While record-setting and terrifying, the wildfires currently burning across the state are a continuation of a horrible streak of some of the largest, most destructive, deadliest wildfires on record for the state according to statistics from Cal-Fire. Climbing the California wildfire leaderboard All that vegetation, dried out from a poor wet season and an epic heatwave, quickly ignited and spread, setting the stage for what we see now. According to CalFire, since August 15 more than 14,000 lightning strikes have occurred. Moisture from a rapidly weakening tropical storm to the south resulted in strong thunderstorms moving into coastal California accompanied by thousands of lightning strikes.
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This is where a tropical storm comes into play. All that was needed was some lightning to start a conflagration. This combo led to plenty of fuel for wildfires. Temperatures soared to an astounding 130☏ in Death Valley, and even hit 100☏ in Oakland for the first time on record. The second condition was a record-breaking heatwave that settled over the West during the middle of August. The severity of drought conditions increases from yellow (abnormally dry) to light orange (moderate) to orange (severe) to red (extreme) to, finally, maroon (exceptional). map, based on data from the National Drought Monitor project.
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Drought Monitor from Jto August 11, 2020. In particular, an early and abrupt end to rain across northern California, starting in February, jumpstarted the dehydration of vegetation and development of drought.Īnimation of drought conditions across the United States from the U.S. The western United States has seen an expansion of drought conditions over the first half of 2020. While wildfires can start at the whim of a lightning bolt, conditions conducive to rapid wildfire growth play out over a long timescale. Redwoods are naturally fire-resistant, but even they have limits. The largest of those, the CZU Lightning fire, has burned over 84,000 acres of coastal forests, including California’s famed redwoods. As of August 24, three other fires have at least burned through an area the size of Washington, DC. Images courtesy Sentinel Online/European Space Agency.Īnd these were just the biggest two! There are hundreds of wildfires of various degrees of severity occurring across the state. Burned areas appear in reddish brown and vegetation appears green. Sentinel satellite image of the LNU Lightning Complex Fire north of San Francisco in northern California on August 25, 2020, in infrared-enhanced false color.
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But in 2020, firefighters must fight both simultaneously as the fires burn-only 50-60% contained as of August 30-within 100 miles of the Bay Area. In any given year, one of these fires would present a monumental challenge.
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The LNU Lightning Complex fire has torn through California wine country, killing five people and destroying 1,198 structures. The two largest current fires, which constitute the second and third-largest wildfires on record for California, are the LNU Lightning complex fire to the north of San Francisco and the SCU Lightning Complex fire to the south. Over the second half of August, 1.42 million acres of land has burned, larger than the state of Delaware. An area the size of Rhode Island burned in less than a fortnight. How rare is it for such a massive acreage to burn so quickly? Cal Fire, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for California, says it’s unprecedented in a “single fire siege.” In just nine days, more than three times the average acreage was burned in California than in the “normal” wildfire season in the state. Red outlines indicate areas where satellite sensors detected the heat signature of active fires. NASA MODIS Terra satellite image of wildfires and smoke across California on August 21, 2020.