2019 California wildfires

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 (105,147 hectares) of burned land.[1] These fires caused 22 injuries, 3 fatalities, and damaged or destroyed 732 structures.[3] The 2019 California fire season was less active than that of the two previous years (2017 and 2018), which set records for acreage, destructiveness, and deaths.

2019 California wildfires
Smoke from the Kincade Fire on October 24 as viewed from GOES-17
Statistics[1]
Total fires7,860
Total area259,823 acres (105,147 ha)
CostUS$163 million (suppression efforts)[2]
Deaths3
Non-fatal injuries22
Season
← 2018
2020 →

In late October, the Kincade Fire became the largest fire of the year, burning 77,758 acres (31,468 ha) in Sonoma County by November 6.

Massive preemptive public safety power shutoff events have been controversial. Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric had preemptively shut off power to 800,000 electric customers to reduce the risk of wildfires by preventing electrical arcing in high winds from their above-ground power lines.[4][5] While large areas were without power for days, people in fire danger areas had trouble getting information, and critical life support equipment would not work without backup power.[6]

Early projections

Fire behavioral experts and climatologists warned that heavy rains from months early in the year had produced an excess of vegetation that would become an abundance of dry fuel later in the year as the fire season gets underway.[7] According to the US Forest Service and US Department of the Interior officials, early projections indicated that the fire season would possibly be worse than the year prior, stating that "if we're lucky, this year will simply be a challenging one." This assessment was written on the basis of noting that the state has recently been seeing consistently destructive fires more often than ever before.[8]

Wildfires

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

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Ref
RefugeKern2,500May 7May 91 structure destroyed[9]
BoulderSan Luis Obispo1,127June 5June 11[10]
SandYolo2,512June 8June 177 structures destroyed, 2 injuries[11][12]
West ButteSutter1,300June 8June 10[13][14]
McMillanSan Luis Obispo1,764June 12June 14[13][15]
LonoakMonterey2,546June 25June 26Downed PG&E power line was the cause[16][17]
RockStanislaus2,422June 25June 27[18]
CowInyo, Tulare1,975July 25October 11Caused by lightning strike[19]
SpringsMono4,840July 26October 7Caused by lightning strike[20]
TuckerModoc14,150July 28August 15Unintentionally caused by vehicular traffic along California State Route 139[21][22][23][24]
W-1 McDonaldLassen1,020August 8August 11Caused by lightning strike[25][26]
GainesMariposa1,300August 16August 20[27]
MountainShasta600August 22August 2614 buildings destroyed, 7 damaged and 3 people injured[28]
Long ValleyLassen2,438August 24August 27[29]
R-1 RanchLassen3,380August 28September 5Caused by lightning strike[30]
TenajaRiverside1,926September 4September 14[31]
WalkerPlumas54,608September 4September 259 structures destroyed[32]
TabooseInyo10,296September 4November 21Caused by lightning strike[33]
LimeSiskiyou1,872September 4September 19Caused by lightning strike[34][35]
MiddleTrinity1,339September 5October 5Caused by lightning strike[36]
Red BankTehama8,838September 5September 13Caused by lightning strike; 2 buildings destroyed[37]
SouthTehama5,332September 5October 11Caused by lightning strike[38][39]
LoneModoc5,737September 5September 13Caused by lightning strike[40][41]
SpringsMono4,840September 6September 23Caused by lightning strike[42][43]
BriceburgMariposa5,563October 6October 241 structure destroyed[44][45]
SandalwoodRiverside1,011October 10October 14Trash in a garbage truck caught fire and spread to nearby brush
74 structures destroyed, 16 structures damaged, 2 civilian fatalities		[46][47]
CaplesEl Dorado3,435October 10November 1Caused by a controlled burn that went out of control[48]
SaddleridgeLos Angeles8,799October 10October 31Unconfirmed cause, but reported that high-voltage SCE transmission line malfunctioned near point of origin
25 structures destroyed, 88 structures damaged, 1 civilian fatality, 8 firefighter injuries		[49][50]
KincadeSonoma77,758October 23November 6Caused by electrical transmission lines located northeast of Geyserville owned and operated by PG&E[51]
374 structures destroyed, 40 structures damaged, 0 reported deaths, 2 firefighters injured		[52][53][54][55][56]
TickLos Angeles4,615October 24October 3122 structures destroyed, 27 structures damaged[57]
GettyLos Angeles745October 28November 6Caused by a tree branch that fell on a power line during high winds
12 homes destroyed, 5 homes damaged		[58][59][60]
EasyVentura1,806October 30November 2Threatened the area near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley and 3 buildings were destroyed [61][62][63][64]
HillsideSan Bernardino200October 31November 146 homes destroyed, 18 homes damaged[65]
MariaVentura9,999October 31November 5Brush fire broke out at around 6:15 p.m. October 31 on South Mountain in Santa Paula[66][67]
RanchTehama2,534November 3November 153 injuries, acreage reduced from 3,768 due to better mapping [68][69][70]
CaveSanta Barbara3,126November 25December 14Caused by arson,[71] acreage reduced from 4,330 due to better mapping[72][73][74][75][76]

Other fires

Three people were injured during the Moose Fire (August 12–17).[77] Two people were injured and four structures were destroyed during the Country Fire (September 3–6).[78] Four people were injured during the Lopez Fire (September 21–27),[79] and one during the Electra Fire (September 25).[80] A small brush fire ignited in Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles County on October 21. The fire burned 42 acres (17 hectares) within a few hours, forcing the evacuation of 200 homes.[81] Three firefighters suffered injuries, while one civilian was treated for respiratory illness.[81][82]

See also

References
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  2. National Large Incident Year-to-Date Report (PDF) (Report). Geographic Area Coordination Center. October 21, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
  3. "2019 Fire Season". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  4. Morris, J.D; Cabanatuan, Michael (October 9, 2019). "PG&E: Massive power shut-off to hit 800,000 customers, could extend nearly a week". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  5. "Wildfires rage in California as residents scramble without power". CBS News. October 10, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
  6. "Wildfires rage in California as residents scramble without power". CBS News. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  7. Sahagun, Louis; Serna, Joseph (June 14, 2019). "One in 4 Californians live in a 'high risk' wildfire area. Is the state ready for another fire season?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 14, 2019.
  8. Kaufman, Ellie (June 13, 2019). "Wildfires are 'burning longer' and 'harder to control,' officials warn". CNN. CNN. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
  9. "Refuge Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. May 9, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
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  18. "Rock Fire". CAL FIRE (Incident Information). State of California. July 1, 2019. Retrieved July 5, 2019.
  19. "Cow Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. September 9, 2019.
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  21. Bansagi, Natasa (July 31, 2019). "Tucker Fire in Modoc County unintentionally ignited by vehicular traffic". KRCR.
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  45. "Full Containment Reached On Briceburg Fire".
  46. "Sandalwood Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
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  50. "Saddle Ridge Fire Incident Report".
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  66. Diskin, Megan. "Edison turned power back on just before Maria Fire started". Ventura County Star.
  67. "Maria Fire | Welcome to CAL FIRE". fire.ca.gov. Retrieved November 3, 2019.
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  78. "Country Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. September 6, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
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  81. "Palisades Brush Fire". Los Angeles Fire Department. October 25, 2019. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  82. Hannah Fry, Alejandra Reyes-Belarde, Colleen Shalby, Sonja Sharp, and Leila Miller (October 21, 2019). "Evacuations are lifted after brush fire burns near Pacific Palisades homes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 29, 2019.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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