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Camp Fire (2018)

Coordinates: 39°50′51″N 121°23′42″W / 39.84750°N 121.39500°W / 39.84750; -121.39500
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This article is about the 2018 wildfire in California. For the fire at a campsite in general, see Campfire. For the youth organization, see Camp Fire.

Camp Fire (2018)
The Camp Fire as seen from the Landsat 8 satellite on November 8, 2018
Date(s)November 8, 2018 – present
LocationButte County, California
Coordinates39°50′51″N 121°23′42″W / 39.84750°N 121.39500°W / 39.84750; -121.39500
Statistics[2][3]
Burned area113,000 acres (46,000 ha)[1]
Impacts
Deaths31 civilians[4]
Non-fatal injuries3 firefighters
Structures destroyed6,453 single residences destroyed, 36 damaged; 260 commercial structures destroyed, 26 damaged[1]
Map
Camp Fire (2018) is located in California
Camp Fire (2018)
The fire's location in Northern California
External 3D models
3D model icon Camp Fire Map - Esri
(revised when new data is released)
3D model icon Butte : US Wildfires
google crisis map

The Camp Fire is the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history.[3][5][6][nb 1] Named after Camp Creek Road, its place of origin,[7] the fire started on November 8, 2018, in Butte County, in Northern California. By the morning of November 12 the fire, fuelled by strong Jarbo Gap foehn winds, had burned more than 113,000 acres (46,000 ha),[2] destroyed at least 6,713 structures, claimed 29 civilian fatalities,[4] and injured 3 firefighters, with most of the destruction occurring within the first two days of the fire.[1] The fire forced the evacuation of Paradise and Magalia, and threatened the communities of Butte Creek Canyon, Butte Valley, Chico, Concow, Forest Ranch, Helltown, Inskip, Oroville, Stirling City, and Yankee Hill,[8][9] Within the first day, the Camp Fire had essentially destroyed the town of Paradise,[10] incinerating homes, businesses, churches, a hospital, schools, and a rest home.[11][12] The fire began on the same day as the Woolsey Fire and the Hill Fire in Southern California.

Timeline

The Camp Fire started at sunrise on Thursday, November 8, around 6:33 a.m. PST, near Pulga, California, near Camp Creek Road in Butte County, California. Soon after the ignition of the Camp Fire, initial attack firefighters were dispatched to a report of a brush fire under Pacific Gas and Electric Company power lines near Poe Dam on the Feather River. Arriving 10 minutes later, the first units on scene observed rapid fire growth and extreme fire behavior, due to low humidity and high winds in the area. The National Weather Service had issued a red flag warning for most of Northern California's interior, as well as Southern California, through the morning of November 9. Pacific Gas and Electric reported that power lines were down.[13] Shortly after the fire erupted, the Butte County Sheriff's Office ordered the evacuation of Paradise.[14] Other locations were also issued evacuation orders, while others were issued evacuation warnings, and emergency shelters were established.[15]

Due to the speed of the fire, many residents of Paradise were unable to evacuate before the fire arrived. The fire spread so rapidly that firefighters stopped attempting to control the flames, and instead were in rescue mode to help people get out alive.[9] By 8:18 pm PST that day, the fire had burned 20,000 acres (8,100 ha) and threatened about 15,000 structures,[2] with wind speeds approaching 50 miles per hour (22 m/s), allowing the fire to grow rapidly.[16] According to Captain Scott McLean of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire), "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it's that kind of devastation. The wind that was predicted came and just wiped it out."[17]

By the morning of November 10, the Camp Fire was reported by CalFire to have grown to a size of 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) and was 20% contained. By then, an estimated 6,713 structures had been destroyed by the fire.[18][19] Also on the 10th, an additional fourteen bodies were discovered, bringing the total number of confirmed casualties to 23.

By the morning of November 12, CalFire reported the fire was 113,000 acres (46,000 ha) and was 25% contained.[1] Six more bodies were located, increasing the death toll to 29, tying with the 1933 Griffith Park Fire for the deadliest wildfire in California history.[20][21]

Impact

Hot spots and a large plume of smoke from the Camp Fire in Northern California were seen from space on Thursday, November 8.

Traffic on the evacuation routes led to cars being abandoned while people evacuated on foot, and also caused at least four deaths when the fire overtook people who were trapped in their vehicles, as well as one person outside a vehicle.[22]

The town of Paradise was largely destroyed within the first day of the fire, losing an estimated 80% to 90% of its buildings. At least five of the public schools in Paradise were destroyed, as was a Christmas tree farm, and nearly 7,000 other structures.[10] The Honey Run Covered Bridge over nearby Butte Creek, the last three-span Pratt-style truss bridge in the United States, was incinerated on November 10.[23][24] As of November 12, 29 people were confirmed dead, and 228 more are missing.[4][3][25][21]

On November 11, it was estimated that 52,000 people had evacuated.[26]

Response

On November 10, President Donald Trump blamed poor forest management by the state of California as the cause of recent wildfires in the state, including the Camp Fire and the concurrent Woolsey Fire in Southern California. In a tweet, he threatened to end federal assistance unless the state improves its "gross mismanagement of the forests."[27]

