2015 California wildfires

2015 California wildfires
2015 California wildfires
	Smoke from the 2015 California wildfires as seen from space, on August 18, 2015
Statistics
Total fires	8,745
Total area	893,362 acres (3,615 km2)
Impacts
Deaths	2 firefighters and 7 civilians killed
Non-fatal injuries	At least 1
Damage	≥4.771 billion (2015 USD)
Map
	; A map of wildfires in California in 2015, using Cal Fire data
Season
	← 2014 2016 →

The 2015 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the state of California. By the end of 2015 a total of 8,745 fires were recorded, burning 893,362 acres (3,615 km²) across the state.^[1] Approximately 3,159 structures were damaged or destroyed by wildfires, and at least 7 fatalities were recorded.

On September 11, after the Butte Fire exploded from a size of 32,000 acres (129 km²)^[4] to 65,000 acres (263 km²), in the Amador and Calaveras counties, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.^[5]

Nationwide fire season

The National Interagency Fire Center reported in mid-August that the 2015 fire season had been the most destructive since 2011. Nationwide, a total of 6,058,694 acres (24,519 km²) had burned, which is roughly triple the total land area burned from the same time span in 2014.^[6] By the end of August, in terms of the land area burned, the 2015 nationwide wildfire season had surpassed any other wildfire season in the last 10 years, with 7,825,559 acres (31,669 km²) burned.^[7]

Fatalities

The season also proved to be a deadly one for firefighters battling the many blazes throughout the state. A United States Forest Service member from South Dakota died on July 31 from carbon monoxide poisoning, while battling the Frog Fire in the Modoc National Forest.^[8] A second firefighter was killed on August 8 by a falling tree, while battling the Sierra Fire south of Echo Summit.^[9] A 72-year-old disabled woman was killed in her home by the fast-moving Valley Fire.^[10]

Fires

Below is a list of all fires that exceeded 1,000 acres (400 ha) during the 2015 California wildfire season, as well as the fires that caused significant damage.^[11] The information is taken from CAL FIRE's list of large fires, and other sources where indicated.

Name	County	Acres	Km²	Start Date	Containment Date	Notes	Ref
Round	Inyo	7,000	28.3	February 6, 2015	February 12, 2015		^[12]
Highway	Riverside	1,049	4.2	April 18, 2015	April 24, 2015		^[13]
Lake	San Bernardino	31,359	126.9	June 17, 2015	August 1, 2015		^[14]
Park Hill	San Luis Obispo	1,791	7.2	June 20, 2015	June 24, 2015		^[15]
North	San Bernardino	4,250	17.2	July 17, 2015	July 21, 2015	7 houses and 44 vehicles destroyed	^[16]
Wragg	Napa	8,051	32.6	July 22, 2015	August 6, 2015		^[17]
Rocky	Lake, Colusa, Yolo	69,438	281.0	July 29, 2015	August 14, 2015	96 structures destroyed	^[18]
Fork Complex	Shasta	36,503	147.7	July 30, 2015	November 3, 2015		^[19]^[20]
River Complex	Trinity	77,081	311.9	July 30, 2015	October 29, 2015		^[21]
Frog	Lassen	4,863	19.7	July 30, 2015	August 20, 2015	1 firefighter killed	^[22]
Humboldt Lightning	Humboldt	4,883	19.8	July 30, 2015	August 19, 2015		^[23]
Mad River Complex	Humboldt	73,137	296.0	July 30, 2015	September 13, 2015	includes Route Complex Fire	^[24]
Rough	Fresno	151,623	613.6	July 31, 2015	November 5, 2015		^[25]
Dodge	Lassen	10,570	42.8	August 3, 2015	August 17, 2015		^[26]
Gasquet	Del Norte	30,361	122.9	August 3, 2015	October 15, 2015	Fires: Feeder (100%), Coon (100%), Bear (100%) and Peak (100% containment)	^[27]
Jerusalem	Lake, Napa	25,118	101.6	August 9, 2015	August 25, 2015		^[28]
Cabin	Glendora	1,723	7.0	August 14, 2015	November 20, 2015	5 structures destroyed	^[29]
Cuesta	San Luis Obispo	2,446	9.9	August 16, 2015	August 28, 2015		^[30]
Tesla	Alameda	2,700	10.9	August 19, 2015	August 22, 2015		^[31]
Butte	Amador	70,868	286.8	September 9, 2015	October 1, 2015	2 civilians fatalities 475 residences & 343 outbuildings destroyed	^[32]
Valley	Lake	76,067	307.8	September 12, 2015	October 15, 2015	4 civilian fatalities, 1,955 structures destroyed; 6th most destructive wildfire in modern California history (as of 2022)^[33]	^[34]
Tassajara	Monterey	1,086	4.4	September 19, 2015	September 27, 2015	1 civilian fatality	^[35]
Solimar	Ventura	1,388	5.6	December 25, 2015	December 29, 2015	1 minor ankle injury^[36]	^[37]

