2020 California wildfires
The 2020 California wildfire season is a series of wildfires that are burning across the state of California. The peak of the wildfire season usually occurs between August and November when hot, dry winds are most frequent. The wildfire season typically does not end until the first significant rainstorm of winter arrives, which is usually around October in Northern California, and roughly between late October to December in Southern California. As of August 16, 2020, a total of 6,506 fires have burned 276,574 acres (111,926 ha) according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.[1]
2020 California wildfires | |
---|---|
Statistics[1] | |
Total fires | 6,506 |
Total area | 276,574 acres (111,926 ha) |
Cost | unknown |
Deaths | 1 |
Non-fatal injuries | 5 |
Season | |
← 2019
2021 → |

Early outlook
Early in the year, there was a concern for the potential 2020 fire season to be prolonged and especially grave due to the unusually dry months of January and February which were recorded as one of the driest first two months of any calendar year on record.[2] 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 wildfires.[3] Throughout March and April, rain began to consistently fall in the state which lessened the severe drying conditions. However, Northern California was expected to have severe wildfire conditions due to the moderate or severe drought conditions in the area, whereas Central and Southern California were expected to have serious fire conditions later in the year due to the late wet season and precipitation.[4]
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 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Interstate 5 | Kings | 2,060 | May 3 | May 7 | [5] | |
Range | San Luis Obispo | 5,000 | May 27 | May 28 | [6] | |
Scorpion | Santa Barbara | 1,395 | May 31 | June 1 | [7] | |
Quail | Solano | 1,837 | June 6 | June 10 | 3 structures destroyed | [8][9] |
Wood | San Diego | 11,000 | June 8 | June 12 | Burned on Camp Pendleton | [10] |
India | San Diego | 1,100 | June 8 | June 14 | Burning on Camp Pendleton | [11] |
Soda | San Luis Obispo | 1,672 | June 10 | June 11 | 2 structures destroyed | [12][13] |
Grant | Sacramento | 5,042 | June 12 | June 17 | [14] | |
Walker | Calaveras | 1,455 | June 16 | June 20 | 2 structures destroyed | [15] |
River | San Luis Obispo | 15 | June 22 | June 23 | 2 structures destroyed, 9 damaged | [16] |
Grade | Tulare | 1,050 | June 22 | June 26 | [17] | |
Pass | Merced | 2,192 | June 28 | June 30 | [18] | |
Bena | Kern | 2,900 | July 1 | July 3 | [19] | |
Crews | Santa Clara | 5,513 | July 5 | July 13 | 1 structure destroyed; 1 damaged; 1 injury. Resulted in evacuations of rural Gilroy. | [20] |
Soledad | Los Angeles | 1,525 | July 5 | July 15 | 1 injury | [21] |
Mineral | Fresno | 29,667 | July 13 | July 26 | 7 structures destroyed | [22] [23] |
Coyote | San Benito | 1,508 | July 15 | July 18 | [24] | |
Hog | Lassen | 9,564 | July 18 | August 8 | 2 structures destroyed | [25] |
Gold | Lassen | 22,634 | July 20 | August 8 | 13 structures destroyed; 5 structures damaged; 2 firefighters injured in burnover | [26] |
July Complex 2020 | Modoc, Siskiyou | 83,261 | July 22 | August 7 | 1 structure destroyed; 3 outbuildings destroyed | [27] |
Red Salmon Complex | Humboldt, Siskiyou, Trinity | 12,856 | July 26 | 34% Contained as of August 13 | Burning as both the Red Fire (12,077 acres) and the Salmon Fire (805 acres); both started by lightning strikes | [28][29] |
Apple | Riverside | 33,424 | July 31 | 90% Contained as of August 14 | 4 structures destroyed; 8 outbuildings destroyed; 1 firefighter injured | [30] |
Pond | San Luis Obispo | 1,962 | August 1 | August 8 | 1 structure destroyed; 1 damaged; 13 outbuildings destroyed[31] | [32] |
North | Lassen | 6,882 | August 2 | August 10 | 6,882 acres in total, of which approximately 4,105 acres burned in Washoe County, Nevada | [33] |
Stagecoach | Kern | 7,760 | August 3 | 99% Contained as of August 12 | 23 structures destroyed; 4 damaged; 25 outbuildings destroyed; 2 damaged;[34] 1 firefighter fatality[35] | [36] |
Lake | Los Angeles | 18,526 | August 12 | 31% Contained as of August 17 | 12 structures destroyed; 3 damaged; 21 outbuildings destroyed | [37] |
