2020 Western United States wildfire season

2020 Western United States wildfire season
Satellite image of the smoke from the wildfires burning in California and Oregon on September 9, 2020
Date(s)July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24) – December 31, 2020 (2020-12-31)
LocationWestern United States
Statistics[3]
Total fires100+[citation needed]
Total area10,200,000 acres (4,100,000 ha)[1][2]
Impacts
Deaths47 direct (32 in California, 11 in Oregon, 1 in Washington, 1 in Arizona, 2 in Colorado)[4][5] 1,200 to 3,000 indirect (caused by the adverse effects of smoke inhalation)[6]
Non-fatal injuriesUnknown
Structures destroyed13,887[2]
Damage>$19.884 billion (2020 USD)[1][2]
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 Western United States experienced a series of major wildfires in 2020. Severe August thunderstorms ignited numerous wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington, followed in early September by additional ignitions across the West Coast. Fanned by strong, gusty winds and fueled by hot, dry terrains, many of the fires exploded and coalesced into record-breaking megafires,[7] burning more than 10.2 million acres (41,000 square kilometres) of land,[1][2] mobilizing tens of thousands of firefighters, razing over ten thousand buildings,[2] and killing at least 37 people.[8][9] The fires caused over $19.884 billion (2020 USD) in damages,[1][2] including $16.5 billion in property damage and $3.384 billion in fire suppression costs.[1][2] Climate change and poor forest management practices contributed to the severity of the wildfires.[10]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters: Events". National Centers for Environmental Information. December 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g 2020 National Large Incident Year-to-Date Report (PDF). Geographic Area Coordination Center (Report). National Interagency Fire Center. December 21, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 29, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  3. ^ "Fire Statistics". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on June 28, 2020. Retrieved September 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "Officials identify pilot who died in helicopter crash while responding to Polles Fire". azcentral.com. Helena Wegner, Audrey Jensen, Perry Vandell. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  5. ^ "Reviewing the horrid global 2020 wildfire season". yaleclimateconnections.org. Jeff Masters. January 4, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
  6. ^ "'Hidden cost' of wildfire smoke: Stanford researchers estimate up to 3,000 indirect deaths". September 25, 2020.
  7. ^ Freedman, Andrew (September 11, 2020). "Western wildfires: An 'unprecedented' climate change fueled event, experts say". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  8. ^ Bacon, Duvernay; Bacon, John (September 14, 2020). "'I could never have envisioned this': At least 35 dead as nearly 100 wildfires continue to rage across 12 Western states". USA Today. Microsoft News. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  9. ^ "Historic Wildfires Rage in Western States". The New York Times. September 10, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  10. ^ Is climate change worsening California fires, or is it poor forest management? Both, experts say Archived September 14, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved: September 14, 2020.