| 2016 California wildfires | |
|---|---|
 A Skycrane makes a drop on the Sherpa Fire in June. | |
| Statistics[2] | |
| Total fires | 7,349 |
| Total area | 669,534 acres (2,709.51 km2)[1] |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 6 civilians killed, 2 firefighters killed[1] |
| Non-fatal injuries | Unknown |
| Damage | >$480.3 million (2016 USD)[3][1] |
| Map | |
 A map of wildfires in California in 2016, using Cal Fire data | |
| Season | |
← 2015
2017 → | |
In 2016, a total of 7,349 fires had burned an area 669,534 acres (2,709.51 km2) in California, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.[2][1]
Climatologists had predicted an extreme version of El Niño, known as a 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.[4] Early in 2016, 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.[5]
- ^ a b c d Ken Pimlott (2017). "2016 Wildfire Activity Statistics" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 12, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
- ^ a b "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2016" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2017. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
- ^ Gilpin, Lyndsey (October 5, 2016). "The Most Expensive Wildfires in US History". High Country News. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
- ^ Blankenbuehler, Paige (June 22, 2016). "El Niño adds fuel to Southwestern fires". The Journal. Retrieved June 25, 2016.
- ^ Grenoble, Ryan (May 2, 2016). "Here's Where The 2016 Wildfire Season Risk Is The Highest". The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post. Retrieved June 25, 2016.