California Disasters Upcoming Events
2006 Esparanza Fire Anniversary
When:
Friday, 1 November 2019
Where:
San Jacinto Mountains - Riverside County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Esperanza Fire was a large, wind-driven, arson-caused wildfire that started on October 26, 2006, in a river wash near Cabazon, California, west of Palm Springs, California. By October 29, 2006, it had burned over 41,173 acres (166.62 km2) (or 61 square miles (160 km2)) and was 85% contained. On October 30, 2006, the fire was fully contained.
Five firefighters were killed defending a vacant house locally known as the "Octagon" that was ultimately destroyed by the fire: Jason McKay, Jess McLean, Daniel Najera, Mark Loutzenhiser, and Pablo Cerda.
In June 2009, Raymond Lee Oyler was sentenced to death for starting the fire.
The fire spread rapidly in moderate Santa Ana winds and flammable brush due to the fire's proximity to the Chaparral biome, charring 24,000 acres (97 km2) in 18 hours. In comparison, the Ventura County Day Fire burned 24,000 acres (97 km2) in two weeks. There were reports that smoke from the fire could be smelled as far away as San Diego.
The firefighters who died were overwhelmed by the fire when the winds shifted and blew the fire towards them. They were trying to defend a house above Cabazon, which was ultimately lost. Captain Mark Loutzenhiser, 43, from Idyllwild, California; Fire Engine Operator Jess "Gus" McLean, 27, from Beaumont, California; Assistant Fire Engine Operator Jason McKay, 27, from Apple Valley, California; Firefighter Pablo Cerda, 23, from Fountain Valley, California; and Firefighter Daniel Hoover/Najera, 20, from San Jacinto, California, were killed defending the "Octagon House".
Mclean and McKay died next to their fire engine without having time to enter it. Najera's body was found to the west of the structures they were trying to protect. The surviving two firefighters were transferred to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center where Loutzenhiser succumbed to his injuries shortly after arriving. Cerda died at 5:08 p.m. PST on October 31, 2006 in Arrowhead Regional Medical Center from his injuries.
On October 26, 2006, FEMA announced it would pay 75% of the costs associated with fighting the fire. The following day, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Riverside County and ordered flags at the California Capitol building and all California Department of Forestry stations to be flown at half-staff.
Firefighters from as far away as Alameda County worked to control the blaze.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanza_Fire
1966 Loop Fire Anniversary
When:
Friday, 1 November 2019
Where:
San Gabriel Mountains - Los Angeles County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Angeles National Forest in Southern California is known for its steep, rocky terrain and common strong, dry downhill wind, known as Santa Ana winds. 0519 A fire is started by a faulty electric line on the Nike Missile Site, on an exposed ridge at the head of Loop Canyon. Chamise, sage and sumac are the dominant fuels, with critically low live fuel moistures. Santa Ana conditions prevail and the fire is driven downhill rapidly by 60 MPH NE winds toward an urban area at the bottom of the canyon. The temperature is 73 degrees with 15% relative humidity (RH). At 0520 A lookout reports the fire. 0536 Initial attack takes place. 0600 More crews arrive. 0830 The Fire Weather Forecaster issues a warning of Santa Ana conditions in the fire area, a high temperature of 95 and 10% RH. Firefighters are experiencing E-NE winds at 40-60 MPH. 1300 The temperature is 80 degrees and a 12% RH.
1430 The El Cariso Hotshots arrive at Contractors Point above Loop Canyon. They receive instruction to leap-frog the other crews and cold-trail down the east flank. Much of the fire’s edge is in or near a chimney canyon. Winds are decreasing but there is still considerable channeling and eddies. 1500 The El Cariso crew decides it is possible to cold-trail down the chimney and tie in with the crews working the lower edge of the fire. It is noted that there is no clean black. 1535 Only 500 feet away from tying in with cat lines at the bottom, the terrain is too steep and they decide to go indirect 50-100 feet away from the fire’s edge. They are working in an area of unburned fuel and hazardous topography and are unaware that the fire has established a hot spot at the base of the chimney below them, burning in sumac bushes and heavy litter. Their escape routes are inadequate. 1545 A flare-up occurs and the order to “reverse tool order” is immediately given to the crew.
In less than 1 minute the fire flashes through the 2,200 ft. chimney overcoming 23 firefighters. Ten firefighters were killed immediately, two died later at the hospital and 11 of 19 others received critical burn injuries. Before being brought under control, it burned 2,028 acres, 1,436 acres of National Forest land and 592 acres of privately owned land.
