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Brushfire
Southern California Fires
CDF 2003 Fire Season Summary
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CDF)
 |
|
Fires (CDF Jurisdiction) |
|
|
| 2003 |
5,953 |
397,732 |
| 2002 |
5,759 |
112,810 |
5 Yr. Avg.
(1999-03) |
6,135 |
191,903 |
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CDF Fire Suppression Cost (Summer 2003 and Spring 2004): $252.3 million
Dollar Damage Costs (CDF jurisdiction): $974 million
Structures Destroyed (CDF jurisdiction): 5,420
Top Five Fires In Acreage Burned (CDF Fires)
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Fire
|
Start |
Contained |
Country |
Acres |
Structures Destroyed |
Cause |
|
| Paradise |
10/26 |
11/6 |
San Diego |
56,700 |
415 |
Human |
| Santa Clara Complex |
8/25 |
9/2 |
Santa Clara |
30,170 |
0 |
Lightining |
| Honeydew |
9/3 |
10/15 |
Humboldt |
24,882 |
0 |
Lightining |
| Coyote |
7/16 |
7/23 |
San Diego |
18,705 |
2 |
Lightining |
| Grand Prix |
10/21 |
11/5 |
San Bernardino |
15,289 |
136 |
Human |
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Top Five Fires In Structures Destroyed (CDF Fires)
|
Fire
|
Start |
Contained |
Country |
Acres |
Structures Destroyed |
Cause |
|
| Paradise |
10/26 |
11/6 |
San Diego |
56,700 |
415 |
Human |
| Grand Prix |
10/21 |
11/5 |
San Bernardino |
15,289 |
136 |
Human |
| Mountain |
10/26 |
10/29 |
Riverside |
10,000 |
61 |
Under Inv. |
| Parkhill |
7/20 |
7/23 |
San Luis Obispo |
1,200 |
18 |
Human |
| Otay |
10/26 |
10/28 |
San Diego |
10,525 |
6 |
Under Inv. |
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California October 2003 Wildfires
20 Largest California Wildland Fires (By * Acreage Burned)
 Fires do occur naturally from lightning strikes, and are a part of a
healthy ecosystem.
Most fires today have human causes, often accidents, but frequently
arson. Human influences have changed the ecosystem, so natural
patterns do not apply. Human activities affecting the environment
include:
- Road building
- Current and prior logging
- Current and prior agriculture
- Fire suppression
- Settlement
Brushfire hazards are continually changing due to changes in land use,
growth (or consumption) of fuels and varying amounts of precipitation.
20 Largest California Wildland Fire (By Structure Destroyed)
Oakland Hills Fire Storm
1991
Tunnel Fire
Oakland, CA - October 20, 1991
Remembered as one of this nation's most costly fires; the worst fire involving loss of life and
property since the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire of 1906.
The origin of the fire was on a steep hillside in above state Highway 24 near the entrance to the
Caldecott Tunnel. This is a wooded area with heavy underbrush, narrow streets and steep terrain.
The unusual weather conditions are described in FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Report as follows:
"...an unusual east wind, at speeds in excess of 65 miles per hour, that raced down from the crest
of the Oakland-Berkeley Hills. Coupled with record high temperatures well into the nineties, the
hot, dry winds gusted and swirled through five years of drought-dry brush and groves of freeze-damaged
Monterey pines and eucalyptus trees. All the conditions for a major disaster were
present that morning of October 20, 1991."
There were many problems that confronted firefighters:
- Rapid spread of the fire in many different directions.
- The fire had established the burn area boundaries by late afternoon, probably around 4 p.m.
- Water Supply (Low reservoirs/Drought season)
Tunnel Fire Statistics
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| Deaths |
25 |
Injuries |
150 |
Single Family Dwellings Destroyed |
2,843 |
| Single Family Dwellings Damaged |
193 |
| Apartment Units Destroyed |
433 |
| Total Living Units Damaged or Destroyed |
3,469 |
| Total Acreage Burned by the Fire |
1,520 |
| Fire Perimeter |
5.25 Miles |
| Estimated Dollar Fire Loss |
$1,537,000,000 |
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Insured Exposure to Brushfire
Losses occur where insured values are exposed to significant
accumulations of fuel. This is neither in towns nor wilderness, but
the boundaries between, or “the interface”.
Brushfire occurs through out the U.S., but the greatest exposure
occurs in places with moderate precipitation. Deserts do not
support dense enough fuel loads. Moreover, climates with the most
seasonal variation are most exposed. Wet Springs allow lush
growth. Dry Falls are then the peak exposure.
The most damaging fires are in the West, and especially near the
Pacific where fuel loads grow highest, and settlements is densest.
Wildfires Since 2001 with $10Mn Or Greater Property Damage
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