2020 Maricopa County wildfires

2020 Maricopa County wildfires
Part of the 2020 Arizona wildfires
Satellite view of the Bush Fire on June 14, 2020.
Date(s)May 17 – October 11, 2020
Statistics
Total area200,000+ acres (80,937 ha)[1]
Impacts
Deaths0
Non-fatal injuries0
Structures destroyed44
Damage$17,000,000+ (2020 USD)
Map
Major wildfires (Map)
2020 Western U.S. wildfires
Multiple wildfires burning near the Pacific coast of the U.S. on September 9, 2020
Affected states
Background
Largest wildfire by state
  • Arizona - Bush (193,455 acres)
  • California - August Complex (1,032,648 acres)
  • Colorado - Cameron Peak (208,913 acres)
  • Nevada - Meadow Valley (59,265 acres)
  • New Mexico - Cub (25,950 acres)
  • Oregon - Santiam (402,274 acres)
  • Utah - East Fork (89,765 acres)
  • Washington - Pearl Hill (223,730 acres)

The 2020 Maricopa County wildfires were a series of major and non-major wildfires that took place in Maricopa County, Arizona, from the month of May to the month of October. In the year 2020, Arizona saw one of its worst fire seasons in the states history.[2] Due to the lack of precipitation needed in Arizona, the state fell into an ongoing drought from late 2020 and 2021.[3][4] High winds were also present during the summer when fire season is mostly active in the state. These factors led to the wildfires in Maricopa County to be destructive and costly.[5]

Out of all the counties in Arizona, 200,000+ acres (80,937 ha) burned in Maricopa County alone, which is almost 20% of the acreage burned in Arizona in 2020. The wildfires in the county of Maricopa destroyed approximately 44 structures and there were no reported deaths or injuries.[6] In addition, the Bush Fire would become one of the worst wildfires to ever scorch parts of Maricopa County since the Cave Creek Complex Fire in the summer of 2005.[7]

  1. ^ "National Large Incident YTD Report" (PDF). gacc.nifc.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-12-29. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Arizona's 2020 Wildfire Season Among Worst in Past Decade". usnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  3. ^ Romero, Simon (30 April 2021). "'Firefighters Out There in the Snow': Wildfires Rage Early in Parched West". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  4. ^ "Drought expected to persist in much of the Western US through 2022 and beyond, according to NOAA report". abcnews.go.com. Daniel Manzo. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  5. ^ "Arizona wildfires grow as flames flicker throughout Desert Southwest and California". washingtonpost.com. Matthew Cappucci and Andrew Freedman. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  6. ^ "National Large Incident YTD Report" (PDF). gacc.nifc.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2020-12-29. Retrieved 30 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Here are the 5 largest wildfires in Arizona history". ktar.com. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2021.