Fire experts rejected Trump's claims, noting that California is experiencing unusually dry conditions and abnormally high fire danger.[28] Brian Rice, president of the California Professional Firefighters, described Trump's assertion about the state's forest management practices as "dangerously wrong," noting that 60 percent of California forests are directly managed by the federal government, which has reduced spending on forestry in recent years.[29]

The Los Angeles Times explained that the Camp Fire was fueled not by over-dense timber, but dry grass amid sparse pine and oak woodlands which last burned just 10 years ago.[30]

The Butte County Sheriff's opened a call center, staffed daily from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, to provide and receive information and inquiries on missing persons.[31][32]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Tied as the deadliest with the 1933 Griffith Park Fire which also killed 29 people.

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Incident Update November 12, 7 am" (PDF). November 12, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Camp Fire". CAL FIRE. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c Baldassari, Erin (November 11, 2018). "Camp Fire death toll grows to 31, matching 1933 blaze as state's deadliest". East Bay Times. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "'It's not over yet.' High winds feed California wildfires as death toll rises". CNN. November 11, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "The Latest: Death toll from N. California fire rises to 23". Newser. Associated Press. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  6. ^ Alexander, Kurtis; Ravani, Sarah; Allday, Erin (November 10, 2018). "Camp Fire is most destructive wildfire in California history: 9 dead, 6,713 structures incinerated". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  7. ^ "Why is it called the Camp Fire? How California's most destructive wildfire got its name". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  8. ^ McVicker, David; Russell, Holly; Schmieding, Stephanie (November 9, 2018). "Camp Fire: Latest Numbers". KEZI 9 News. ABC. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Afzal, Rizwan (November 9, 2018). "PARADISE, Calif. - Bodies found in burnt cars as Calif. fire incinerates town". STL.News. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  10. ^ a b Wright, Pam (November 11, 2018). "At Least 23 Dead in Wildfire That Destroyed Northern California Town and Is Now the Most Destructive Fire in California History". The Weather Channel. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  11. ^ "Camp Fire devastates Paradise near Chico — businesses, church, numerous homes burn". San Francisco Chronicle. November 8, 2018.
  12. ^ Graff, Amy (November 9, 2018). "Paradise lost: Before-and-after photos show a town devoured by a raging wildfire". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  13. ^ "PG&E power lines may have sparked deadly Camp Fire, according to radio transmissions". The Mercury News. November 9, 2018.
  14. ^ Cal Fire (November 7, 2018). "CAL FIRE on Twitter". Red Flag Warning - Twitter. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  15. ^ "PARADISE LOST: Cal Fire Says Camp Fire Has Wiped Out California Town". CBS Sacramento. November 8, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  16. ^ "California wildfire leaves town in ruins". BBC News. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  17. ^ "Butte County wildfire grows to 70,000 acres". KCRA. November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  18. ^ Ravani, Sarah, "California wildfire: Destructive Camp Fire grows to 70,000 acres", San Francisco Chronicle (November 9, 2018)
  19. ^ "Campfire Incident Update" (PDF). Cal Fire. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  20. ^ "Death toll climbs to 29 in California's Camp Fire, state's deadliest in 85 years". NBC News. November 11, 2018.
  21. ^ a b Bever, Lindsey; Achenbach, Joel; Wootson Jr., Cleve R. (November 12, 2018). "As Camp Fire death toll climbs, investigators face grim task of finding remains". The Washington Post.
  22. ^ "At Least 9 Dead In Butte County Fire; 6,500 Homes Lost, 90,000 Acres Burned". CBS San Francisco. Retrieved November 9, 2018.
  23. ^ Robertson, Michelle (November 10, 2018). "132-year-old Honey Run Covered Bridge, the last of its kind, destroyed by wildfire". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  24. ^ Hernández, Lauren (November 10, 2018). "Camp Fire destroyed 132-year-old wooden covered bridge that was monument to Gold Rush era". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  25. ^ Sahagun, Louis; Dillon, Liam; Luna, Taryn (November 11, 2018). "Death toll from Camp fire in Paradise fire swells to 23; 100 still missing". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  26. ^ McBride, Ashley; Gutierrez, Melody; Asimov, Nanette (November 11, 2018). "More than 4,000 now fighting Camp Fire, with a wary eye on the wind". SFGate. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  27. ^ Deruy, Emily (November 10, 2018). "Trump blames poor forest management for California fires, threatens to revoke funding". The Mercury News. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  28. ^ "California Wildfires Kill At Least 9 as Trump Blames the State". Rolling Stone. November 10, 2018.
  29. ^ Tweet by Jose Del Real, November 10, 2018
  30. ^ California’s most destructive wildfire should not have come as a surprise. Los Angeles Times, November 10, 2018
  31. ^ "Butte County Sheriff's Office activates missing persons call center", Twitter feed, Butte County Sheriff (November 11, 2018)
  32. ^ Seldon, Aja, "Missing persons call center activated for Camp Fire", KRON4 (November 11, 2018)
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Camp Fire.


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