Source: https://www.nwcg.gov/committee/6mfs/loop-fire
For more information read HERE: http://www.coloradofirecamp.com/fire-origins/loop-fire-brief.htm
1993 Old Topanga Fire Anniversary
When:
Saturday, 2 November 2019
Where:
Santa Monica Mountains - Los Angeles County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
In the first days of November 1993, a "Red Flag" warning was issued for LA County as temperatures in the high 80s, low humidity, and 20-40 mph winds were predicted. At approximately 10:45 AM, on the morning of November 2, 1993 a 911 call alerted authorities that a fire had ignited near the water tower on Old Topanga Canyon Road. Within a half hour it was clear that this was a major event. The Incident Commander predicted that the fire would "go to the beach," five miles away, as it had in 1956, 1970, and 1985.
The fire grew rapidly, burning out of control in the rugged Santa Monica Mountains, on the northern edge of Malibu. The intensity of the blaze was unprecedented in the memory of survivors of earlier Malibu area fires. The fire spread from one acre to 200 acres in ten minutes, and within one hour the fire had consumed over 1,000 acres of chaparral brush. A 30,000 foot high column of smoke was produced, the rising hot air creating a huge vacuum, becoming a firestorm that created its own weather with eddies and currents of air separate from the external atmospheric pattern, and with winds in excess of 70 mph. Flames were sucked upward along the slopes at blow-torch intensity and wind-driven storms of embers and flaming brands flew ahead of the fire, starting new fires as much as two miles from the main line.
By noon on November 2, as flames moved south and west into Malibu, winds pushed the fire into all the major coastal canyons. Flame lengths of 200 feet were observed as the fire crested Saddle Peak, and 100 foot flame lengths were reported in the chaparral above Pacific Coast Highway. In succession, the fire roared into Carbon Canyon, Rambla Pacifico, Las Flores Canyon, Piedra Gorda, and Pena and Tuna Canyons. In these canyons, fast moving fire lines overtook five separate fire engines, completely destroying two and sending six fire fighters to the hospital.
All roads into the Malibu area were closed as panicked residents under evacuation orders packed a few belongings and got out. Police roadblocks turned away homeowners, at work when the fire erupted and desperate to return. Many residents who were at home chose to remain to fight, a futile gesture for most and fatal to a few. Others left their homes, but retreated only to friends or relatives closer to the beach in safer zones where they could stay close in case anything could be done.
Fire Teams Respond to the Malibu Fire
The enormous fire elicited an enormous response. Operating under pre-existing mutual aid agreements and contingency plans, County of Los Angeles Fire Department summoned the combined forces of all fire departments west of the Continental Divide. Long convoys of fire apparatus were immediately enroute, streaming down the web of Interstate highways into the LA area. Traffic was cleared off PCH and internal Malibu roads as many hundreds of fire trucks and emergency vehicles flowed in with thousands of personnel. Military units responded with additional manpower and specialized equipment including helicopters and fire-fighting C-130s as well as generators, water supply and other logistical help.
Three staging areas were established. Along the north flank of the fire staging was located at CLAFD Station 125 on Las Virgenes Road near the Ventura Freeway, Highway 101. For resources entering the incident area from the north and south, this location provided easy access to the Malibu area via Las Virgenes Road. The second staging area, called "Coast Staging," was at the intersection of PCH and Topanga Canyon, designed to control and direct resources toward the coastal flank of the fire. The third staging area, "Civic Staging," was located on the Chili Cook-off grounds along Civic Center Drive, near the head of the fire as it moved into Malibu along the axis of Malibu Canyon, and was easily accessed by units as they arrived from the north and west along PCH.
This was a military scale operation, running around the clock at a frantic pace. At the height of the fire, the red, lemon and white fire engines were parked nose to tail in a miles-long line down PCH, a physical wall of equipment and associated manpower ranged against the fire. The names on the trucks comprised a catalog of towns and cities from the Western U.S. To manage this immense and diverse team, drawn from 1,000 plus fire companies and staffed by over 7,000 fire fighters, a unique incident command system was implemented. It was an amazing effort, assembled almost instantly out of available resources, a tribute to the effectiveness of the emergency services, led by the Fire Department.
This was the largest deployment of fire fighters in the history of California involving 165 engine strike teams of 5-6 vehicles each, 25 single resource engines and Emergency Support Teams, 129 hand crews, 31 air tankers, 23 helicopters, 13 bulldozers, 50 water tenders, 8 food dispensers, over 7,000 fire fighters and support personnel, plus the support of 458 agencies from 12 states.
