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2020 Western United States wildfire season

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2020 Western United States wildfires
September 9 satellite image of the wildfires burning in California and Oregon
Date(s)July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24) – ongoing (ongoing)
LocationWestern United States
Statistics[2]
Total fires100+
Total areaOver 4,600,000 acres (1,900,000 ha)[1]
Impacts
Deaths35[3]
Non-fatal injuriesunknown
Structures destroyed6,500+?[1]
Damage>$1.7 billion (2020 USD)[1]

In 2020, the Western United States experienced a series of major wildfires. Severe August thunderstorms lit numerous wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington, followed in early September by additional ignitions across the West Coast. Fanned by strong, gusty winds and fueled by hot, dry terrains, many of the fires exploded and coalesced into record-breaking megafires,[4] burning more than 4.6 million acres (1.9 million hectares) of land, mobilizing tens of thousands of firefighters, razing thousands of buildings, and killing at least 35 people, with scores more still missing.[3][5] Climate change and poor forest management practices contributed to the severity of the wildfires.[6]

Background

Further information: 2020 California wildfires, 2020 Oregon wildfires, 2020 Washington wildfires, and Wildfires in the United States

The "Northern Hemisphere just had its hottest summer on record"

The Northern Hemisphere January-August land and ocean surface temperature tied with 2016 as the warmest such period since global records began in 1880. The Southern Hemisphere had its third-warmest such period (tied with 2017) on record, behind 2016 and 2019.[7]

— United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Year-to-date (through September 8, 2020) animation of extent and intensity of drought in the United States maintained by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln National Drought Mitigation Center

Save for areas along the northern and southern extents of the Pacific coast, North America tends to be wetter in the East and drier in the West. Record dry weather struck the Western United States in late 2019, extending to January and February 2020, prompting initial concerns from state governments and the press.[8]

California was the first to call out a warning.[9] On March 22, a state of emergency was declared by California Governor Gavin Newsom due to a mass die-off of trees throughout the state, potentially increasing the risk of wildfire. Oregon officially declared the start of their wildfire season that same month.[9][10] Despite light rain in late March and April, severe drought conditions persisted, and were predicted to last late into the year, due to a delayed wet season.[11] After fires began in Washington in April, several more fires occurred throughout the West Coast, prompting burn ban restrictions in the Washington and Oregon, come July.[12]

Year-to-date wildfire figures

United States agencies stationed at the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho maintain a "National Large Incident Year-to-Date Report" on wildfires, delineating 10 sub-national areas, aggregating the regional and national totals of burn size, fire suppression cost, and razed structure count, among other data. As of September 14, "Coordination Centers" of each geography report the following:[1]

National Interagency Fire Center Geographic Area Coordination Centers
National Interagency Fire Center Geographic Area Coordination Centers

Note: Check primary sources for up-to-date statistics.

Coordination Center Acres Hectares Suppression Costs Structures Destroyed
Alaska Interagency 171,045.7 69,219.7 $14,837,241.00 8
Northwest Area 1,797,218.1 727,308.4 $209,679,651.99 2,198
Northern California Area 3,209,117.6 1,298,683.8 $735,907,552.25 3,640
Southern California Area 778,021.5 314,854.1 $375,449,980.00 719
Northern Rockies 312,492.8 126,461.3 $58,470,145.00 227
Great Basin 654,477.2 264,857.5 $168,420,302.00 169
Southwest Area 951,109.6 384,900.4 $178,753,964.96 48
Rocky Mountain Area 477,346.8 193,175.4 $146,741,421.34 73
Eastern Area 10,071.8 4,075.9 $491,898.58 18
Southern Area 986,994.3 399,422.4 $14,542,789.11 309
Totals[a] 9,347,895.2 3,782,959.0 $1,903,294,946.23 7,409

Initial ignitions and weather conditions

See also: August 2020 California lightning wildfires
The CZU Lightning Complex fires were sparked by lightning in mid-August[13]

