LNU Lightning Complex fires
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| LNU Lightning Complex Fires | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 17, 2020 – |
| Location | Northern California |
| Statistics[1] | |
| Total fires | 250 |
| Total area | At least 340,000 acres (137,593 ha) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 5 civilians[2] |
| Non-fatal injuries | 4 |
| Structures destroyed | 480 structures destroyed, 125 damaged |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Lightning |
The LNU Lightning Complex Fires are wildfires currently burning during the 2020 California wildfire season across much of the Wine Country area of Northern California-- Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, and Yolo Counties. The Complex is made of numerous lightning-sparked fires, most of which are small. However, while they initially started separate from each other, the Hennessey Fire eventually grew to merge with the Gamble, Green, Markley, Spanish, and Morgan Fires, scorching 192,000 acres (777 km2) by itself, for a complex total of 347,630 acres (1,407 km2). The fire is 21% contained and burning in the hills surrounding several large cities, such as Fairfield, Napa, and Vacaville, as 480 structures have already been destroyed, and a further 125 damaged. The complex has also killed five people and injured four others.[2]
Name
The name of the complex fire refers to the name of the local unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, the Sonoma-Lake-Napa Unit (LNU).[3]
Timeline
In the early morning hours of Sunday, August 16, and again on Monday, August 17, a series of highly unusual thunderstorms rolled through most of northern California as an offshoot of the diminishing Tropical Storm Fausto.[4] With these thunderstorms came a reported 10,849 lightning strikes that --within a 72 hour period-- had then presumably sparked 376 known fires across much of the state.[5]
Early on Monday, August 17, at around 6:40 am PDT a spotfire was reported burning in the 60 block of Hennessey Ridge Road near Lake Hennessey which was then dubbed the Hennessey Fire.[6] The incident was reported alongside several other fires burning not far from it, most notably the Gamble Fire which began burning in an area off Berryessa Knoxville Road north of Lake Berryessa and west of state Highway 16, the Spanish Fire which was burning near Spanish Flat, the 15-10 Fire burning near the Putah Bridge and the Markley Fire near the Monticello Dam.[7] All of which had been reportedly burning almost completely unchecked as resources meant to combat the incidents had been stretched thin due to the onslaught of new and persisting fires throughout the state. Due to this factor, the fires were not properly combated during their most critical early phases and by evening time of that day the multiple conflagrations sizes were all ranging between 1,000 and 8,000 acres with 0% containment for each fire.[7]
Fires
| Name | County | Acres | Start date | Containment date | Deaths | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hennessey | Napa | 293,602 | August 17, 2020 | 26% contained as of August 24 | Merged with the Gamble, Green, Aetna, Markley, Spanish, Morgan and Round fires. | [8] | |
| Walbridge | Sonoma | 54,068 | August 17, 2020 | 5% as of August 24 | Merged with the Stewarts Fire | [8] | |
| Meyers | Sonoma | 2,360 | August 17, 2020 | 95% as of August 24 | [8] |
See Also
- 2020 California wildfires
- List of California wildfires
- SCU Lightning Complex Fire
- CZU Lightning Complex Fire
References
- ^ "LNU Lightning Complex Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved August 18, 2020.
- ^ a b "LNU Lightning Complex: Cal Fire confirms 5th death". Sacramento, California: KCRA-TV. August 24, 2020.
- ^ "How LNU, CZU Lightning Complex wildfires in the Bay Area got their names". ABC7 San Francisco. 2020-08-21. Retrieved 2020-08-21.
- ^ Barmann, Jay (17 August 2020). "Lightning Strikes Spark Multiple Fires in Napa, Knock Out Power In Healdsburg". SFist. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
- ^ Sandler, Rachel (19 August 2020). "California Sees 10,849 Lightning Strikes In 72 Hours As Wildfires Rage". Forbes. Retrieved 19 August 2020.
- ^ Barnard, Cornell W. (18 August 2020). "Some Napa County residents choose to stay despite evacuation orders as Hennessey Fire explodes in size". KGO-TV | ABC 7 Bay Area. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b Staff, CBS SF (18 August 2020). "LNU Lightning Complex Fires: Evacuations Expand In Napa, Sonoma Counties, School Closures". KPIX-TV | CBS SF Bay Area. Retrieved 18 August 2020.
- ^ a b c "LNU Lightning Complex Fire". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 24, 2020. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
This article incorporates text from https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/17/lnu-lightning-complex-includes-hennessey-gamble-15-10-spanish-markley-13-4-11-16/, a public domain work of the Government of California.
External links
- Les incendies font rage en Californie ! Août 2020 raw footage
- LNU Lightning Complex Fires Burn in California - Aug. 18 / 21, 2020
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