| 2022 California wildfires | |
|---|---|
 The smoke plume from the Oak Fire in California as seen by NASA's Aqua satellite on July 23, 2022 | |
| Date(s) | January 21 – October 23 |
| Statistics[1] | |
| Total fires | 7,667 |
| Total area | 363,939 acres (147,281 ha) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 9 |
| Structures destroyed |
|
| Map | |
 A map of every wildfire ≥1,000 acres in area in California in 2022 | |
| Season | |
← 2021
2023 → | |
The 2022 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires throughout the U.S. state of California. By the end of the year, a total of 7,667 fires had been recorded, totaling approximately 363,939 acres (147,281 hectares) across the state. Wildfires killed nine people in California in 2022, destroyed 772 structures, and damaged another 104. The 2022 season followed the 2020 and 2021 California wildfire seasons, which had the highest and second-highest (respectively) numbers of acres burned in the historical record, with a sharp drop in acreage burned.
Drastic climatic and ecological conditions, including climate change and long-term drought, had led to the anticipation of another potentially above-average wildfire season on the heels of two previous such seasons in 2020 and 2021.[2] However, while the number of fires to date in 2022 was only slightly below the 5-year average (7,641 fires versus 8,049 fires), the total acreage burned was well below the 5-year average; 363,939 acres burned in 2022 thus far versus the 5-year average of 2,324,096 acres (though that average includes several of California's most significant fire seasons).[3]
Peak fire season in California typically occurs in late summer and/or fall, and effectively ends when significant precipitation occurs across the state.[4] Governor of California Gavin Newsom officially marked "the end of peak wildfire season” in most of the state in mid-November.[5] The quieter fire year was received gratefully by state officials and was highlighted by multiple news outlets, which attributed the downturn in severity largely to fortunate weather patterns, such as well-timed precipitation and favorable wind conditions.[6][5] Officials were also quick to suggest that a contributing factor might have been several billion dollars invested in wildfire resilience projects, such as prescribed burning and community outreach.[5]
Despite the 'quiet' year as measured in acreage, a number of significant wildfires burned in California in 2022; these include the Oak Fire in Mariposa County, which burned over 180 structures, the McKinney Fire in Siskiyou County, which caused 4 fatalities, and the Mosquito Fire in Placer and El Dorado counties, which was California's largest wildfire of the year.
- ^ "2022 Fire Season". Archived from the original on July 1, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ Smith, Hayley; Wigglesworth, Alex (June 10, 2022). "A treacherous California fire season made more dangerous by drought, water restrictions". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2022. Retrieved June 28, 2022.
- ^ "Cal Fire Stats and Events: Current Year Statistics". Cal Fire. Archived from the original on July 13, 2022. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
- ^ "Fire Season Climatology | NWCG". www.nwcg.gov. Archived from the original on September 29, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ a b c Smith, Hayley (November 19, 2022). "'We got really lucky': Why California escaped another destructive fire season in 2022". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on February 2, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2023.
- ^ Shao, Elena (December 20, 2022). "Why California's 2022 Wildfire Season Was Unexpectedly Quiet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on January 2, 2023. Retrieved January 2, 2023.