2014 California wildfires

For the swarm of large wildfires that were ablaze in San Diego County, California during May 2014, see May 2014 San Diego County wildfires.

2014 California wildfires
Satellite image of the wildfires in Southern California and Baja California, on May 15, 2014.
Statistics[2][3][4][5][6]
Total fires7,865
Total area625,540 acres (2,531 km2)[1]
Impacts
Deaths4 confirmed
Non-fatal injuriesAt least 146
Structures destroyed650 [7]
DamageAt least $204.05 million (2014 USD)
Map
A map of wildfires in California in 2014, using Cal Fire data
A map of wildfires in California in 2014, using Cal Fire data
Season
← 2013
2015 →

2014 saw several notable wildfires igniting in California, especially during the month of May, when multiple fires were ablaze concurrently in Southern California, and during September, when several massive wildfires were burning in Northern California. In the context of the 2012–13 North American drought (especially the 2011–17 California drought), as well as powerful Santa Ana winds, weather conditions were ideal for wildfires. A total of 7,865 wildfires ignited throughout the year, which burned at least 625,540 acres (2,531.5 km2) of land.[5][1] The wildfires caused a total of 146 injuries and 2 fatalities, in addition to causing at least $204.05 million (2014 USD) in damage.

The season began unusually early when a wildfire ignited on January 1, followed by 6 more fires igniting later within the same month. During a heat wave and dry Santa Ana conditions in May 2014, multiple wildfires broke out simultaneously in San Diego County, along with several other wildfires elsewhere in California. By mid-May, fire officials said they had already dealt with 1,400 wildfires in California in 2014 - twice the normal amount for that time of year - and a spokesman for CAL FIRE described the conditions as "unprecedented."[8] The May 2014 San Diego County wildfires were estimated to have caused at least $60 million (2014 USD) in damage.[4] In late June to early August, another group of wildfires ignited across the state, some of which reached over twenty thousand acres in size. In mid-September, the largest group of wildfires erupted, with some wildfires becoming larger than 50,000 acres in size. In early September 2014, the Happy Complex Fire became the largest wildfire of the season, eventually topping out at 135,369 acres (54,782 ha) in size on September 27. On October 8, an aerial tanker crashed during a firefighting effort at the Dog Rock Fire, which killed the pilot and sparked a small wildfire.[3] From late September to late October, the latest flare-up of major wildfires were extinguished by cooler weather and precipitation.

From December 10–13, a powerful winter storm extinguished the remaining wildfires that were present. In mid-December through late December, several more small wildfires sparked, but they were all extinguished by December 31.

In 2014, a study examined the human role in growing California wildfire risks.[9] The paper is titled "Extreme fire season in California: A glimpse into the future?" It was published as the second chapter of "Explaining Extreme Events of 2014", by the American Meteorological Society.[10] The authors also projected into the future, and the predicted results showed increases in the drought index, the area under extreme threat of fires, and the days of fire danger, stating that, "The increase in extreme fire risk is expected within the coming decade to exceed that of natural variability and this serves as an indication that anthropogenic climate warming will likely play a significant role in influence California’s fire season."[10]

  1. ^ a b Ken Pimlott (2015). "2014 Wildfire Activity Statistics" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  2. ^ London, Christina (May 15, 2014). "Body Found in Ashes of Carlsbad Fire". NBC 7 San Diego. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Pilot Killed After Airtanker Crash in Yosemite National Park Identified". The Weather Channel. October 9, 2014. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved October 9, 2014.
  4. ^ a b Repard, Pauline (May 24, 2014). "County estimates wildfire costs at nearly $60 million". San Diego Union Tribune. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016.
  5. ^ a b "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2018. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
  6. ^ "Wildland Fire Fatalities by Year" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 8, 2015. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  7. ^ "2014 Incident Archive". CALFIRE. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
  8. ^ Medina, Jennifer (May 15, 2014). "Fire Season Starts Early, and Fiercely". New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2014.
  9. ^ "New research finds that global warming is intensifying wildfires". December 3, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Yoon, J., B. Kravitz, P.J. Rasch, S. Simon Wang, R.R. Gillies, and L. Hipps, 2015: Extreme Fire Season in California: A Glimpse Into the Future?. Bull. Amer. Meteor. Soc., 96, S5–S9, https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-15-00114.1