April saw the beginning of wildfires in the west coast, as Washington experienced two fires: the Stanwood Bryant Fire in Snohomish County (70 acres (28 ha)) and the Porter Creek Fire in Whatcom County (80 acres (32 ha)).[14] The Oregon Department of Forestry declared fire season beginning July 5, 2020, signaling the end of unregulated debris burning outdoors, a major cause of wildfires.[15]

Between July 16 and 30, the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and many county governments – including Mason, Thurston, King, Pierce and Whatcom Counties – issued fire safety burn bans due to elevated risk of uncontrolled fires.[16] In late July, a brush fire in Chelan County, the Colockum Fire, burned at least 3,337 acres (1,350 ha) and caused homes to be evacuated.[17] A fire on the Colville Reservation near Nespelem called the Greenhouse Fire burned at least 5,146 acres (2,083 ha) and caused the evacuation of the Colville Tribal Corrections Facility and other structures.[18][19]

Between August 14 and 16, Northern California was subjected to record-breaking warm temperatures,[20] due to anomalously strong high pressure over the region. Early on August 15, the National Weather Service for San Francisco issued a Fire Weather Watch[21] highlighting the risk of wildfire starts due to the combination of lightning risk due to moist, unstable air aloft, dry fuels, and hot temperatures near the surface. Later that day, the Fire Weather Watch was upgraded to a Red Flag Warning,[22] noting the risk of abundant lightning already apparent as the storms moved toward the region from the south.

In mid-August, the remnants of Tropical Storm Fausto interacted with the jet stream, resulting in a large plume of moisture moving northward towards the West Coast of the U.S., triggering a massive siege of lightning storms in Northern California, and setting the conditions for wildfires elsewhere.[23] Due to abnormal wind patterns, this plume streamed from up to 1,000 miles (1,600 km) off the coast of the Baja Peninsula into Northern California. This moisture then interacted with a high-pressure ridge situated over Nevada that was bringing a long-track heat wave to much of California and the West.[24] These colliding weather systems then created excessive atmospheric instability that generated massive thunderstorms throughout much of Northern and Central California. Such thunderstorms are rare for California, but were more typical of Midwest garden-variety storms, with one location near Travis Air Force Base going from around 80 °F (27 °C) to 100 °F (38 °C) in nearly 1–2 hours.[25] Additionally, much of these storms were only accompanied with dry lightning and produced little to no rain, making conditions very favorable for wildfires to spark and spread rapidly.[26]

As a result of the fires, on August 19, Governors Kate Brown and Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency for Oregon and Washington respectively.[27][28]

Winds blow and fires grow

See also: 2020 Washington Labor Day fires
Six of the twenty largest wildfires in California history were part of the 2020 wildfire season. Five of the new wildfires ranking in the top 10 were all a part of the August 2020 lightning fires.

By August 20, the Palmer Fire near Oroville, Washington – which started August 18 – had reached 13,000 acres (5,300 ha) and forced evacuation of up to 85 homes.[29][30] The largest of the fires in the Olympics reached 2.4 acres (0.97 ha) by August 20.[31]

View of the Bobcat fire from a kitchen window in the San Gabriel Mountains, Los Angeles

The Evans Canyon Fire, a few miles north of Naches, began around August 31 and expanded to tens of thousands of acres, shut down Washington State Route 821 in the Yakima River Canyon, burned several homes and caused hundreds of families to evacuate, and caused unhealthy air quality in Yakima County.[32] By September 6, it had burned almost 76,000 acres (31,000 ha).[33]

The August 2020 lightning fires include three of the largest wildfires in the recorded history of California: the SCU Lightning Complex, the August Complex, and the LNU Lightning Complex. On September 10, 2020, the August Complex became the single-largest wildfire in the recorded history of California, reaching a total area burned of 471,185 acres (1,907 km2). Then, on September 11, it merged with the Elkhorn Fire, another massive wildfire of 255,039 acres (1,032 km2), turning the August Complex into a monster wildfire of 746,607 acres (3,021 km2).[34]

