Woolsey Fire

Woolsey Fire
The large smoke plume from the fire encroaching on Malibu on November 9, seen from the Pacific Coast Highway
Date(s)
  • November 8, 2018 (2018-11-08) –
  • November 21, 2018 (2018-11-21)
LocationLos Angeles and Ventura Counties, California, United States
Coordinates34°14′06″N 118°42′05″W / 34.2350°N 118.7013°W / 34.2350; -118.7013
Statistics[1][2][3]
Burned area96,949 acres (39,234 ha)
Land useRecreational and residential
Impacts
Deaths3 civilians
Non-fatal injuries2 civilians
3 firefighters
Structures destroyed1,643 destroyed, 364 damaged
Damage$6 billion (2018 USD)[5]
Ignition
CauseFaulty SoCal Edison Equipment
Map
Woolsey Fire is located in the United States
Woolsey Fire
Woolsey Fire is located in California
Woolsey Fire
Woolsey Fire is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area
Woolsey Fire

The Woolsey Fire was a wildfire that started in Los Angeles County and spread north to neighboring Ventura County, both located in the U.S. state of California. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018 and wasn't fully contained until November 21, 2018. The fire burned 96,949 acres (39,234 hectares) of land, destroyed 1,643 structures,[4] killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people.[3] It was one of several fires in California that ignited on the same day, along with the nearby Hill Fire and the destructive Camp Fire in Northern California.[6][7]

The fire started in Woolsey Canyon on the Santa Susana Field Laboratory property, and burned 80% of the site, a complex of industrial research and development buildings belonging to Boeing, in the Santa Susana Mountains above the Simi Valley near the boundary between Los Angeles and Ventura counties.[8][9] The Santa Ana winds, which often are a factor for Southern California fires, pushed the fire in a southerly direction throughout the first day.[10][11] The Ventura Freeway (US 101) between the San Fernando Valley and the Conejo Valley was closed as the fire crossed and headed into the rugged Santa Monica Mountains.

The fire raced through the chaparral-covered steep canyons where it encountered historic movie and TV sets, small ranches, and the houses of celebrities.[12] Hundreds of houses in Malibu were destroyed or damaged on both sides of Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1). Many of these were on Point Dume that juts out from the narrow coastal terrace that lies between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The mitigation measures Pepperdine University had in place successfully protected the campus, with students sheltering in place, to the south. The entire sparsely populated portion of the Malibu coast west to the community of Solromar, which includes state and national parklands, suffered damage from the fire. The fire cost at least $6 billion (2018 USD) in property damage.[5]

Thousands of residents were kept away from their houses in numerous neighborhoods along the Ventura Freeway and the communities along the Malibu coast. The evacuations frustrated residents as they lasted for many days as the fire continued to threaten houses especially when the winds increased and fanned the flames. The evacuated residents were incrementally allowed to return to see if their houses were damaged or destroyed as the fire continued to spread through the rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains. Authorities in many of the damaged communities declared that they needed to prevent residents from returning quickly as neighborhoods were crowded with crews repairing downed power lines and other hazardous conditions. In the months after the fire, residents criticized what they thought was a slow and inadequate response by cities and counties during public meetings held by public officials.

While this and other fires were burning, President Donald Trump blamed poor forest management by the state. One fire scientist explained that forest management (good or bad) had a minor influence on the severity of the fires, and that Woolsey was not a forest fire.[13]

The California Public Utilities Commission is investigating an equipment problem near the point of origin reported by Southern California Edison.

  1. ^ "Woolsey Fire General Information". CAL FIRE. California. November 8, 2018. Archived from the original on June 3, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2018.
  2. ^ "Woolsey Fire Incident Update". Los Angeles County Fire Department. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 13, 2018.
  3. ^ a b Gonzales, Ruby; Cain, Josh (November 14, 2018). "Woolsey fire death toll increases to 3, body found in charred Agoura Hills home". San Gabriel Valley Newspapers. Retrieved November 14, 2018 – via The Mercury News.
  4. ^ a b "Woolsey Fire Incident Update". Los Angeles County Fire Department. Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Emily Holland (November 28, 2018). "$6 Billion In Real Estate Destroyed In Woolsey Fire: Report". patch.com. Patch Media. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  6. ^ Hersko, Tyler (November 16, 2018). "Investigators point to human activity as cause of Hill Fire; containment at 100 percent". Ventura County Star. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Los Angeles Times was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Woolsey Canyon". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  9. ^ Harris, Mike (October 17, 2021). "Study finds radioactive contamination migrated off field lab site during Woolsey Fire". Ventura County Star. Retrieved October 17, 2021. The Woolsey Fire broke out at the site on Nov. 8, 2018, sparked during high winds by electrical equipment owned there by Southern California Edison, an investigation by the Ventura County Fire Department concluded. The blaze went on to burn about 97,000 acres, including 80% of the field lab site, ... The study examined 360 samples of household dust, surface soils and ash from 150 homes and other locations such as parks and trails collected after the fire. It concluded that while most of the collected samples were at normal levels, "some ashes and dusts collected from the Woolsey Fire zone in the fire's immediate aftermath contained high activities of radioactive isotopes associated with the Santa Susana Field Laboratory."
  10. ^ Chandler, Jenna (November 9, 2018). "Ventura County's Woolsey Fire moving south, Malibu under evacuation". Curbed. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  11. ^ Haskell, Josh (November 11, 2018). "Woolsey Fire: Forecast calls for high winds in burn area as containment increases to 10 percent". ABC7. ABC. Retrieved November 11, 2018.
  12. ^ LOPEZ, STEVE (November 14, 2018). "It wasn't just the rich who lost houses in the Malibu area. Is fire California's great equalizer?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  13. ^ "What Trump gets wrong about wildfires, by a fire scientist". The Guardian. Retrieved April 28, 2020.