2021 California wildfires

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2021 California wildfires
The Erbes Fire in Thousand Oaks on January 14, 2021
Statistics[1]
Total fires4,991
Total area142,477 acres (57,658 ha)
Impacts
Deaths0
Non-fatal injuries7
Structures destroyed119
DamageUnknown
Season
← 2020
2022 →

The 2021 California wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have burned across the state of California. As of July 13, 2021, a total of 4,991 fires have been recorded, burning 142,477 acres (57,658 ha) across the state.[1] At least 119 buildings have been destroyed by the wildfires, and at least 7 firefighters have been injured battling the fires.[1]

The wildfire season in California experienced an unusually early start amid an ongoing drought and historically low rainfall and reservoir levels.[2] In January 2021 alone, 297 fires burned 1,171 acres (4.74 km2) on nonfederal land according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which is almost triple the number of fires and more than 20 times the acreage of the five-year average for January.[3][2] The January fires were exacerbated by unseasonably strong Santa Ana winds, and some of them burned in the same areas as previous fires like the CZU Lightning Complex.[4]

The long term trend is that wildfires in the state are increasing due to climate change in California.[5][6] In terms of the amount of fires burned, the 2021 season has been outpacing the 2020 season, which itself was the largest season in the state's recorded history. As of July 11, more than three times as many acres have burned compared to the previous year through that date, with drought, extreme heat, and reduced snowpack contributing to the severity of the fires.[7][8][9] The state also faces an increased risk of post-wildfire landslides.[10][11]

Impact

Firefighters setting a prescribed fire on January 27, 2021 near Ant Canyon in Kern County

Over 120 families have been evacuated from the fires,[4] and companies like PG&E have preemptively spent billions of dollars to reduce the risk of wildfires and avoid an event similar to the previous year's fire season.[12] Firefighters have also set prescribed fires to prevent other fires burning.[13][14][15][16] Some illegal cannabis farmers allowed their crop to burn in order to prevent its seizure by authorities, which has inadvertently hindered firefighting efforts. During evacuations from the Lava Fire, an illegal marijuana farmer was shot and killed by police after brandishing a firearm at authorities, while "defending his farm".[17][18]

List of wildfires

The Government of California's video about COVID-19 protocols in place at wildfire evacuation centers.