In early September 2020, a combination of a record-breaking heat wave, and Diablo and Santa Ana winds sparked more fires and explosively grew active fires, with the August Complex surpassing the 2018 Mendocino Complex to become California's largest recorded wildfire.[34] The North Complex increased in size as the winds fanned it westward, threatening the city of Oroville, and triggering mass evacuations.[35] During the first week in September, the 2020 fire season set a new California record for the most area burned in a year at 2,000,000 acres (810,000 ha).[36] As of September 13, 3,200,000 acres (1,300,000 ha) had burned in the state.[37]

On September 7, a "historic fire event" with high winds resulted in 80 fires and nearly 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) burned in a day. Malden, in the Palouse Country of Eastern Washington, was mostly destroyed by one of the fires.[38] By the evening of September 8, the Cold Springs Canyon and adjacent Pearl Hill Fires had burned over 337,000 acres (136,000 ha) and neither was more than 10% contained.[39] Smoke blanketed the Seattle area on September 8 and caused unhealthy air conditions throughout the Puget Sound region, and affected Southwest British Columbia.[40][41]

The cities of Phoenix and Talent in Oregon were substantially destroyed by the Almeda Drive Fire. State-wide, at least 23 people have been killed.[42][43] On September 11, authorities said they were preparing for a mass fatality incident.[44] As of September 11, 600 homes and 100 commercial buildings have been destroyed by the Almeda Drive Fire.[45] Officials stated that the Almeda Drive Fire was human-caused.[45] On September 11, a man was arrested for arson, for allegedly starting a fire that destroyed multiple homes in Phoenix and merged with the Almeda Drive Fire.[46] A separate criminal investigation into the origin point of the Almeda Drive Fire in Ashland is ongoing.[46]

Evacuations

The Government of California's video about COVID-19 protocols in place at wildfire evacuation centers.

As of September 11, about 40,000 people in Oregon had been instructed to evacuate, and 500,000, accounting for about 10% of the state's population, had received instructions to prepare for evacuation, being under a Level 1, 2, or 3 fire evacuation alert.[47][48]

List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 ha), or produced significant structural damage or casualties.

