2001 California wildfires
1
2
3
4
1
Trough Fire
2
Leonard Fire
3
Creek Fire
4
Hoover Complex Fire
Wildfires burn around California's Central Valley in a photograph taken from the Space Shuttle on August 20, 2001.
Statistics
Total fires9,317
Total area377,340 acres
152,700 ha
CostUS$196 million ($109m in suppression costs and $87.3m in damages, per Cal Fire estimates)
Buildings destroyed389+
Deaths2+
Season
← 2000
2002 →

The 2001 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned throughout the U.S. state of California during 2001. According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) statistics, 9,317 fires burned a total of 377,340 acres (152,700 hectares).[1]

The largest wildfire of the year in California was the Observation Fire in Lassen County, which burned 67,700 acres, and the most destructive was the Poe Fire in Butte County, which burned 133 structures.[2] Cal Fire wildfire suppression costs for fires that burned within the agency's jurisdiction amounted to US$109 million. Damages for the same amounted to $87.3 million, with a total of 389 structures lost.[3] At least two fatalities occurred, both of them on the Bell Fire in San Diego County.[2]

Season narrative

An unusually warm, dry, and windy May prompted Cal Fire to declare May 22 the beginning of fire season throughout the state, the point in the year at which the agency hires seasonal staff to be at the ready round-the-clock in California forest districts.[4] The pattern continued through June, with fires active weeks in advance of the 'usual' beginning of fire season.[5]

The National Interagency Fire Center declared that the country had reached National Preparedness Level 5 (the point at which incidents across the country had the "potential to exhaust all agency fire resources") on August 15, 2001, with the bulk of the fires in California Oregon, and Nevada.[6]

Cal Fire firefighting aircraft were temporarily grounded on September 11 by the ground stop order issued nationwide by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the deadly September 11 attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) eventually instructed firefighting agencies to apply for exemptions as needed, and the restriction (which began at about 10:00 a.m.) was lifted after about three hours, when the FAA granted Cal Fire's request for exemption. The restriction affected aircraft on the Poe Fire in Butte County, among others.[7][8]

All Cal Fire units were declared "off season" by December 3.[3]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares), produced significant structural damage or casualties, or were otherwise notable. It is excerpted from Cal Fire's 2001 list of large (≥ 300 acres) fires, and may not be complete or reflect the most recent information.[2]

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Ref
Viejas San Diego10,353January 3, 2001January 8, 2001Caused by smoking; destroyed 16 structures, damaged 13[9]
Jones Siskiyou1,440May 9, 2001May 14, 2001Caused by debris
Devil Lassen4,400May 27, 2001June 1, 2001Caused by equipment use
165 Merced1,500June 13, 2001June 13, 2001Cause undetermined
Jackson Amador2,240June 13, 2001June 13, 2001Caused by welding; destroyed 15 structures, damaged 1
SNF-562 Merced1,200June 13, 2001June 13, 2001
Hemlock San Bernardino1,074June 14, 2001June 20, 2001Caused by an escaped burn
Pacheco Merced1,550June 16, 2001June 17, 2001Caused by a vehicle
Martis Nevada14,500June 17, 2001July 1, 2001Caused by a campfire
Watkins Riverside1,407June 23, 2001June 24, 2001Caused by arson
McLaughlin Inyo2,900July 2, 2001July 5, 2001Caused by lightning
Hoover Complex Mariposa8,007July 13, 2001Caused by lightning; was allowed to burn in Yosemite National Park for ecological reasons [10]
Reche Riverside1,798July 22, 2001July 23, 2001Caused by a vehicle
Stream Lassen3,560July 26, 2001July 26, 2001Caused by lightning
Trough Lake, Glenn, Colusa24,970August 8, 2001August 20, 2001Cause undetermined; destroyed 30 structures
Cowhead Modoc1,670August 8, 2001August 9, 2001Caused by lightning
Modoc Complex Modoc5,367August 8, 2001August 8, 2001Caused by lightning
Shaffer Lassen1,100August 8, 2001August 8, 2001Caused by lightning
Observation Lassen67,700August 9, 2001August 12, 2001Caused by lightning
Blue Complex Modoc37,950August 9, 2001August 10, 2001Caused by lightning
(Emigrant) Gap Nevada, Placer2,462August 12, 2001August 17, 2001Caused by human activity [11]
Crater Mono5,800August 12, 2001August 15, 2001Caused by lightning
Buzz Modoc2,206August 12, 2001August 12, 2001Caused by lightning
Ponderosa Placer2,780August 17, 2001August 23, 2001Caused by a vehicle
Creek Mariposa, Tuolumne11,095August 18, 2001August 24, 2001Caused by arson; destroyed 43 structures
Leonard Calaveras5,167August 19, 2001August 25, 2001Caused by equipment use; destroyed 22 structures
Highway Fresno4,152August 19, 2001August 29, 2001Caused by arson; destroyed 8 structures
North Fork Madera2,930August 20, 2001
Star El Dorado16,761August 25, 2001September 22, 2001
Oregon Trinity1,680August 28, 2001August 31, 2001Cause undetermined; destroyed 33 structures and caused evacuations in the town of Weaverville [10]
Hyampon Trinity1,065August 31, 2001September 5, 2001Cause undetermined
Darby Calaveras14,280September 5, 2001September 24, 2001Cause undetermined
Poe Butte8,333September 6, 2001September 12, 2001Caused by tree into PG&E power lines, destroyed 133 structures in the Yankee Hill area [12]
Happy Camp Complex Siskiyou8,500September 14, 2001October 10, 2001Caused by lightning
Stables Los Angeles6,544October 12, 2001October 15, 2001
Highway 70 Butte1,711October 24, 2001October 26, 2001Caused by arson
Bell San Diego1,204December 8, 2001December 11, 2001Cause undetermined; 2 fatalities

See also

References

  1. ↑ "California Wildfires and Acres for all Jurisdictions" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. August 24, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 28, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "2001 Large Fires, 300 Acres And Greater" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. February 5, 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 4, 2004.
  3. 1 2 "CDF 2001 Fire Season Summary" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. March 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 13, 2003. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Fire season declared". The Record. May 23, 2001. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  5. ↑ Gold, Scott; Bailey, Eric (June 19, 2001). "Firefighters Battle Blazes as Wildfire Season Comes Early". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  6. ↑ Cain, Brad (August 16, 2001). "Officials: Conflagration roars to crisis level". The Desert Sun. Associated Press. Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Aircraft groundings hamstring Butte County firefighting effort". Oakland Tribune. Associated Press. September 12, 2001. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ Hecht, Peter (September 12, 2001). "State gets clearance to resume firefighter flights". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved January 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Viejas Wildfire". NASA Earth Observatory. January 6, 2001. Archived from the original on January 4, 2023. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  10. 1 2 "Star & Oregon Fires". NASA Earth Observatory. August 31, 2001. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  11. ↑ "A Panoramic View of the Emigrant Gap Fire, California". NASA Earth Observatory. September 7, 2001. Archived from the original on December 29, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
  12. ↑ Olson, Ryan; Vau, Terry (February 22, 2006). "Settlement reached in aftermath of Poe fire". Chico Enterprise-Record. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
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