October 2007 California wildfires

October 2007 California wildfires
NASA satellite photo (provided by NSPO, Taiwan National Space Organization) from October 22, 2007, showing the active fire zones and smoke plumes.
Date(s)
  • October 20, 2007[1] –
  • November 16, 2007[2]
LocationSouthern California
Statistics
Total fires30[3]
Burned area972,147 acres (3,900 km2)[3][4][5][6]
Land useMixed, residential, and wildlands
Impacts
Deaths17[5][7][8]
Non-fatal injuriesAt least 160[3][6]
Structures destroyed3,143
DamageAt least $2.393 billion (2007 USD)[9][10][8]
Ignition
CauseHuman; downed power lines; heat; vehicle fires, etc.

The October 2007 California wildfires, also known as the Fall 2007 California firestorm,[11] were a series of about thirty wildfires (17 of which became major wildfires)[8] that began igniting across Southern California on October 20. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed[12] and approximately 972,147 acres (about 3,934 km2, or 1,520 mi2) of land was burned from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border, surpassing the October 2003 California wildfires in scope, which were estimated to have burned 800,000 acres (3,200 km2).[3] The wildfires killed a total of 14 people, with nine of them dying directly from the fires;[13] 160 others were injured, including at least 124 firefighters.[3][14] At their height, the raging fires were visible from space.[15] These fires included the vast majority of the largest and deadliest wildfires of the 2007 California wildfire season. The only wildfire in 2007 that surpassed any of the individual October 2007 fires in size was the Zaca Fire.[16]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven California counties where fires were burning.[17] President George W. Bush concurred, and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.[18] Over 6,000 firefighters worked to fight the blazes; they were aided by units of the United States Armed Forces,[19] United States National Guard,[20] almost 3,000 prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes,[21] and 60 firefighters from the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Tecate.[22] The fires forced approximately 1,000,000 people to evacuate from their homes, becoming the largest evacuation in California's history.[23]

Major contributing factors to the extreme fire conditions were drought in Southern California, hot weather, and unusually strong Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching 85 mph (140 km/h).[24] California's "fire season," which traditionally runs from June to October, has become a year-round threat, due to a mixture of perennial drought and the increasing number of homes built in canyons and on hillsides, surrounded by brush and forest.[25]

The fires had numerous sources. Several were triggered by power lines damaged by the high winds.[26][27] One fire[which?] started when a semi-truck overturned.[28] Another[which?] was suspected to have been deliberately caused; the suspect was shot and killed in flight by state authorities.[29] A 10-year-old boy admitted that he accidentally started the Buckweed Fire by playing with matches.[30] The last active fire, the Harris, was fully extinguished on November 16, 2007, about 27 days after the series of wildfires had begun to ignite.[2] The October 2007 wildfires caused over $2 billion (2007 USD) in insured property damages.[9][10]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference IW-Ranch was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Peter Rowe; J. Harry Jones (October 22, 2017). "Searing lessons: how the 2007 wildfires changed San Diego County". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "2007 Archived Fires". cdfdata.fire.ca.gov. CAL FIRE. July 24, 2018. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2020.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference 10news was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Christine Hanley, Janet Wilson and Mitchell Landsberg (October 24, 2007). "1,155 homes -- and counting". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  6. ^ a b "Bush signs order to speed aid to fire victims". CNN. October 24, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  7. ^ Elliot Spagat (October 25, 2007). "2 burned bodies are found in Calif". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on 2007-10-27. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  8. ^ a b c "California Fire Siege 2007: An Overview" (PDF). 8 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 November 2018. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b Dr. Tomas Girnius; Tyler Hauteniemi; Scott Stransky (August 2008). "California Wildfire: How Large Can The Losses Be?" (PDF). AIRCurrents. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  10. ^ a b Walker F. Ekard (February 2008). "2007 San Diego County Firestorms After Action Report" (PDF). County of San Diego. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  11. ^ David Ross (October 19, 2017). "10-years ago this week devastating fires began". Valley Roadrunner. Retrieved November 7, 2017.
  12. ^ Gillian Flaccus (2007-10-24). "1,500 homes lost; $1B loss in San Diego area". Seattle Times. Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  13. ^ "Firestorm Claims 9th Victim". KNSD. November 8, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-12-02. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  14. ^ "Fire deaths, damage come into focus as evacuees cope". CNN. October 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  15. ^ "California Fires Rage, Visible in Space". National Geographic. 2007-10-23. Archived from the original on October 26, 2007. Retrieved 2009-05-04.
  16. ^ "Zaca Fire Incident Information". CAL FIRE. 4 September 2007. Archived from the original on 17 April 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  17. ^ Archibold, Randal C. (2007-10-23). "California Fires Destroy Scores of Homes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
  18. ^ "Statement on Federal Disaster Assistance for California" (Press release). The White House. 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
  19. ^ Cite error: The named reference six navy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  20. ^ Cite error: The named reference cnn military was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  21. ^ "California turns to prisoners to fight huge fires". Reuters. October 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  22. ^ "Mexican firefighters helping in California return to Mexico to fight blaze". The San Diego Union-Tribune. October 23, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-28.
  23. ^ McLean, Demian; Peter J. Brennan (October 24, 2007). "California Fires Rout Almost 1 Million People, Kill 5 (Update7)". Bloomberg.
  24. ^ Chang, Alicia (2007-10-22). "Southern California wildfires blamed on unusual Santa Ana winds". KOLO-TV. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-06-12.
  25. ^ Adams, Guy (2008-11-17). "50,000 flee homes as fires rage in California". The Independent. London. Retrieved 2009-05-06.
  26. ^ "Firefighters Protect Homes In Foothill Ranch". KNBC. 2007-10-22. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. Retrieved 2007-10-22.
  27. ^ "Power lines cited as cause of largest wildfires". The San Diego Union-Tribune. 2007-11-16. Retrieved 2007-11-16.
  28. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fontana was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  29. ^ Attewill, Fred (October 25, 2007). "California police shoot dead suspected arsonist". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference buckweed_cause was invoked but never defined (see the help page).