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Notes Ref
Blue Jay Mariposa County, California, Tuolumne County, California 3,500 July 24 20% contained as of September 10 Lightning-sparked [49]
Red Salmon Complex Humboldt County, California, Siskiyou County, California, Trinity County, California 95,210 July 26 18% contained as of September 15 Originally started as both the Red and Salmon fire (both started by lightning strikes), but have since merged into one fire [50][51]
August Complex (South Zone) Glenn County, California, Mendocino County, California, Lake County, California, Tehama County, California, Trinity County, California 593,893 August 16 30% contained, as of September 15 Lightning strikes started 37 fires, several of which grew to large sizes, especially the Doe Fire; 1 firefighter injury; 1 firefighter fatality. It became the largest fire complex in California history and combined with the Elkhorn Fire on September 10. [52][53]
Rattlesnake Tulare County, California 1,441 August 16 0% contained, as of September 10 Lightning sparked a slow-growing fire in inaccessible terrain. [54]
Lionshead Jefferson County, Oregon 189,316 August 16 5% contained, as of September 12. Merged into the Beachie Creek Fire and became the Santiam Fire on September 8. [55]
Beachie Creek Linn County, Oregon 191,238 August 16 20% contained, as of September 15. Merged with the Lionshead Fire and became the Santiam Fire on September 8. [56]
Downey Creek Douglas County, Oregon 2,570 August 16 0% contained, as of September 13 [57]
White River Wasco County, Oregon 17,383 August 17 80% contained, as of September 15 [58]
Sheep Plumas, Lassen 29,570 August 17 September 9 Lightning-sparked, 26 structures destroyed, 1 injury [59][60]
P-515 Jefferson County, Oregon 4,609 September 7 95% contained, as of September 11. Merged into the Lionshead Fire on September 8. [61]
August Complex (North & West Zones/Elkhorn Fire) Tehama County, California, Trinity County, California 255,309 August 17 29% contained as of September 13 Lightning strikes, 14 structures destroyed;1 structure damaged; 1 injury. Southern segment of the fire perimeter eventually merged into the August Complex, while the western front of the fire absorbed the Hopkins, Vinegar Peak and Willow Basin Fires, all of which are now managed under the Elkhorn Complex. It is the ninth largest fire in California history. [62]
North Complex Plumas County, California, Butte County, California, Yuba County, California 273,335 August 17 32% contained, as of September 15 Lightning strikes, includes the Claremont Fire and the Bear Fire; 2,000 structures destroyed; 10 fatalities; 13 injuries; It is the tenth-largest fire complex in California history. [63][64]
Dolan Monterey County, California 122,178 August 18 40% contained, as of September 13 Cause not officially determined; however, a suspect was charged with arson in connection to the fire[65] [66]
SQF Complex Tulare County, California 114,320 August 19 12% contained, as of September 13 Lightning-sparked, contains the Castle Fire and the Shotgun Fire [67]
Slink Mono County, California 26,752 August 29 71% contained, as of September 16 Lightning-sparked [68]
Evans Canyon Kittitas County, Washington 75,817 August 31 90% contained, as of September 12 [69]
Creek Fresno County, California, Madera County, California 220,025 September 4 18% contained, as of September 16 369 structures destroyed, 12 structures damaged; 12 injuries; 1 fatality [70][71][72]
El Dorado Riverside County, California, San Bernardino County, California 18,092 September 5 60% contained, as of September 16 Sparked by a pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party. 10 structures destroyed, 6 structures damaged [73][74]
Valley San Diego County, California 17,665 September 5 87% contained, as of September 13 51 structures destroyed, 11 structures damaged, 2 injuries [75]
Bobcat Los Angeles County, California 44,393 September 6 3% contained, as of September 15 Unknown cause [76]
Cold Springs Okanogan County, Washington 188,852 September 6 70% contained, as of September 16 1 fatality [77][78]
Oak Mendocino County, California 1,100 September 7 September 14 Unknown cause, 25 structures destroyed, 20 structures damaged [79]
Slater/Devil Siskiyou County, California, Del Norte County, California, Josephine County, Oregon 148,344 September 7 10% contained, as of September 15 2 fatalities, 1 structure destroyed [80][81]
Two Four Two Klamath County, Oregon 14,475 September 7 21% contained, as of September 16 [82]
Brattain Lake County, Oregon 40,316 September 7 17% contained, as of September 16 [83]
Holiday Farm Lane County, Oregon 167,422 September 7 8% contained, as of September 16 1 fatality [84]
Echo Mountain Complex Lake County, Oregon 2,552 September 7 40% contained, as of September 16 [85]
Babb-Maiden/Manning Spokane County, Washington 18,254 September 7 0% contained, as of September 12 [86]
Whitney Lincoln County, Washington 127,430 September 7 95% contained, as of September 16 [87]
Inchelium Complex Ferry County, Washington 18,940 September 7 60% contained, as of September 16 [88]
Pearl Hill Douglas County, Washington 223,730 September 7 94% contained, as of September 16 [89]
Apple Acres Chelan County, Washington 5,500 September 7 99% contained, as of September 16 [90]
Fork El Dorado County, California 1,752 September 8 24% contained, as of September 16 [91]
South Obenchain Jackson County, Oregon 32,814 September 8 25% contained, as of September 16 [92]
Riverside Clackamas County, Oregon 135,956 September 8 3% contained, as of September 16 [93]
Big Hollow Skamania County, Washington 22,153 September 8 15% contained, as of September 16 [94]
Almeda Drive Jackson County, Oregon 3,000 September 8 60% contained, as of September 12 2457 Structures destroyed, 4 fatalities [95][96][45][46]
Thielsen Douglas County, Oregon 7,778 September 9 1% contained, as of September 16 [97]
Willow Yuba County, California 1,311 September 9 September 14 41 structures destroyed [98]
Archie Creek Douglas County, Oregon 125,489 September 9 15% contained, as of September 15 [99]
Santiam Clackamas County, Oregon, Jefferson County, Oregon, Linn County, Oregon, Marion County, Oregon, Wasco County, Oregon 385,163 August 16 2% contained, as of September 12 Includes the Lionshead, Beachie Creek, and P-515 Fires, which merged [100][61][101]

