The 2008 wildfire season was one of California's most devastating in the 21st century. While 6,255 fires occurred, about two-thirds as many as in 2007, the total area burned— —far exceeded that of previous years.
By July 5, 2008, 328 wildfires were burning, and those fires were only 81% contained. For the first time since 1977, the US military helped with ground-based firefighting, when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger dispatched 400 California National Guard troops, including Chief Medical Officer Susan Pangelinan, to manage fire lines. He said the number of fires had stretched the state's fire-fighting resources thin. "One never has resources for 1,700 fires. Who has the resources for that?" Schwarzenegger said, adding, "Something is happening, clearly. There's more need for resources than ever before... it's fire season all year round."
Background
The timing of "fire season" in California is variable, depending on the amount of prior winter and spring precipitation, the frequency and severity of weather such as heat waves and wind events, and moisture content in vegetation. Northern California typically sees wildfire activity between late spring and early fall, peaking in the summer with hotter and drier conditions. Occasional cold frontal passages can bring wind and lightning. The timing of fire season in Southern California is similar, peaking between late spring and fall. The severity and duration of peak activity in either part of the state is modulated in part by weather events: downslope/offshore wind events can lead to critical fire weather, while onshore flow and Pacific weather systems can bring conditions that hamper wildfire growth.
List of wildfires Below is a list of all fires that exceeded during the 2008 fire season. The list is taken from CAL FIRE's list of large fires. Name County Acres Km Start Date Contained Date NotesWawona Nw Mariposa April 9, 2008April 19, 2008Honey Bee Tulare May 6, 2008May 23, 2008Colyear Tehama May 6, 2008May 9, 2008Avocado Fresno May 20, 2008May 21, 2008Summit Santa Cruz May 22, 2008May 27, 2008Clover Tulare May 28, 2008July 20, 2008Indians Monterey June 8, 2008July 10, 2008Jackson Sacramento June 10, 2008June 12, 2008Ophir Butte June 10, 2008June 13, 200841 Madera June 10, 2008June 11, 2008Lagrange Tuolumne June 10, 2008June 11, 2008Humboldt Butte June 11, 2008June 21, 2008Whiskey Tehama June 12, 2008June 22, 2008Albion River Lightning Mendocino June 20, 2008June 30, 2008Lime Complex Trinity June 20, 2008August 15, 2008Mad Complex Trinity June 20, 2008July 21, 2008Hells Half Complex Trinity June 20, 2008July 28, 2008South Complex Humboldt June 20, 2008September 15, 2008Brown Complex San Benito June 21, 2008June 24, 2008West Branch Butte June 21, 2008June 21, 2008Frey Butte June 21, 2008June 21, 2008Flea Valley Butte June 21, 2008June 21, 2008Flea Valley 2 Butte June 21, 2008June 21, 2008Paradise Humboldt June 21, 2008August 1, 2008Blue 2 Complex Siskiyou June 20, 2008Merged into the Klamath Theater Complex FirePopcorn Lassen June 21, 2008June 22, 2008Cub Complex Lassen June 21, 2008July 20, 2008Peterson Complex Lassen June 21, 2008July 2, 2008Wild Napa June 21, 2008June 26, 2008Basin Complex Monterey June 21, 2008July 27, 2008Wagers Lightning Mendocino June 21, 2008June 21, 2008Jack Smith Lightning Mendocino June 21, 2008July 13, 2008Mallo B Mendocino June 21, 2008July 17, 2008Squaw 1 Lightning 2 Mendocino June 21, 2008July 13, 2008Red Mountain 1 Mendocino June 21, 2008August 1, 