California Disasters Upcoming Events
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.
1956 Inaja Fire Anniversary
When:
Sunday, 24 November 2019
Where:
Peninsular Ranges - San Diego County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
Eleven men lost their lives in a fire blow-up in San Diego Canyon on the Inaja fire, Cleveland National Forest, at 8:05 PM, Sunday, November 25, 1956. A 13 person inmate crew from from Viejas Honor Camp, their correctional officer, and 4 FS firefighters were cutting indirect line in the steep canyon west of Julian CA. Upslope winds increased in the evening when the Santa Ana winds ceased. Fire hooked under the men before they could reach safety at the top of a steep chimney. One Forest Service employee and six inmates escaped uninjured. However fire flashed over in an uphill run and 7 inmates, their correctional officer and 3 FS Firefighters died.
About the fire, from the report: Before being controlled at 6:00 pm, November 28, the fire burned 43,611 acres within the Cleveland National Forest and adjoining land protected by the State and burned at least 5 homes. More than 2,000 men fought the fire, 1,300 under Forest Service supervision. These included 500 Indians (local and Southwestern Region), about 500 Navy personnel, 200 inmates from San Diego County and State Honor Camps, and other organized crews. These men plus 3 helicopters, 4 air tanker planes, 2 scouting planes, 27 bulldozers, and a fleet of 90 stake, tank, and pickup trucks, formed one of the greatest arrays of men and equipment ever assembled to fight a forest fire in San Diego County.
From this incident came the 10 Standard Firefighting Orders 1957.
Source: https://www.wlfalwaysremember.org/incident-lists/166-inaja-fire.html
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
2017 Thomas Fire Anniversary
When:
Wednesday, 4 December 2019
Where:
Santa Ynez Mnts. & Topatopa Mnts. - Santa Barbara & Ventura Counties
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Thomas Fire was a massive wildfire that affected Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and one of multiple wildfires that ignited in southern California in December 2017. It burned approximately 281,893 acres (440 sq mi; 114,078 ha) before being fully contained on January 12, 2018, making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time, being surpassed by the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex, less than a year later in August 2018. The Thomas Fire destroyed at least 1,063 structures, while damaging 280 others; and the fire caused over $2.2 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including $230 million in suppression costs, becoming the seventh-most destructive wildfire in state history. As of August 2018, the Thomas Fire is California's eighth-most destructive wildfire. Ventura's agriculture industry suffered at least $171 million in losses due to the Thomas Fire.
By January 2, 2018, the Thomas Fire had cost over $204 million to fight, and had forced over 104,607 residents to evacuate. At its height, the Thomas Fire saw over 8,500 firefighters mobilized to fight it, which was and still is the largest mobilization of firefighters for combating any wildfire in California history.
The fire began on December 4, north of Santa Paula, near Steckel Park and south of Thomas Aquinas College from which the fire was named. Fast-moving, it quickly reached the city of Ventura, where over five hundred residences were destroyed that night. The fire destroyed almost as many residences in several rural communities amidst the rugged mountain terrain of Ventura County. The fire threatened the Ojai Valley, and on December 13, the fire completely surrounded the area, including Lake Casitas. The fire began burning through the rugged Santa Ynez Mountains as it threatened several small communities along the Rincon Coast north of Ventura, expanded into the Los Padres National Forest, and reached Santa Barbara County. Firefighters concentrated on protecting the communities of Carpinteria and Montecito in the southern portion of the county as the fire burned in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains where access was difficult.
The unusually strong and persistent Santa Ana winds were the largest factor in the spread of the fire. Much of Southern California experienced "the strongest and longest duration Santa Ana wind event we have seen so far this season", according to the National Weather Service. The region experienced an on-and-off Santa Ana wind event for a little over two weeks, which contributed to the Thomas Fire's persistent growths in size. At its height, the wildfire was powerful enough to generate its own weather, qualifying it as a firestorm. There were periods of time when the fire was advancing at a rate of an acre (0.4 ha) per second. The winds also dried out the air, resulting in extremely low humidity. The area, along with most of Southern California, experienced the driest March-through-December period on record.
While November is the typical beginning of the rainy season in California, the first measurable rain for the area fell on January 8, 2018, more than a month into the fire. With the natural vegetation burnt, flash floods and mudflows damaged homes in Montecito when the rains arrived. Evacuations were ordered or anticipated for neighborhoods that sit below areas recently burned by the Thomas Fire and other wildfires. By January 10, at least 21 people had been killed by the sudden flooding and debris flows that followed the heavy rains, which also destroyed over 100 homes.Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fire
2017 Creek Fire Anniversary
When:
Thursday, 5 December 2019
Where:
San Gabriel Mountains - Los Angeles County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Creek Fire was a large wildfire that burned in Kagel Canyon and the Angeles National Forest north of Sylmar, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, United States, and one of multiple wildfires that broke out across Southern California in December 2017. The Creek Fire has burned 15,619 acres (63 km2) and destroyed 123 structures, including 60 homes, before being contained on January 9, 2018, following heavy rainfall from a winter storm. The fire threatened the communities of Santa Clarita, Glendale, Olive View, Lake View Terrace, Sunland-Tujunga, Shadow Hills, Sylmar, Pacoima, Lopez Canyon, and Kagel Canyon, as well as the Olive View–UCLA Medical Center. During the wildfire, 115,000 residents were forced to evacuate their homes.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creek_Fire
2017 Rye Fire Anniversary
When:
Thursday, 5 December 2019
Where:
Santa Susana Mountains - Los Angeles County
Organizer: Kim Patrick Noyes
Details:
The Rye Fire was a wildfire that burned in Santa Clarita, California, in the United States, and one of multiple wildfires that broke out across Southern California in December 2017. The fire threatened over 5,000 structures, including Six Flags Magic Mountain, and threatened the communities of Santa Clarita, Valencia and Castaic Junction and impacted traffic on Interstate 5. The Rye Fire burned a total of 6,049 acres (24.48 km2), before it was fully contained on December 12. The fire destroyed six buildings, including minor structures located at the Peter J. Pitchess Detention Center.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rye_Fire
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