Causes

Fire policy

Prior to development, California fires regularly burned significantly more acreage than has been seen in recent history. Wildfires have been aggressively suppressed in recent years, resulting in a buildup of fuel, increasing the risk of large uncontrollable fires. There is broad scientific consensus that there should be more controlled burning of forest in California in order to reduce fire risk. A 2020 ProPublica investigation blames the culture of Cal Fire, greed on the part of fire suppression contractors, and risk aversion on the part of the U.S. Forest Service from preventing appropriate controlled burns from taking place.[102]

Climate change

The Los Angeles Times on 13 September described the fire as a climate apocalypse.

Climate change has led to increased heat waves and the risk of drought in California, creating the conditions for more frequent and severe wildfires.[103][104] It has been observed that since the early 1970s, warm‐season days in California warmed by ca. 1.4 °C. This significantly increases the atmospheric vapor pressure deficit, the difference between the actual and a maximum moisture content for a certain temperature. These trends are consistent with human-induced trends that were simulated by climate models. Summer forest‐fire area reacts to the vapor pressure deficit exponentially, i.e., warming has grown increasingly impactful.[104]

David Romps, director of the Berkeley Atmospheric Sciences Center summarizes the situation as follows: "To cut to the chase: Were the heat wave and the lightning strikes and the dryness of the vegetation affected by global warming? Absolutely yes. Were they made significantly hotter, more numerous, and drier because of global warming? Yes, likely yes, and yes."[105] Similarly, Friederike Otto, acting director of the University of Oxford Environmental Change Institute states, "There is absolutely no doubt that the extremely high temperatures are higher than they would have been without human-induced climate change. A huge body of attribution literature demonstrates now that climate change is an absolute game-changer when it comes to heat waves, and California won't be the exception."[106] Susan Clark, director of the Sustainability Initiative at the University at Buffalo, states, "This is climate change. This increased intensity and frequency of temperatures and heat waves are part of the projections for the future. [...] There is going to be more morbidity and mortality [from heat.] There are going to be more extremes."[106]

Obstacles to fire control

Secretary of California's Natural Resources Agency Wade Crowfoot urges President Trump to not ignore the science on climate change to which Trump responds "I don't think science knows, actually"[107][108] and "It'll start getting cooler. You just watch."[109]

Rumours about progressive and far-right involvement

Rumours were spread on social media that antifa activists supposedly involved in arson and rioting accompanying the nearby George Floyd protests in Portland, Oregon, were deliberately setting fires, and were preparing to loot property that was being evacuated. Some residents refused to evacuate based on the rumours, choosing to "defend their homes" from the alleged invasion. Authorities pleaded with residents to ignore the rumours.[110] QAnon followers participated in this misinformation, with one claim that six Antifa activists had been arrested for setting fires specifically amplified by "Q", i.e. "the anonymous person or people behind QAnon".[111][112] Days earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr had amplified social media rumours of preceding months that planes and buses full of Antifa activists were preparing to invade communities, allegedly funded by George Soros.[113][114][115][116][117][118]

Rumours also circulated that members of far-right groups such as the Proud Boys had started some of the fires. However, authorities labelled the claims as false, saying that people needed to question claims they found on social media.[119]