Source: http://www.malibucomplete.com/mc_history_malibucity_1993fire.php
1961 Bel Air Fire Anniversary
When:
Tuesday, 5 November 2019
Where:
Hollywood Hills - Los Angeles County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Bel Air Fire was a disaster that began as a brush fire on November 5, 1961 in the Bel Air community of Los Angeles. 484 homes were destroyed and 16,900 acres (68 km2) were burned. The fire was fueled by strong Santa Ana winds.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bel_Air_Fire
2018 Woolsey Fire Anniversary
When:
Friday, 8 November 2019
Where:
Santa Monica Mountains - Los Angeles County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Woolsey Fire was a destructive wildfire that burned in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties of the U.S. state of California. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018 and burned 96,949 acres (39,234 hectares) of land. The fire destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people. It was one of several fires in California that ignited on the same day. While the nearby Hill Fire was contained with minimal damage on November 16, the Camp Fire in northern California destroyed most of the town of Paradise.
The fire started in Woolsey Canyon on the Santa Susana Field Laboratory property, a complex of industrial research and development belonging to Boeing, in the Santa Susana Mountains above the Simi Valley near the boundary between Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The Santa Ana winds, which often are a factor for Southern California fires, pushed the fire in a southerly direction throughout the first day. The Ventura freeway between the San Fernando Valley and the Conejo Valley was closed as the fire crossed and headed into the rugged Santa Monica Mountains.
The fire raced through the chaparral-covered steep canyons where it encountered historic movie and TV sets, small ranches, and the homes of celebrities. Hundreds of homes in Malibu were destroyed or damaged on both sides of Pacific Coast Highway. Many of these were on Point Dume that juts out from the narrow coastal terrace that lies between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. While the firefighters successfully protected Pepperdine University to the south, the entire portion of the Malibu coast west to the community of Solromar suffered damage from the fire.
Thousands of residents were kept away from their homes in numerous neighborhoods along the Ventura Freeway and the communities along the Malibu coast. The evacuations frustrated residents as they lasted for many days as the fire continued to threaten homes especially when the winds increased and fanned the flames. The evacuated residents were incrementally allowed to return to see if their home were damaged or destroyed as the fire continued to spread through the rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains. Authorities in many of the damaged communities declared they needed to prevent residents from returning quickly as neighborhoods were crowded with crews repairing downed power lines and other hazardous conditions. In the months after the fire, people criticized what they thought was a slow and inadequate response by cities and counties during public meetings held by public officials.
While this and other fires were burning, President Donald Trump blamed poor forest management by the state. The California Public Utilities Commission is investigating an equipment problem near the point of origin reported by Southern California Edison.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolsey_Fire
2018 Camp Fire Anniversary
When:
Friday, 8 November 2019
Where:
Sierra Nevada Foothills - Butte County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Camp Fire was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. It is also the deadliest wildfire in the United States since the Cloquet fire in 1918 and is high on the list of the world's deadliest wildfires; it is the sixth-deadliest U.S. wildfire overall. It was one of the world's costliest natural disasters in 2018. Named after Camp Creek Road, its place of origin, the fire started on November 8, 2018, in Butte County, in Northern California. After exhibiting extreme fire spread, fireline intensity, and spotting behaviors through the wilderness community of Concow, an urban firestorm formed in the densely populated foothill town of Paradise. The fire caused at least 85 civilian fatalities,[5][9] with two people still missing, and injured 12 civilians, two prison inmate firefighters, and three other firefighters. It covered an area of 153,336 acres (62,053 ha) (almost 240 sq. miles), and destroyed 18,804 structures, with most of the damage occurring within the first four hours. Total damage was $16.5 billion; one-quarter of the damage, $4 billion, was not insured. With the arrival of the first winter rainstorm of the season, the fire reached 100 percent containment after seventeen days on November 25, 2018.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Fire_(2018)
2008 Tea Fire Anniversary
When:
Wednesday, 13 November 2019
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Tea Fire, also known as the Montecito Tea Fire, was a wildfire that began on November 13, 2008, destroying 210 homes in the cities of Montecito and Santa Barbara, California in the United States of America.[4] It was the first of several November 2008 wildfires that burned hundreds of homes November 13–15, 2008. The Tea Fire ignited in the Cold Springs section of Montecito at approximately 17:50 PST on November 13, 2008. The fire started at a Mar Y Cel historic structure called the "Tea House" above Mountain Drive, giving the fire its name. Spreading rapidly, it was fanned by offshore winds, known as Sundowner winds that blow down the Santa Ynez Mountains, gusting up to 85 mph (113 km/h). These winds caused the fire to spread into the city of Santa Barbara. The fire was 40% contained on the 15th, 75% on the 16th, and by November 17, 2008 it was 95% contained after burning 1,940 acres (785 ha), and on November 18, it was 100% contained.