2008Gate Lightning Mendocino June 21, 2008July 13, 2008Soda Complex Lake June 21, 2008July 26, 2008Canyon Complex Plumas June 21, 2008September 30, 2008Iron Alps Complex Trinity June 21, 2008September 9, 2008 10 fatalitiesSta 57 Ono Cdf Igo 2 Shasta June 21, 2008July 24, 2008Whitmore Old Crow C2 Shasta June 21, 2008July 15, 2008EO2A Shasta June 21, 2008July 6, 2008Stein Shasta June 21, 2008July 7, 2008Moon Shasta June 21, 2008August 9, 2008Platina 4 Trinity June 21, 2008July 4, 2008Lewiston 8 Trinity June 21, 2008July 23, 2008Lakehead Shasta June 21, 2008August 23, 2008Oliver Mariposa June 21, 2008June 26, 2008North Mountain Tuolumne June 21, 2008July 3, 2008American River Complex Placer June 21, 2008July 30, 2008Yuba River Complex Sierra June 21, 2008July 15, 2008Whiskeytown Complex Shasta June 21, 2008July 19, 2008Klamath Theater Complex Siskiyou June 21, 2008September 30, 2008 2 firefighters killed.Popcorn Lassen June 22, 2008July 8, 2008Mill Complex Tehama June 22, 2008June 29, 2008Walker Lake June 22, 2008June 29, 2008Orr Springs Rd Ukv 2 Mendocino June 22, 2008July 10, 20085-8 Cliff Lightning Mendocino June 22, 2008July 13, 2008Venture Shasta June 22, 2008July 4, 2008Corral Lassen June 23, 2008July 7, 2008Oliver Mariposa June 23, 2008July 6, 2008Mill Creek Tehama June 24, 2008July 1, 2008Piute Kern June 28, 2008July 25, 2008Hardy Mendocino June 30, 2008June 30, 2008Gap Santa Barbara July 1, 2008July 28, 2008Butch Lightning Mendocino July 4, 2008July 4, 2008Lost Pipe Lightning Mendocino July 4, 2008July 10, 2008Jack Smith Lightning Mendocino July 4, 2008July 15, 2008Albion Lightning Mendocino July 4, 2008July 8, 2008Horse Lightning Mendocino July 4, 2008July 8, 2008Orr Series Lightning Mendocino July 4, 2008July 13, 2008Montgomery Flat Lightning Mendocino July 4, 2008July 15, 2008Alder Creek Beach Mendocino July 7, 2008July 7, 2008Tehipite Fresno July 19, 2008November 11, 2008Panther Siskiyou July 24, 2008September 30, 2008Telegraph Mariposa July 25, 2008September 15, 2008Rich Plumas July 29, 2008August 10, 2008Craig Butte August 3, 2008August 11, 2008Rim Butte August 13, 2008August 13, 2008Empire Butte August 13, 2008August 13, 2008Camp Beldon and Pit Butte July 8, 2008August 13, 2008Smokey Butte August 13, 2008August 13, 2008Jack Siskiyou August 17, 2008August 22, 2008Gladding Placer September 1, 2008September 3, 2008Gulch Shasta September 7, 2008September 11, 2008Hidden Tulare September 10, 2008September 30, 2008Chalk Monterey September 25, 2008October 29, 2008November San Diego October 8, 2008October 9, 2008Marek Los Angeles October 12, 2008October 16, 2008Sesnon Los Angeles October 13, 2008October 18, 2008Juliett San Diego October 13, 2008October 17, 2008Lackerman Butte October 23, 2008October 23, 2008Tea Santa Barbara November 13, 2008November 17, 2008Sayre Los Angeles November 14, 2008November 20, 2008Freeway Complex Riverside November 15, 2008November 22, 2008
Summer fires The Summer 2008 fires were a concentrated outbreak of wildfires during the late spring and summer of 2008. Over 3,596 individual fires were burning at the height of the period, burning large portions of forests and chaparral in California, injuring at least 34 individuals and killing 32. The majority of the fires were started by lightning from dry thunderstorms on June 20, although some earlier fires ignited during mid-May. International aid from Greece, Cyprus, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, Canada, Mexico, and New Zealand helped fight the fires.