There have been multiple arrests for arson surrounding the wildfires in multiple states,[120][121] but there is no indication that the incidents were connected to a mass arson campaign, according to multiple law enforcement officers.[122][123]

COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic brought new challenges for firefighters fighting wildfires due to measures intended to reduce the transmission of the disease. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL Fire) implemented new protocols such as wearing face masks and maintaining social distancing while resting, and reducing the number of occupants in the pickup trucks used to transport firefighters.[124]

California relies heavily on inmate firefighters, with incarcerated people making up nearly a quarter of CAL FIRE's total workforce in 2018–2019.[125] Coronavirus measures within the prison system, such as early release and quarantine policies, have reduced the number of inmate firefighters available, necessitating the hiring of additional seasonal firefighters.[126]

Impacts

In Oregon, wildfires throughout the whole year, with most occurring in September, charred a record of 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2), destroying 1,145 homes and 579 other structures and killing 8. In Washington, 2020 wildfires burned 800,000 acres (3,200 km2), with 418 structures, including 195 homes, burned. In California, about 3,300,000 acres (13,000 km2) burned from wildfires in 2020, the highest burned acreage ever recorded in a fire season. About 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) burned in the August lighting wildfires and 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km2) more in September.[127] 4,200 structures were destroyed the whole year in California, and 25 have been killed.[128]

Smoke and air pollution

The fires resulted in unprecedented air pollution for several days, even weeks in a row, across much of the American West. Air quality was poor all the way from Los Angeles to British Columbia, and across much of California, Oregon, and Washington. In Oregon, smoke was so bad that stores like Whole Foods had to close, along with college campuses. Flights from Portland, Oregon, to Spokane, Washington were also cancelled because of the thick air. Some places in Oregon had air quality over 500 AQI, which was "off the charts" of the AQI index scale.[129] Smoke from the Western fires had reached as far as New York City and Washington D.C., although fortunately much of the smoke was at 25,000 feet (7,600 m) above sea level in those places, which was high enough to not impact air quality and just resulted in skies with a yellow or brown tinge.[130]

Orange and red skies

Red skies have appeared over many cities over the U.S West coast, due to smoke from the wildfires blocking lighter colors, created from light infraction. The first red sky was spotted on September 9th.[131]

See also

Explanatory notes

  1. ^ Year-to-date totals as of September 14, 2020

Citations

  1. ^ a b c d 2020 National Large Incident Year-to-Date Report (PDF). Geographic Area Coordination Center (Report). National Interagency Fire Center. September 14, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
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  4. ^ Freedman, Andrew (September 11, 2020). "Western wildfires: An 'unprecedented' climate change fueled event, experts say". Washington Post. Archived from the original on September 11, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
  5. ^ "Historic Wildfires Rage in Western States". The New York Times. September 10, 2020. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  6. ^ Is climate change worsening California fires, or is it poor forest management? Both, experts say. San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved: September 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "Northern Hemisphere just had its hottest summer on record: August 2020 ended as 2nd hottest for the globe". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  8. ^
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  16. ^ "Burn Ban Restrictions Effective 8:00am, Monday, July 27, 2020". official website. Whatcom County, Washington Fire Marshal. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  17. ^ "Colockum Fire in Chelan County 80% contained, level 3 evacuations have been lifted". Seattle: KING-TV. Archived from the original on August 1, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  18. ^ "Team reports firefighters working on mop up, Greenhouse Fire 74 percent contained". Tribal Tribune. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
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  29. ^ "Level three evacuations for Palmer Fire burning 13,000 acres in Okanogan County". Spokane: KHQ-TV. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
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  40. ^ Washington Department of Ecology Northwest Region [@ecyseattle] (September 8, 2020). "Wildfire smoke has brought poor air quality to much of western WA. Everyone, especially sensitive groups, should limit time outdoors & avoid strenuous outdoor activities" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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