Santa Barbara County officials stated that they had reports of 13 persons injured, including 10 who were treated for smoke inhalation and three with burn injuries, one of which was critical. There is a foundation for two burn victims of the fire, Lance & Carla Hoffman. Information on this foundation including benefits and donations can be found on Facebook's group "Tea Fire Survivors: Lance and Karla Hoffman". The fire resulted in the evacuation of 5,400 homes with 15,000 residents. Approximately 2,700 evacuees were back home by the November 16, 2008. There was one fatality amongst the evacuees, a 98-year-old man, though the county sheriff-coroner had not ascertained yet if the death was due to the fire or his multiple medical problems.
The Tea Fire resulted in the destruction of 210 homes in Montecito and Santa Barbara. Of the destroyed homes, 106 were in the city of Santa Barbara, and the remainder were in Montecito. One of the homes destroyed in the fire belonged to actor Christopher Lloyd (best known for playing "Doc" Brown in the Back to the Future trilogy).
The campus of Westmont College was heavily damaged, though no injuries were reported on the campus. The college's advance planning for a shelter-in-place was credited with this favorable human outcome. 800 people (students, employees, visitors and neighbors) hunkered down in the gymnasium as the fire burned to within ten feet. The Physics Lab, Psychology Building, Math Building, and 15 of the faculty homes were destroyed. Two of the residence hall buildings in Clark residence hall were completely gutted, along with the RD cottage. With the recovery phase initiated over the weekend, faculty and staff were allowed back on campus November 17, but the school was scheduled to remain closed to students until December 1.
The Mount Calvary Retreat House and Monastery in Santa Barbara, part of the Order of the Holy Cross, was also destroyed.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Fire
2008 Sayre Fire Anniversary
When:
Thursday, 14 November 2019
Where:
San Gabriel Mountain Foothills - Los Angeles County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Sayre Fire, also known as the Sylmar Fire, was a November 2008 wildfire that resulted in the loss of 489 residences in Los Angeles, California, United States, the "worst loss of homes due to fire" in the city's history. The fire was first reported at 10:29 p.m. PDT on November 14, 2008, in the Sylmar section of Los Angeles. As of November 20, 2008, the fire was 100% contained, had burned 11,262 acres (46 km2) and destroyed more than 600 structures (480 mobile homes, nine single-family homes, 104 outbuildings and 10 commercial buildings). The number of homes lost in the Sayre fire exceeded the prior record set in 1961 by the 1961 Bel Air fire which claimed 484 homes. There were no fatalities, just minor injuries to five firefighters and one civilian.
County fire officials reported on November 19, 2008 that the Sayre Fire had destroyed more than 600 structures, including 480 mobile homes, nine single-family homes, 104 outbuildings and 10 commercial buildings. The Los Angeles Times called it "the worst loss of homes due to fire in the city of Los Angeles" and reported that it "appeared to be the largest number of housing units lost to fire in the city of Los Angeles, surpassing the 484 residences destroyed in the 1961 Bel Air fire." Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a lifelong city resident, noted: "This is as bad a fire as I can remember since the Bel-Air Fire. The human devastation that's involved, whether you live in a mobile home or an estate, it's devastating. We can't even begin to weigh their loss."
In the pre-dawn hours on November 15, 2008, the fire devastated the Oakridge Mobile Home Park, destroying 480 of the park's 600 mobile homes. Los Angeles Fire Department Captain Steve Ruda described the scene as "an absolute firestorm" with 50-foot (15 m) high flames and added, "Hoses were melting into the cement and concrete. That's how hot the fire was." Firefighters rescued several individuals from their mobile homes, and four civilians rescued a 300-pound disabled woman, who was trapped in her mobile home, as fire was breaking the glass. Though Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton initially expressed concern that some elderly residents might have perished at the mobile home park, cadaver-sniffing dogs searched the ruins and found no evidence of any fatalities.
The San Fernando Valley based Daily News described the Oakridge park, parts of which were also burned after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, as follows:
"With 600 households, well-manicured lawns and luxury amenities, Oakridge Mobile Home Park was no trailer park. The gated community, most of which was reduced to ash by a roaring wildfire that swept through the Sylmar hills late Friday and early Saturday, featured a putting green, an Olympic-size swimming pool and tennis courts. 'It wasn't just a mobile home (park),' said Linda Pogacnik, 63, whose home was destroyed. 'It was the Beverly Hills of mobile homes.'