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
Owens Kern 1,512 May 1 May 7 Unknown cause [19][20]
Southern San Diego 5,366 May 2 May 6 4 structures destroyed [21][20]
Palisades Los Angeles 1,202 May 14 May 26 Human-caused, suspected arson; 1 firefighter injured [22]
Sargents Monterey 1,100 May 30 June 2 Unknown cause [23]
Sierra San Diego 1,000 June 9 June 12 [24][25]
Willow Monterey 2,877 June 17 July 12 Unknown cause [26]
Mojave San Bernardino 2,490 June 17 June 26 Caused by lightning [27][28]
Nettle Tulare 1,265 June 18 July 2 [29][30][31]
Lava Siskiyou 26,300 June 25 77% contained as of July 15 Caused by lightning; 23 structures destroyed; 1 structure damaged; 6 firefighters injured [32]
Shell Kern 1,984 June 27 July 2 Caused by a car fire [33][34]
Tennant Siskiyou 10,580 June 28 July 12 Unknown cause; 9 structures destroyed [35][36]
Salt Shasta 12,650 June 30 95% contained as of July 15 Caused by hot material falling off of a vehicle; 43 structures destroyed [37][38]
East Fork Alpine 1,136 July 1 July 11 Caused by lightning [39][40]
Beckwourth Complex Plumas 104,826 July 3 68% contained as of July 16 Caused by lightning; includes the Dotta Fire and the Sugar Fire [41]
Juniper Modoc 1,011 July 5 July 13 Unknown cause [42]
River Mariposa 9,500 July 11 36% contained as of July 15 Unknown cause; 5 structures destroyed [43]
Dexter Mono 2,000 July 12 13% contained as of July 15 Caused by lightning [44]
Dixie Butte 2,250 July 14 0% contained as of July 15 Burning very close to the Camp Fire burn scar from 2018 [45]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Fire Statistics". CAL FIRE. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  2. ^ a b "California's rainfall is at historic lows. That spells trouble for wildfires and farms". The Guardian. February 11, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Arthur, Damon (February 2, 2021). "A bad omen for 2021? There were 297 wildfires in California in January, nearly tripling five-year average". USA Today. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Powerful Santa Ana wind event kindles January wildfires in California". The Washington Post. January 20, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "Wildfires & Climate Change | California Air Resources Board". ww2.arb.ca.gov. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
  6. ^ Field, Rebecca Miller,Katharine Mach,Chris. "Climate Change Is Central to California’s Wildfires". Scientific American. Retrieved July 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ Popovich, Nadja (June 11, 2021). "How Severe Is the Western Drought? See For Yourself". The New York Times. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  8. ^ Smith, Hayley (July 12, 2021). "California hit by record-breaking fire destruction: 'Climate change is real, it's bad'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Meeks, Alexandra; Silverman, Hollie; Sutton, Joe (July 13, 2021). "Wildfires in California this year have scorched 3 times more land than in the same period of last year's record season". CNN. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  10. ^ Brackett, Ron (March 2, 2021). "Landslides After Wildfires in Southern California Will Become More Common, New Study Says". The Weather Channel. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  11. ^ "Post-wildfire landslides becoming more frequent in southern California". Science Daily. February 25, 2021.
  12. ^ "PG&E, Other Utilities To Spend Billions To Cut Wildfire Risk In California". Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  13. ^ "KRRD 2021 Prescribed Fire Information". InciWeb. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  14. ^ "Cleveland RX Burning 2021 Information". InciWeb. Retrieved February 25, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "WDRD 2021 Prescribed Fire Information". InciWeb. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  16. ^ "McKenzie Ranch Information". InciWeb. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  17. ^ Cortez, Alison (June 30, 2021). "Hostile pot farmers forced retreat from Lava Fire in Northern California, sheriff says".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Lava Fire: Officers Kill Gunman Near Pot Farms In Evacuation Area; 13,000 Acres Burned". June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  19. ^ "Owens Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov. May 2, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Friday, May 7, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 2" (PDF). nifc.gov. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  21. ^ "Southern Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. May 3, 2021.
  22. ^ "Palisades Fire". lafd.org. May 16, 2021.
  23. ^ "Sargents Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 1, 2021.
  24. ^ "Wildfire burning on Camp Pendleton in north San Diego county". cbs8.com. June 1, 2021.
  25. ^ "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Saturday, June 12, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 2" (PDF). nifc.gov. June 12, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  26. ^ "Willow Fire". InciWeb. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 19, 2021.
  27. ^ "Mojave Fire". InciWeb. June 17, 2021. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  28. ^ "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Saturday, June 26, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 4" (PDF). nifc.gov. June 26, 2021. Retrieved June 26, 2021.
  29. ^ Romero, Sheyanne (June 23, 2021). "Tulare County wildfire update: Nettle Fire inches toward full containment". Visalia Times Delta. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  30. ^ "Nettle Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 18, 2021.
  31. ^ "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Friday, July 2, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 4" (PDF). nifc.gov. July 2, 2021. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  32. ^ "Lava Information". inciweb.nwgc.gov. June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  33. ^ "Shell Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 28, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
  34. ^ Smith, Hayley (June 29, 2021). "Northern California wildfire forces evacuations as blazes ignite across the state". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
  35. ^ "Tennant Fire Information". inciweb.nwgc.gov. June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  36. ^ Seidman, Lila (July 2, 2021). "Lava fire spreads as Salt and Tennant fires destroy homes". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 2, 2021.
  37. ^ "Salt Fire Information". inciweb.nwgc.gov. June 29, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
  38. ^ "Salt Fire: Latest on wildfire burning in Shasta County". KXTV. July 8, 2021. Retrieved July 9, 2021.
  39. ^ "East Fork Fire Information". inciweb.nwgc.gov. July 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  40. ^ "National Interagency Coordination Center Incident Management Situation Report Sunday, July 11, 2021– 0730 MDT National Preparedness Level 4" (PDF). nifc.gov. July 11, 2021. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
  41. ^ "Beckwourth Complex Information". inciweb.nwgc.gov. July 4, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  42. ^ "Juniper Fire Information". inciweb.nwgc.gov. July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  43. ^ "River Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. July 12, 2021.
  44. ^ "Dexter Fire Information". inciweb.nwgc.gov. July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  45. ^ "Dixie Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. July 14, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2021_California_wildfires&oldid=1033900125"