Santiago Canyon Fire

For the wildfire in October 2007, see Santiago Fire.
Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889
Date(s)
  • September 24, 1889 (1889-09-24) –
  • September 30, 1889 (1889-09-30)
  • (7 days)
LocationSouthern California
Coordinates33°47′26″N 117°43′30″W / 33.79051859194158°N 117.72496679920796°W / 33.79051859194158; -117.72496679920796
Statistics[1][2]
Burned area>300,000 acres (121,406 ha; 469 sq mi; 1,214 km2)
Impacts
DeathsUnknown
Non-fatal injuriesUnknown
Structures destroyedUnknown
DamageUnknown
Ignition
CauseHuman (accidental)

The Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 (previously called the Great Fire of 1889) was a massive wildfire in California, which burned large parts of Orange County, Riverside County, and San Diego County during the last week of September 1889.[3] The fire reportedly started in Fremont Canyon, a canyon close to what today is Irvine Lake.[4] Until 2018, it was possibly the single largest wildfire in the recorded history of California,[1][2] with at least 300,000 acres (1,200 km2) of land burned.[3] In mid-August 2018, the Ranch Fire in the Mendocino Complex Fire surpassed the Santiago Canyon Fire's assumed acreage.[5][6]

Assistant Regional Forester (USFS) L.A. Barrett, who wrote a 1935 report on California wildfires, said of it: "I was living in Orange County at the time and well remember the great fire reported herein from September 24 to 26. Nothing like it occurred in California since the National Forests have been administered. In fact in my 33 years in the Service I have never seen a forest or brush fire to equal it. This one covered an enormous scope of country and burned very rapidly."[non-primary source needed]

Conditions leading up to the 1889 fire included a much longer and more severe annual drought than usual, with rains largely ceasing in March and less than 0.4 inches (1 cm) of precipitation being recorded for the 5½ months prior (records from the National Archives). This was coupled with multiple katabatic wind events (known as “northers” or Santa Anas) that month, one of which occurred about 10 days prior and likely added to the dryness of fuels. Temperatures during the week prior remained high and were coupled with several severe fires in San Diego County in which “at least 10,000 acres [40 km2] have burned over, a dwelling house consumed and other property destroyed”.[7]

  1. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Keeley and Zedler 2009 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Goforth and Minnich 2007 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Brittny Mejia (December 15, 2017). "Thomas fire could surpass 1889 Santiago Canyon fire, believed to be California's largest". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on December 16, 2017. Retrieved December 15, 2017.
  4. ^ Brigandi, Phil. "The Biggest Fire You've (N)ever Heard Of". OC Historyland. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  5. ^ Chris Wilson; David Johnson; Jennifer Calfas (16 August 2018). "California's Massive Wildfires Are Nearly 10 Times the Size of San Francisco". Time. Archived from the original on August 17, 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  6. ^ Chane Croucher (7 August 2018). "400, Firefighters Battle Mendocino Complex Fire, The Largest Blaze In California History". Newsweek. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
  7. ^ Daily San Diegan. 1889-09-30. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)