Ranch2 | Los Angeles | 2,256 | August 13 | 7% Contained as of August 16 | [38] | |
Loyalton | Lassen, Plumas, Sierra | 36,295 | August 15 | 5% Contained as of August 17 | Caused National Weather Service to issue first ever Fire Tornado Warning | [39][40] |
River | Monterey | 2,000 | August 16 | 10% Contained as of August 16 | 4 injuries | [41] |
Canyon Zone | Stanislaus | 3,000 | August 16 | 0% Contained as of August 16 | 4 separate fires | [42] |
References
- "Fire Statistics". CAL FIRE. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- Leonard, Diana. "Dry California winter prompts wildfire and drought concerns". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 2, 2020.
- Daniels, Jeff. "California Gov. Gavin Newsom declares state of emergency due to increased wildfire risk". CNBC. Retrieved March 22, 2020.
- Roach, John. "What's expected for the 2020 California wildfire season?". AccuWeather. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
- "Interstate 6 Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. May 7, 2020.
- "Range Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. May 28, 2020.
- "Scorpion Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 1, 2020.
- Moleski, Vincent (June 7, 2020). "Quail fire outside Vacaville surpasses 1,800 acres". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
- "Quail Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 7, 2020.
- "Wood Fire Containment Information". twitter.com/MCIWPendletonCA. June 12, 2020.
- "India Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 9, 2020.
- "Soda Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 11, 2020.
- "Soda Fire Now 100% Contained". KEYT.com. June 11, 2020.
- "Grant Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 11, 2020.
- "Walker Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 11, 2020.
- "Paso Robles River Fire 100% contained; evacuations to be lifted at 3 p.m." KSBY News. June 23, 2020.
- "Grade Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 26, 2020.
- "Pass Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 28, 2020.
- "Bena Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. June 11, 2020.
- "Crews Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. July 5, 2020.
- "Soledad Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. July 5, 2020.
- "Mineral Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. July 14, 2020.
- "Mineral Fire 2020 Information". fire.ca.gov. July 13, 2020.
- fire.ca.gov. July 16, 2020 https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/7/15/coyote-fire/. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - "Hog Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. July 5, 2020.
- "Gold Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. July 21, 2020.
- "July Complex 2020 Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. July 23, 2020.
- "Red Salmon Complex Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov/. August 2, 2020.
- "Interactive Map with acerage for both Red and Salmon fires". ucanr.edu. August 3, 2020.
- "Apple Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. July 31, 2020.
- Staff, KSBY. "UPDATE: Pond Fire 67% contained, 2,005 acres burned". KSBY. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
- "Pond Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. August 2, 2020.
- "North Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov/. August 3, 2020.
- "Stagecoach Fire now 7,760 acres, 64% contained and 37 structures destroyed". KBAK-TV. August 4, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- "Firefighter Dies While Assigned to Stagecoach Fire". KNBC. August 12, 2020. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- "Stagecoach Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. August 3, 2020.
- "Lake Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov/. August 12, 2020.
- "Ranch2 Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov/. August 13, 2020.
- "Loyalton Fire Information". inciweb.nwcg.gov. August 16, 2020.
- "Loyalton Fire Tornado Warning". twitter.com. August 16, 2020.
- "River Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. August 16, 2020.
- "Canyon Zone Fire Information". fire.ca.gov. August 16, 2020.