, 2016September 17, 2016[35]
BogartRiverside1,470August 30, 2016September 2, 20161 outbuilding destroyed[36]
WillardLassen2,575September 11, 2016September 22, 20165 structures destroyed[37]
Owens RiverMono5,443September 17, 2016October 15, 2016[38]
CanyonSanta Barbara12,518September 17, 2016September 24, 20161 firefighter killed in crash[39]
SawmillSonoma1,547September 25, 2016September 29, 2016[40]
MarshesTuolumne1,080September 26, 2016October 4, 2016[41]
LomaSanta Clara4,474September 26, 2016October 12, 201628 structures destroyed[42]

4S Ranch brush fire

On Thursday, May 5, 2016, shortly before 3 P.M. PDT, a small brush fire ignited off the 15000 block of Dove Creek Road, in a creek bed, in 4S Ranch, San Diego County.[43][44] As the fire began spreading eastward, students and staff at the nearby Oak Valley Middle School were ordered to stay indoors, though parents were allowed to pick up their children.[44][45] However, as the fire continued to spread, evacuation orders were issued for some homes along Palomino Valley Road and Oak Valley Middle School, with the students from Oak Valley Middle School being relocated by bus to Westview High School.[43] The sudden change caused some confusion and chaos among parents attempting to pick up their children, and drew criticism towards the last-minute evacuation plan.[45] The brush fire quickly grew to 5 acres (0.020 km2), but within a couple of hours, the fire was contained and further growth was stopped.[46] At 4:34 PM PDT, the evacuation orders for the homes on Palomino Valley Road were lifted, as the fire was brought to 90% containment.[43] Just before 5:30 PM PDT, the brush fire was fully extinguished, and Rancho Santa Fe fire officials declared 100% containment of the fire. The fire did not cause any injuries or structural damage.[46] The brush fire was determined to have been accidentally caused by sparks coming from a welder.[44]

See also

References
  1. "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. 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. Fears, Darryl (August 16, 2016). "California is in flames right now, with fires fueled by historic drought". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  7. "More than 82,000 people flee Southern California wildfire". Chicago Tribune. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
  8. "Large Fires 2016" (PDF). CAL FIRE. March 29, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  9. "Roberts Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 26, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  10. "Metz Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
  11. "Coleman Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
  12. "Pony Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
  13. "Sherpa Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
  14. "Border Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on June 25, 2016. Retrieved June 30, 2016.
  15. "Pine Fire". Inciweb. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  16. "San Gabriel Complex". InciWeb. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
  17. "Erskine Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved July 11, 2016.
  18. "Trailhead Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  19. "Deer Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. CAL FIRE. Retrieved July 9, 2016.
  20. "Curry Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. CAL FIRE. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
  21. "Sage Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 16, 2016. Retrieved July 24, 2016.
  22. "Roblar Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 31, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  23. 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.
  24. "Sand Fire". Inciweb. Retrieved July 28, 2016.
  25. "Soberanes Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 9, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  26. "Goose Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  27. "Cold Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved August 4, 2016.
  28. "Pilot Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  29. "Mineral Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 12, 2016. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  30. "ChimneyFire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 23, 2016. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
  31. "Clayton Fire". August 15, 2016. Retrieved May 1, 2017.
  32. "Blue Cut Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 19, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  33. "Cedar Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  34. "Rey Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  35. "Gap Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  36. "Bogart Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved August 30, 2016.
  37. "Willard Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  38. "Owens River Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved October 11, 2016.
  39. "Canyon Fire" (PDF). Vandenberg Air Force Base. Retrieved September 25, 2016.
  40. "Sawmill Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 27, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  41. "Marshes Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  42. "Loma Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 28, 2016. Retrieved September 28, 2016.
  43. "Crews Battle Fire In 4S Ranch". KPBS News. May 26, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  44. Kristina Audencial (May 27, 2016). "4S Ranch brush fire sparked by welders". Fox 5 San Diego. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  45. Abbie Alford (May 27, 2016). "Investigation under way after 4S Ranch fire". CBS News 8. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  46. "Firefighters contain 4S Ranch brush fire". ABC 10News. May 26, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
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