Tubbs Fire

Tubbs Fire
Part of the 2017 North Bay wildfires
Destroyed homes in the Coffey Park neighborhood
Date(s)
  • October 8, 2017 (2017-10-08) –
  • October 31, 2017 (2017-10-31)
LocationSonoma County, California, Napa County, California, U.S.
Coordinates38°36′32″N 122°37′44″W / 38.60895°N 122.62879°W / 38.60895; -122.62879
Statistics[2]
Burned area36,807 acres (149 km2)[1]
Impacts
Deaths22[1]
Non-fatal injuries1
Structures destroyed5,643 structures[1][3]
Damage~$1.3 billion (2017 USD)[4][5]
Ignition
CauseFailure of private electrical system[6]
Map
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Tubbs Fire
Tubbs Fire
Location of Tubbs Fire

The Tubbs Fire was a wildfire in Northern California during October 2017. At the time, the Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history,[7][1] burning parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties, inflicting its greatest losses in the city of Santa Rosa. Its destructiveness was surpassed only a year later by the Camp Fire of 2018.[8] The Tubbs Fire was one of more than a dozen large fires that broke out in early October 2017, which were simultaneously burning in eight Northern California counties, in what was called the "Northern California firestorm".[9] By the time of its containment on October 31, the fire was estimated to have burned 36,810 acres (149 km2);[10][11] at least 22 people were believed to have been killed in Sonoma County by the fire.[12]

The fire started near Tubbs Lane in the rural northern part of Calistoga, in Napa County. It destroyed more than 5,643 structures,[1][3][13] half of which were homes in Santa Rosa.[14] Santa Rosa's economic loss from the Tubbs Fire was estimated at $1.2 billion (2017 USD), with five percent of the city's housing stock destroyed.[4] The Tubbs Fire also incurred an additional $100 million in fire suppression costs.[5]

After an investigation lasting over a year, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) determined that the Tubbs Fire was "caused by a private electrical system adjacent to a residential structure"[15] and that there had been no violations of the state's Public Resources Code.[16] However, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) later agreed to settle victims' claims as part of a general $13.5 billion bankruptcy plan involving liabilities from other wildfires, and also issued payments to Sonoma County and the city of Santa Rosa as part of a separate settlement with local governments.[17]

  1. ^ a b c d e "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  2. ^ "Tubbs Fire". Cal Fire. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Final Incident Fact Sheet-Update October 29, 2017" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 6, 2018. Retrieved January 29, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Nelson, Laura (October 1, 2017). "Death toll from Northern California fires jumps to at least 34; 5,700 structures destroyed". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  5. ^ a b Jorge L. Ortiz (August 1, 2018). "After the fire comes the bill: The rising cost of fighting California blazes". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 31, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  6. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). www.fire.ca.gov. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2019. Retrieved January 12, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. ^ "Statistics & Events". Archived from the original on June 22, 2006. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
  8. ^ Kurtis Alexander; Sarah Ravani; Erin Allday (November 10, 2018). "Camp Fire is most destructive wildfire in California history: 9 dead, 6,713 structures incinerated". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on November 9, 2018. Retrieved November 10, 2018.
  9. ^ "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 September 12, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  10. ^ "Tubbs Fire (Central LNU Complex)". Incident Information. Cal Fire. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  11. ^ Randy Rossmann (October 31, 2017). "Tubbs, Nuns, Pocket fires fully contained in Sonoma and Napa counties". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on December 9, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  12. ^ Lyons, Jenna (October 13, 2017). "Live updates: 36 dead in NorCal fires, 5,700 structures destroyed". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on January 23, 2022. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  13. ^ Griggs, Troy; Lee, Jasmine C.; Park, Haeyoun; Singhvi, Anjali; Wallace, Tim; Ward, Joe; Watkins, Derek (October 1, 2017). "Northern California Fires Have Destroyed at Least 5,700 Buildings". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  14. ^ KCRA staff (October 12, 2017). "Santa Rosa mayor: 2,834 homes destroyed in Tubbs Fire". KCRA. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  15. ^ "Private power lines, not PG&E's, caused deadly wine country fire, state says". Los Angeles Times. January 25, 2019.
  16. ^ "CAL FIRE Investigators Determine the Cause of the Tubbs Fire" (PDF) (Press release). Cal Fire News Release. January 24, 2019. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 27, 2019. Retrieved January 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Morris, J. D. (October 8, 2020). "On anniversary of Tubbs Fire, PG&E settlement shapes Sonoma County debate on future". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved June 3, 2023.