References

^ ^a ^b "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2015" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
^ Geiling, Natasha (September 23, 2016). "California fire becomes the most expensive in history". ThinkProgress. Retrieved November 15, 2016.
^ Ken Pimlott (2016). "2015 Wildfire Activity Statistics" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
^ Helsel, Phil (September 11, 2015). "California Town of 2,700 Warned Ahead of Explosive Wildfire". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
^ Serna, Joseph; Rocha, Veronica (September 11, 2015). "Brown declares state of emergency in 65,000-acre Gold Country fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2015.
^ Pydynowski, Kristina (August 10, 2015). "Heart of Already Busy California Wildfire Season is Yet to Come". AccuWeather. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
^ "Year to date totals". National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
^ Locke, Cathy (August 4, 2015). "Firefighter at Frog fire died of carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, autopsy shows". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
^ Rocha, Veronica (August 9, 2015). "Firefighter, 21, Is 2nd Killed Battling Northern California Wildfires". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
^ Kurtis Alexander; Kale Williams; Evan Sernoffsky (September 14, 2015). "Worry to horror: A caretaker's desperate attempt to get help for fire victim". SF Gate. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
^ "Large Fires 2015" (PDF). CAL FIRE. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
^ "Round Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
^ "Highway Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
^ "Lake Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
^ "Park Hill Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
^ "North Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
^ "Wragg Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.
^ "Rocky Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
^ "Fork Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
^ Fire areas reopened on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
^ "River Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
^ "Frog Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
^ "Humboldt Lightning Fires". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
^ "Mad River Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 28, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
^ "Rough Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.
^ "Dodge Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.
^ "Gasquet Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
^ "Jerusalem Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.
^ "Cabin Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.
^ "Cuesta Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
^ "Tesla Fire". CALFIRE. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
^ "Butte Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.
^ "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires" (PDF). Cal Fire. January 13, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
^ "Valley Fire". CAL FIRE. October 15, 2015. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
^ "Tassajara Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.
^ @VCFD_PIO (December 26, 2015). "#SolimarFire Update 1250 Acres, Forward progress slowed significantly, 4 fixed wing tankers released, 1 minor injury (ankle), @VCFD" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
^ "Solimar Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2015.

External links

2015 California Fire Map (a Google map created by CAL FIRE)
California current incident information from CAL FIRE Archived February 20, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
California wildfires on the US Forestry Incident Information System (InciWeb)

[NIFC-1] "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2015" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 28, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2016.

[most_expensive-2] Geiling, Natasha (September 23, 2016). "California fire becomes the most expensive in history". ThinkProgress. Retrieved November 15, 2016.

[2015_redbook-3] Ken Pimlott (2016). "2015 Wildfire Activity Statistics" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2017. Retrieved September 11, 2018.

[nbc-warning-4] Helsel, Phil (September 11, 2015). "California Town of 2,700 Warned Ahead of Explosive Wildfire". NBC News. Retrieved September 13, 2015.

[soe-5] Serna, Joseph; Rocha, Veronica (September 11, 2015). "Brown declares state of emergency in 65,000-acre Gold Country fire". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2015.

[accu-6] Pydynowski, Kristina (August 10, 2015). "Heart of Already Busy California Wildfire Season is Yet to Come". AccuWeather. Archived from the original on August 13, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.

[7] "Year to date totals". National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original on September 3, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.

[8] Locke, Cathy (August 4, 2015). "Firefighter at Frog fire died of carbon monoxide poisoning, smoke inhalation, autopsy shows". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved August 28, 2015.

[9] Rocha, Veronica (August 9, 2015). "Firefighter, 21, Is 2nd Killed Battling Northern California Wildfires". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 28, 2015.

[10] Kurtis Alexander; Kale Williams; Evan Sernoffsky (September 14, 2015). "Worry to horror: A caretaker's desperate attempt to get help for fire victim". SF Gate. Retrieved September 16, 2015.

[large-fires-11] "Large Fires 2015" (PDF). CAL FIRE. 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.

[12] "Round Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 11, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.

[13] "Highway Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 23, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.

[14] "Lake Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 9, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.

[15] "Park Hill Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on June 24, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.

[16] "North Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 21, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2015.

[17] "Wragg Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved August 2, 2015.

[18] "Rocky Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 8, 2015.

[19] "Fork Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on December 4, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.

[forest_closures_reopened-20] Fire areas reopened on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest

[21] "River Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on October 26, 2015. Retrieved November 14, 2015.

[22] "Frog Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 31, 2015. Retrieved August 28, 2015.

[23] "Humboldt Lightning Fires". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 27, 2015.

[24] "Mad River Complex Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 28, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.

[rough-25] "Rough Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on September 16, 2015. Retrieved September 16, 2015.

[26] "Dodge Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2015.

[27] "Gasquet Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on December 5, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2015.

[28] "Jerusalem Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 17, 2015. Retrieved August 13, 2015.

[29] "Cabin Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on November 10, 2015. Retrieved November 27, 2015.

[30] "Cuesta Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2015.

[31] "Tesla Fire". CALFIRE. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2015.

[32] "Butte Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved September 19, 2015.

[calfire-top20-33] "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires" (PDF). Cal Fire. January 13, 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 20, 2022. Retrieved March 29, 2022.

[34] "Valley Fire". CAL FIRE. October 15, 2015. Archived from the original on October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2018.

[35] "Tassajara Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on September 21, 2015. Retrieved September 21, 2015.

[36] @VCFD_PIO (December 26, 2015). "#SolimarFire Update 1250 Acres, Forward progress slowed significantly, 4 fixed wing tankers released, 1 minor injury (ankle), @VCFD" (Tweet) – via Twitter.

[37] "Solimar Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on December 30, 2015. Retrieved December 26, 2015.

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2015 California wildfires

Nationwide fire season

Fatalities

Fires

See also

References

External links

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