2016 California wildfires
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This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. (August 2016) |
| 2016 California wildfires | |
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A Skycrane makes a drop on the Sherpa Fire in June.
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| Statistics[1] | |
| Total fires | 4,270 (As of August 27) |
| Total area | 387,669 acres (1,568.84 km2)(As of August 25) |
| Fatalities | 6 civilians killed, 1 firefighter (As of August 6) |
| Season | |
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← 2015
2017 →
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The 2016 California wildfires are a series of wildfires that burned across the state of California during 2016. As of 27 August 2016[update], 4,270 fires had burned 183,025 acres (740.68 km2), according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.[1]
Climatologists had predicted an extreme version of El Niño known as 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.[2] Early in the year, 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.[3]
Events[edit]
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.[4]
August[edit]
On August 15, the National Interagency Fire Center showed the state leading the nation in the quantity, size and intensity of wildfires.[4]
On August 16, San Bernardino County announced that nearly 85,000 people were evacuated because of the Blue Cut Fire near Cajon Pass.[5] Authorities arrested a 40-year-old man in connection to the Clayton Fire, and charged him with 17 counts of arson.[4]
Fires[edit]
| Name | County | Acres | Start Date | Contained Date | Active? | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roberts | San Luis Obispo | 3,712 | May 18, 2016 | May 20, 2016 | Contained | [6] | |
| Metz | Monterey | 3,876 | May 22, 2016 | May 25, 2016 | Contained | [7] | |
| Coleman | Monterey | 2,520 | June 4, 2016 | June 17, 2016 | Contained | [8] | |
| Pony | Siskiyou | 2,860 | June 7, 2016 | N/A | Active (90%) | [9] | |
| Sherpa | Santa Barbara | 7,474 | June 15, 2016 | July 12, 2016 | Contained | [10] | |
| Border | San Diego | 7,609 | June 19, 2016 | June 30, 2016 | Contained | 2 fatalities, 5 homes and 11 outbuildings destroyed | [11] |
| San Gabriel Complex | Los Angeles | 5,399 | June 20, 2016 | July 23, 2016 | Contained | Reservoir Fire burned 1,146 acres; Fish Fire burned 4,253 acres | [12] |
| Erskine | Kern | 48,019 | June 23, 2016 | July 12, 2016 | Contained | 2 fatalities, 285 homes destroyed, 12 damaged | [13] |
| Trailhead | Placer | 5,646 | June 28, 2016 | July 18, 2016 | Contained | [14] | |
| Pine | Ventura | 2,304 | June 30, 2016 | N/A | Active (98%) | [15] | |
| Deer | Kern | 1,785 | July 1, 2016 | July 11, 2016 | Contained | [16] | |
| Curry | Fresno | 2,944 | July 1, 2016 | July 5, 2016 | Contained | [17] | |
| Sage | Los Angeles | 1,109 | July 9, 2016 | July 16, 2016 | Contained | [18] | |
| Roblar | San Diego | 1,245 | July 21, 2016 | July 30, 2016 | Contained | [19] | |
| Sand | Los Angeles | 41,432 | July 22, 2016 | August 3, 2016 | Contained | 2 fatalities, 18 homes destroyed, 4 damaged [20] | [21] |
| Soberanes | Monterey | 90,062 | July 22, 2016 | N/A | Active (60%) | 1 fatality, 3 injuries, 57 homes and 11 outbuildings destroyed | [22] |
| Goose | Fresno | 2,241 | July 30, 2016 | August 9, 2016 | Contained | 4 homes, 5 outbuildings destroyed | [23] |
| Cold | Yolo | 5,731 | August 2, 2016 | August 12, 2016 | Contained | 2 outbuildings destroyed | [24] |
| Pilot | San Bernardino | 8,110 | August 7, 2016 | August 16, 2016 | Contained | [25] | |
| Mineral | Fresno | 7,050 | August 9, 2016 | August 18, 2016 | Contained | 2 structures destroyed | [26] |
| Chimney | San Luis Obispo | 45,108 | August 13, 2016 | N/A | Active (55%) | 48 structures destroyed | [27] |
| Clayton | Lake | 3,929 | August 13, 2016 | August 26, 2016 | Contained | 189 homes, 109 outbuildings destroyed | [28] |
| Blue Cut | San Bernardino | 36,274 | August 16, 2016 | August 23, 2016 | Contained | 105 homes, 213 outbuildings destroyed | [29] |
| Cedar | Kern | 29,040 | August 16, 2016 | N/A | Active (30%) | [30] | |
| Rey | Santa Barbara | 33,006 | August 18, 2016 | N/A | Active (54%) | [31] |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Fire Statistics". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
- ^ Blankenbuehler, Paige (22 June 2016). "El Niño adds fuel to Southwestern fires". The Journal. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ Grenoble, Ryan (2 May 2016). "Here's Where The 2016 Wildfire Season Risk Is The Highest". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Retrieved 25 June 2016.
- ^ a b c Fears, Darryl (16 August 2016). "California is in flames right now, with fires fueled by historic drought". Washington Post. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
- ^ "More than 82,000 people flee Southern California wildfire". Chicago Tribune. August 16, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
- ^ "Roberts Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ "Metz Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved May 25, 2016.
- ^ "Coleman Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved June 21, 2016.
- ^ "Pony Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved June 24, 2016.
- ^ "Sherpa Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
- ^ "Border Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
- ^ "San Gabriel Complex". InciWeb. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
- ^ "Erskine Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- ^ "Trailhead Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "Pine Fire". Inciweb. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- ^ "Deer Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. CAL FIRE. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "Curry Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. CAL FIRE. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
- ^ "Sage Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
- ^ "Roblar Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 31 July 2016.
- ^ Carr, Ada and Wright, Pam (24 July 2016). "Body Found As Firefighters Continue to Battle 'Sand Fire' Near Los Angeles; 18 Homes Destroyed". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- ^ "Sand Fire". Inciweb. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ "Soberanes Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
- ^ "Goose Fire Updates". CAL FIRE Incident Information. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
- ^ "Cold Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 4 August 2016.
- ^ "Pilot Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "Mineral Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 11 August 2016.
- ^ "ChimneyFire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
- ^ "Clayton Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
- ^ "Blue Cut Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
- ^ "Cedar Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
- ^ "Rey Fire". InciWeb. Retrieved 23 August 2016.
External links[edit]
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2016 Wildfires in California. |
- California current incident information from CAL FIRE
- California wildfires on the US Forestry Incident Information System (InciWeb)
- 2016 California Fire Map (Calfire/Google Maps)