Topanga Fire

The Topanga Fire was a brush fire that ignited on September 28, 2005, to the northwest of Los Angeles, California, in the Santa Susana Mountains. The Topanga Fire burned a total of 24,175 acres (97.8 km²), injured 31 people, and caused $15.8 million in damage.^[1] The wildfire grew to more than 16,000 acres (65 km²) in 2 days, threatening homes, natural resources, power lines, and communications equipment in the Simi Hills, in eastern Ventura County, as well as the Thousand Oaks regions north of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Experts foresaw the problem as Southern California entered the hottest part of the fire season, with the land covered in brush that grew after the heaviest rains in over 100 years.^[2] Although the wind, dry conditions, and steep terrain made the work of firefighters difficult, the loss of property had been low (as of early October); according to news reports from Friday, September 30, one home and handful of outbuildings had been lost. Mandatory evacuations were in place, involving at least 1,500 residents of the area.

On October 2, 2005, over 17,000 acres (69 km²) were burned. Furthermore, only 5% of the blaze was estimated to have been contained by the approximately 3,000 firefighters battling it.^[3] On October 6, the Topanga Fire was 100% contained, after it had expanded to 24,175 acres (97.8 km²).

View of the wildfire from the top of the Topanga Canyon.

See also

• List of California wildfires
• Wildfires in California-related topics

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wildfires in California.

References

External links

• NASA Earth Observatory page discussing the wildfires