The first of the wildfires was the Big Horn Fire, which ignited on May 13. Three other minor wildfires ignited subsequently, but were extinguished by May 17. On May 20, the Avocado Fire ignited in Fresno County, only to be extinguished 2 days later. On May 22, 2008, the human-caused Summit Fire broke out in the Santa Cruz Mountains, which became the first major fire.
On July 5, 2008, California Governor Schwarzenegger commented that "I've been driving up and down the state of California going to all the various fires, and you can imagine, this state is very prepared for fire, but when you wake up one morning and have 500 fires across the state, it was a real shock to me... only to find the next morning there were 1,000 fires, and the next morning 1,400 fires, and then 1,700 fires igniting over 14 days."
The Gap Fire near Goleta in Santa Barbara County burned . The fire was contained on July 29, after several weeks of activity.
By July 11, 2008, it was reported that a total of was burned, a total exceeding the initial estimate of burned by the October 2007 California wildfires. On July 12, 2008, the area burned reached , exceeding the estimated burned by the 2003 California wildfires, making the Summer 2008 wildfires the greatest wildfire event in Californian history, in terms of burned area. On that date 20,274 personnel had been committed to fight the fires. Total resources included 467 hand crews, 1,503 engines, 423 water tenders, 291 bulldozers, 142 helicopters, 400 soldiers and numerous air tankers. The fire was responsible for the deaths of 23 individuals.
On July 25, a blaze sparked by target shooting broke out in Mariposa County, in the Sierra Nevada foothills of central California. By the following day, the Telegraph Fire had gone from , and within days had destroyed 21 homes in the community of Midpines. Residents were evacuated from approximately 300 homes that were immediately threatened, with an additional 4,000 homes placed on standby for evacuation in Midpines, Greeley Hill, and Coulterville.
During August, wildfire activity began to diminish, although there were still hundreds of wildfires still burning. On August 29, wildfire activity had largely ended, although three more wildfires ignited after September 1, beginning with the Gladding Fire. On September 10, the Colony Fire was 100% contained, ending the last of the Summer 2008 California wildfires. The Summer 2008 wildfires burned a total of between May 2008 and September 2008, comprising the vast majority of burned land by wildfires in California in 2008.
In total, the Summer 2008 wildfires burned a total of , which accounts for 84% of the total area burned during the 2008 wildfire season. In addition, the Summer 2008 fires cost over $92.38 million (2008 USD) to fight.
The Basin Complex Fire in the Ventana Wilderness became the third largest wildfire in California's history based on size (until it was surpassed in size by the 2013 Rim Fire), and also the second-costliest wildfire to extinguish in U.S. history.
Weather The fires broke out after three years of below-normal rainfall dehydrated much of California's forests and woodlands, making them prone to wildfires. Spring 2008 for California was the driest on record for many locations; for example, San Francisco registered only of rain out of a normal of from March to May. As vegetation turned into bone-dry tinder in early June, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a statewide drought for the first time in 17 years. Dry thunderstorms and lightning, rarely seen on the California coastline in June, rolled onshore on the weekend of June 20–21. The storm unleashed 25,000 to 26,000 dry lightning strikes across Northern and Central California, igniting more than 2,000 fires. The number of wildfires skyrocketed in the days after the thunderstorms and high daily daytime temperatures of over dramatically increased the various fires' growth. The same thunderstorms also caused fires in Oregon.
A heat wave commenced on July 7, with temperatures in inland locations, such as the Central Valley soaring above . Lake Berryessa recorded a high temperature of , prompting weather agencies like the National Weather Service to issue high fire danger warnings. These near to record-breaking temperatures concerned many firefighters, who feared that the high heat, low humidity, and high-elevation winds could make firefighting more strenuous.
Contributing factors John Juskie, a National Weather Service science officer, was quoted in June 2008 in the Los Angeles Times stating "in historic terms, we're at record dry levels." The spring of 2008 not only broke the record for least inches of rainfall, at 0.17 of an inch, it represented less than one-third of the previous record low of 0.55 of an inch of rainfall in 1934.