| October 2017 Northern California wildfires | |
|---|---|
 Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite picture, October 9 | |
| Date(s) | October 8–31, 2017 (contained) |
| Location | Northern California |
| Statistics[1] | |
| Total fires | 250[1] |
| Total area | At least 245,000 acres (99,148 ha) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 44 civilians[2] |
| Non-fatal injuries | 192[3][4] |
| Structures destroyed | 8,900 |
| Damage | ~$14.5 billion (2017 USD)[5][6] |
The October 2017 Northern California wildfires, also known as the Northern California firestorm, North Bay Fires, and the Wine Country Fires[7] were a series of 250 wildfires that started burning across the state of California, United States, beginning in early October. Twenty-one became major fires that burned at least 245,000 acres (99,148 ha).[1]
The wildfires broke out throughout Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Mendocino, Butte, and Solano Counties during severe fire weather conditions, effectively leading to a major red flag warning for much of the Northern California area. Pacific Gas and Electric reported that red flag conditions existed in 44 of the 49 counties in its service area.[8] Seventeen separate wildfires were reported at that time.[9] These fires included the Tubbs Fire (which grew to become the most destructive wildfire in the history of California up until that time - fires in 2018 were more destructive),[1][10] the Atlas Fire, Nuns Fire, and others.
These wildfires were also the most destructive ones of the 2017 California wildfire season. The October 2017 fires were the costliest group of wildfires on record at the time, causing around $14.5 billion (2017 USD) in damages, including $11 billion in insured losses and $1.5 billion in fire suppression costs,[5][6] surpassing the 1991 Oakland firestorm, which until then had been the single costliest fire on record.[11][12] In addition, the Northern California fires were predicted to cost the US economy at least $85 billion.[13] In 2018, the Camp Fire surpassed the October 2017 fires to become the single-costliest fire on record, causing an estimated $16.5 billion (2018 USD) in property damage.[14]
Owing to the extreme conditions, shortly after the fires ignited on October 8 and 9, they rapidly grew to become extensive, full-scale incidents spanning from 1,000 acres (400 hectares) to well over 20,000 acres (8,100 ha), each within a single day. By October 14, the fires had burned more than 210,000 acres (85,000 ha)[1] while forcing 90,000 people to evacuate from their homes.[15] In total, the Northern California fires killed 44 people[2] and hospitalized at least 192 others,[16][3] making this one of the deadliest wildfire events in the United States during the past century.[17][18][1][19][20]
- ^ a b c d e f "California Statewide Fire Summary". CAL FIRE. State of California. October 30, 2017. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
- ^ a b Emslie, Alex (29 November 2017). "October Fires' 44th Victim: A Creative, Globetrotting Engineer With 'the Kindest Heart'". KQED News. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ a b "Hospitals say at least 185 treated for injuries". Wilx10 News. October 10, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Bear Firewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b "California wildfire industry losses put at $13.2bn by Aon Benfield". Artemis.bm. January 25, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ^ a b "California spent nearly $1.8 billion last year fighting major wildfires". Los Angeles Times. March 1, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
- ^ "One death and 1,500 structures lost in Northern California firestorm, among worst in state's history". Los Angeles Times. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
- ^ "Power-line restart device scrutinized". San Francisco Chronicle. November 2, 2017. p. A10.
- ^ Fuller, Thomas; Bromwich, Jonah Engel; Turkewitz, Julie (October 10, 2017). "Wildfires Sweep Across Northern California; 13 Are Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
- ^ "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
- ^ Dale Kasler (December 8, 2017). "Wine country wildfire costs now top $9 billion, costliest in California history". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ Jonathan J. Cooper (December 7, 2017). "October's Wine Country Fires Were the Costliest Ever". TIME Money. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
- ^ "Devastating California wildfires predicted to cost US economy $85 billion; Containment may take weeks". Fox News Weather Center. October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ Reyes-Velarde, Alejandra (January 11, 2019). "California's Camp fire was the costliest global disaster last year, insurance report shows". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^ "California firefighters battle winds as number of people evacuated hits 90,000". The Guardian. Associated Press. October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ FOX. "California wildfires by the numbers: 40 killed, 5,700 homes destroyed". KTVU. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
- ^ Uria, Daniel; DuVall, Eric (October 14, 2017). "California wildfire death toll rises to 38, earthquake hits Mendocino County". UPI. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ "Northern California Wildfires: Emergency Alerts Scrutinized Amid Deadly Blazes". NBC News. Associated Press. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ "California fires: deadliest week in history kills 31 as blaze rages on". The Guardian. Associated Press. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
- ^ Ho, Vivian; Lyons, Jenna (15 October 2017). "Live updates: Northern Calif. wildfires cause estimated $3 billion damage; death toll still 40". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 16 October 2017.