2009 California wildfires

2009 California wildfires

Detail from a MODIS satellite image of the Station Fire, on August 29, 2009.
Statistics[1][2][3]
Total fires 9,159
Total area 405,585 acres (1,641.34 km2)
Fatalities 4 firefighters
Injuries At least 134
Season
 2008
2010 

The 2009 California wildfires were a series of 8,291 wildfires that were active in the state of California, USA, during the year 2009.[4] The fires burned more than 404,601 acres (632 sq mi; 1,637 km2) of land from early February through late November, due to Red Flag conditions, destroying hundreds of structures, injuring 134 people, and killing two.[5] The wildfires also caused at least $134.48 million (2009 USD) in damage. Although the fires burned many different regions of California in August, the month was especially notable for several very large fires which burned in Southern California, despite being outside of the normal fire season for that region.

The Station Fire, north of Los Angeles, was the largest and deadliest of these wildfires. It began in late August, and resulted in the devastation of 160,577 acres (251 sq mi; 650 km2) of land as well as the death of two firefighters. Another large fire was the La Brea Fire, which burned nearly 90,000 acres (141 sq mi; 364 km2) in Santa Barbara County earlier in the month. A state of emergency was also declared for the 7,800 acres (12 sq mi; 32 km2) Lockheed Fire in Santa Cruz County to the north.

Fires

Below is a list of all fires that exceeded 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) during the 2009 fire season.[6] The list is taken from CAL FIREs list of large fires".

Name County Acres Km2 Start Date Contained Date Notes
Oak Glen III San Bernardino1,159 4.7 30 August 2009 8 September 2009
Bryson Monterey3,383 13.7 26 August 2009 29 August 2009
Gloria Monterey6,437 26.0 27 August 2009 1 September 2009
Lockheed Santa Cruz7,817 31.6 12 August 2009 23 August 2009 13 structures destroyed
Oasis Lake1,500 6.1 7 September 2009 12 September 2009
Yuba Yuba3,891 15.7 14 August 2009 24 August 2009
Explosive San Joaquin2,163 8.8 19 June 2009 19 June 2009
Corral San Joaquin12,200 49.4 13 August 2009 16 August 2009
Pacheco Santa Clara1,600 6.5 29 August 2009 30 August 2009
Chalk (Shu Complex) Shasta6,895 27.9 3 August 2009 16 August 2009
Goose (Shu Complex) Shasta3,918 15.9 3 August 2009 17 August 2009
Cassel (Shu Complex) Shasta6,319 25.6 3 August 2009 14 August 2009
Coffin Trinity1,300 5.3 12 August 2009 15 August 2009
Guiberson Ventura17,500 70.8 22 September 2009 1 October 2009
Morris Los Angeles2,168 8.8 25 August 2009 3 September 2009
Station Los Angeles160,577 649.8 26 August 2009 16 October 2009 209 Structures destroyed, 2 firefighter deaths
Cottonwood Riverside2,409 9.7 27 August 2009 31 August 2009
Sheep San Bernardino7,128 28.8 3 October 2009 10 October 2009
Mill Creek #4 Humboldt2,750 11.1 7 October 2009 17 October 2009
Fork Inyo3,268 13.2 18 July 2009 27 July 2009
Tennant Siskiyou3,225 13.1 19 July 2009 27 July 2009
Red Rock Siskiyou1,364 5.5 21 August 2009 4 September 2009
Hat Creek Complex Shasta11,269 45.6 1 August 2009 12 August 2009
Brown Shasta1,000 4.0 2 August 2009 12 August 2009
Fairfield Shasta1,664 6.7 2 August 2009 21 August 2009
Six Yolo1,235 5.0 1 October 2009 1 October 2009
Jesusita Santa Barbara8,733 35.3 5 May 2009 20 May 2009 160 structures destroyed
La Brea Santa Barbara89,489 362.1 8 August 2009 23 August 2009
Yankee San Diego2,200 8.9 11 July 2009 14 July 2009
W-4 Lassen1,500 6.1 1 August 2009 7 August 2009
Dodge Complex Lassen1,600 6.5 1 August 2009 3 August 2009
Lion Complex Tulare3,988 16.1 30 June 2009 21 August 2009
Backbone Trinity6,324 25.6 1 July 2009 24 July 2009 1 fatality
Knight Tuolumne6,130 24.8 26 July 2009 11 August 2009
Grouse Mariposa3,047 12.3 30 May 2009 13 July 2009
Harden Tuolumne1,661 6.7 8 June 2009 11 July 2009
Wildcat Tuolumne1,100 4.5 29 July 2009 31 August 2009
Big Meadows Mariposa7,425 30.0 26 August 2009 10 September 2009

Conditions

Pyrocumulus cloud from the Station Fire towers over the skyline of downtown Los Angeles, California.

Invasive, non-native vegetation dies and re-sprouts year after year creating an unnatural buildup of dead plant material.[7] While periodic fires are natural, and many native plants depend upon fire to reproduce;[8] the intensity and frequency of these fires is altered by the presence of non-natives.[7]

In Southern California, the normal wildfire season begins in October with the arrival of the infamous Santa Ana winds, and it is unusual to see fires spread so rapidly at other times of year. However, temperatures throughout the southern part of the state exceeded 100 °F (38 °C) for much of late August. The combination of high temperatures, low humidity and a large quantity of tinder-dry fuel, some of which had not burnt for decades, allowed some of the normal fires to quickly explode out of control despite the lack of winds to spread the flames. These conditions, along with extreme terrain in many undeveloped areas that slowed access to burn areas, made firefighting difficult.

2009 California Wildfires at NASA/JPL showing the tinder-dry fuel being quickly consumed and aerial firefighting efforts to stop the blaze.