After the effort in Oakridge, a firefighter produced a burned U.S. flag on a broken stick taken from a home that was destroyed in Oakridge. The firefighter offered it as a sign of hope and bravery for firefighters. It was later framed and hung in the new clubhouse at Oakridge, where it can still be seen today.
In a press briefing on November 16, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger noted that the homes in the Oakridge community had ignited "like matches," and called for a review of fire retardancy standards applicable to mobile homes and mobile home parks.Shortly after 1:00 a.m. PDT on November 15, 2008, flames from the Sayre Fire threatened Olive View-UCLA Medical Center in Sylmar. The Los Angeles Times reported that, around midnight, "tall walls of flames quickly surrounded Olive View Medical Center," as "embers blew down streets, catching trees and shrubs on fire around the hospital," and "before long, the hospital was surrounded on all sides by fire." Some 200 patients were sheltered in place as firefighters fought the flames outside the hospital. The hospital lost power, generators failed to work, and the smell of smoke filled darkened hallways, as staff tended to patients with flashlights, and critical patients were kept alive with hand-powered ventilators. A number of infants and critical patients were evacuated in ambulances. In the end, more than 40 buildings on the Olive View campus were damaged in the fire, and the child care center was totally destroyed.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sayre_Fire
2008 Freeway Complex Anniversary
When:
Friday, 15 November 2019
Where:
Anahiem Hills & Chino Hills - Orange County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Freeway Complex Fire was a 2008 wildfire in the Santa Ana Canyon area of Orange County, California. The fire started as two separate fires on November 15, 2008. The Freeway Fire started first shortly after 9am with the Landfill Fire igniting approximately 2 hours later. These two separate fires merged a day later and ultimately destroyed 314 residences in Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda.
The Freeway Fire ignited at 9:01 a.m. PDT on November 15, 2008, along the Riverside Freeway (State Route 91, SR 91) in the riverbed of the Santa Ana River, located in Corona. The fire spread west and north into the hillsides of Yorba Linda and south into Anaheim Hills, where multiple businesses and residences were destroyed. It also burned homes in Olinda Ranch along Carbon Canyon Road in Brea, burned through much of Chino Hills, then spread north into Diamond Bar.
The Landfill Fire, also known as the "Brea Fire," was reported at 10:43 a.m. PDT on November 15, 2008, and started near the 1900 block of Valencia Avenue in Brea, just south of the Olinda Landfill. It quickly spread west and eventually jumped the Orange Freeway (SR 57).
The Landfill Fire merged with the Freeway Fire at 3:30 a.m. PDT on November 16, 2008. At approximately 7:00 a.m. PDT the two fires were officially renamed the Triangle Complex Fire. Around 12:45 p.m. the Triangle Complex Fire had been renamed once again to the Freeway Complex Fire still using the OCFA incident number CA-ORC-08075221. According to the final cause report released by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) on January 4, 2010, it was confirmed that the Freeway Fire was caused by a faulty catalytic converter, which California requires in every motor vehicle to reduce emissions.Over a dozen schools were closed during the fire including those in the Brea Olinda Unified School District, Chino Valley Unified School District, Diamond Bar schools in the Walnut Valley Unified School District, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District and Walnut Valley Unified School District. About 40,000 residents were evacuated during the fire. Areas under mandatory evacuation during the fires included Anaheim, Carbon Canyon, Chino Hills, Corona Diamond Bar and Yorba Linda.
As the fire spread, it forced the closure of the Riverside Freeway (SR 91), the Chino Valley Freeway (SR 71), the 241 Transportation Corridor and the Orange Freeway (SR 57) in northern Orange County. It was calculated that 30,305 acres (122.64 km2) were burned during the fire, which included 90% of Chino Hills State Park. The calculated acreage burned would make the fire the fourth largest fire on record in Orange County History behind the 1967 Paseo Grande Fire, Steward Fire of 1958 and the Green River Fire of 1948.
1980 Panorama Fire Anniversary
When:
Sunday, 24 November 2019
Where:
San Bernardino Mountains - San Bernardino County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Panorama Fire was a wildfire which began on November 24, 1980 and was 100% contained December 1, 1980. The fire was set by an unknown arsonist about 10:50 a.m. near Panorama Point, a county equipment depot along SR-18 in the San Bernardino Mountains in California. The fire's growth was exacerbated by 90 mph Santa Ana Winds which pushed the flames into populated areas in Waterman Canyon and the City of San Bernardino. The conflagration charred 28,800 acres and destroyed 310 homes and 113 other types of buildings.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980_Panorama_Fire
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