Notable fires

Picture of Los Angeles fires in August 2009. Photo was taken from Universal Studios Hollywood.

Dozens of fires burned throughout California in August 2009. Some of the most notable are listed here.

Northern California

Alameda County

Mariposa County

Progression of the Big Meadow Fire between August 26 and September 5, 2009. Map courtesy of the United States Forest Service.

Placer County

Santa Cruz/Monterey/San Benito Counties

Yuba County

Southern California

Los Angeles County

San Bernardino County

Santa Barbara County

Ventura County

References

  1. "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2009" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
  2. "2009 Wildland Fire Summary" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. "Wildland Fire Accidents and Fatalities by Year" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  4. Current Fire Information. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Accessed October 29, 2009.
  5. "Wildfire spreads along 241 toll road just east of Anaheim Hills [Updated]". Los Angeles Times. November 24, 2009. Archived from the original on November 28, 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2009.
  6. "Large Fires 2009" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  7. 1 2 Zouhar, Kristin; Smith, Jane Kapler; Sutherland, Steve; Brooks, Matthew L. (2008). "Wildland fire in ecosystems: fire and nonnative invasive plants". [United States Forest Service]. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  8. Ainsworth, Jack; Doss, Troy Alan (1995). "Natural History of Fire & Flood Cycles". California Coastal Commission. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  9. "Corral Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. August 18, 2009. Archived from the original on August 24, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  10. Salonga, Robert. (August 17, 2009). "Corral fire fully contained after burning 12,500 acres". Contra Costa Times. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  11. "Big Meadow Wildfire". InciWeb (United States Forest Service). September 4, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  12. "A Note From Yosemite's Superintendent". InciWeb (United States Forest Service). August 29, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  13. 1 2 CalFIRE (July 18, 2009). "Mammoth Fire Fire Incident Information". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  14. 1 2 CalFIRE (August 28, 2009). "Foresthill Fire Fire Incident Information". Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  15. "Forty Nine (49) Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire). September 2, 2009. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  16. 1 2 Placer County Community Development Department. "Aerial photo & map of 49 Fire". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved September 12, 2009. (map)
  17. 1 2 "Fox40 News: Couple Tours Their Burned Out Home". Sacramento: Fox 40 KTXL. Retrieved September 12, 2009.
  18. Thomas, Ayesha; Johnson, C. (September 1, 2009). "Firefighters Fully Contain the 49 Fire". KXTV (ABC Channel 10). Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  19. Kellar, Liz; Kleist, Trina; Moller, Dave (August 31, 2009), "Auburn blaze: arson possible", The Union, Grass Valley, California, archived from the original on September 15, 2009, retrieved August 31, 2009
  20. Gabbert, Bill (August 13, 2009). "Lockheed fire near Santa Cruz, CA". Wildfire Today. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  21. Squires, Jennifer; Jones, Donna; Alexander, Kurtis; Kelly, Cathy; Bookwalter, Genevieve; Walsh, Austin (August 13, 2009). "Lockheed Fire update: No containment; Bonny Doon evacuated; McCrary home saved". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 16, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  22. 1 2 "Lockheed Fire Incident Information". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. August 23, 2009. Archived from the original on September 7, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  23. "State of Emergency As Lockheed Fire Rages". KPIX-TV (CBS Channel 5). August 14, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  24. Bookwalter, Genevieve (August 19, 2009). "Scientists excited about new rare plants: recent flames could prompt explosion of manzanita species found nowhere else". Santa Cruz Sentinel. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  25. "Bryson Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. August 28, 2009. Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  26. "Firefighters battling fierce heat, dry fuels in 4,000-acre Bryson Fire". KSBY-TV (NBC Channel 6). August 28, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  27. "Gloria Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. August 31, 2009. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  28. Solana, Kimber. (September 1, 2009). "CAL FIRE investigators focus on vineyard as cause of Gloria Fire near Soledad". The Californian. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  29. Loma Fire Incident Information. CAL FIRE. Accessed October 28, 2009
  30. 600-acre Loma Fire now 20 percent contained. Santa Cruz Sentinel. October 25, 2009.
  31. NOAA-17 satellite image of Loma Fire. hi res
  32. "Yuba Fire". California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. August 23, 2009. Archived from the original on August 23, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  33. Grigsby, Jared. (August 16, 2009). "Difficult terrain works against Calif. fire crews". Associated Press. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  34. "Morris Fire". InciWeb (United States Forest Service). September 3, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  35. "Morris Fire was arson, official says". Pasadena Star-News. August 30, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  36. Station Fire Update Sept. 27, 2009. InciWeb. Accessed September 28, 2009. Archived September 30, 2009.
  37. "New fire breaks out near Angeles Crest Highway; forces road closure". Pasadena Star-News. August 26, 2009. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  38. "Station Fire". InciWeb (United States Forest Service). September 4, 2009. Archived from the original on September 4, 2009. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  39. "Firefighters Killed in 'Station Fire' Remembered". KTLA-TV (Channel 5). September 1, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  40. Sheep Fire. Oct 10, 2009. InciWeb
  41. "Below-freezing temps help in fight against Sheep fire [Updated]". Los Angeles Times. October 6, 2009. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved October 7, 2009.
  42. Sheep Fire Update Friday October 9 8:00 Am. InciWeb.
  43. http://www.fire.ca.gov/index_incidents_jesusita.php
  44. Womack, Sam. (August 17, 2009). "Crews work into the night to corral wildfire". Santa Maria Times. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  45. "La Brea Fire". InciWeb (United States Forest Service). September 1, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2009.
  46. "State of emergency declared in California wildfire". CNN. September 23, 2009. Retrieved September 23, 2009.
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