2001 California wildfires

According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) statistics, 9,317 wildfires burned a total of in the US state of California in 2001.

The largest wildfire of the year in California was the Observation Fire in Lassen County, which burned 67,700 acres, and the most destructive was the Poe Fire in Butte County, which burned 133 structures. Cal Fire wildfire suppression costs for fires that burned within the agency's jurisdiction amounted to US$109 million. Damages for the same amounted to $87.3 million, with a total of 389 structures lost. At least two fatalities occurred, both of them on the Bell Fire in San Diego County.

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.

Narrative An unusually warm, dry, and windy May prompted Cal Fire to declare May 22 the beginning of fire season throughout the state, the point in the year at which the agency hires seasonal staff to be at the ready round-the-clock in California forest districts. The pattern continued through June, with fires active weeks in advance of the 'usual' beginning of fire season.

The National Interagency Fire Center declared that the country had reached National Preparedness Level 5 (the point at which incidents across the country had the "potential to exhaust all agency fire resources") on August 15, 2001, with the bulk of the fires in California Oregon, and Nevada.

Cal Fire firefighting aircraft were temporarily grounded on September 11 by the ground stop order issued nationwide by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the deadly September 11 attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) eventually instructed firefighting agencies to apply for exemptions as needed, and the restriction (which began at about 10:00 a.m.) was lifted after about three hours, when the FAA granted Cal Fire's request for exemption. The restriction affected aircraft on the Poe Fire in Butte County, among others.

All Cal Fire units were declared "off season" by December 3.

List of wildfires The following is a list of fires that burned more than , produced significant structural damage or casualties, or were otherwise notable. It is excerpted from Cal Fire's 2001 list of large (≥ 300 acres) fires, and may not be complete or reflect the most recent information. NameCountyAcresStart dateContainment dateNotesRefViejasSan Diego10,353Caused by smoking; destroyed 16 structures, damaged 13Jones Siskiyou 1,440 Caused by debrisDevil Lassen 4,400 Caused by equipment use165 Merced 1,500 Cause undeterminedJackson Amador 2,240 Caused by welding; destroyed 15 structures, damaged 1SNF-562 Merced 1,200 Hemlock San Bernardino 1,074 Caused by an escaped burnPacheco Merced 1,550 Caused by a vehicleMartis Nevada 14,500 Caused by a campfireWatkins Riverside 1,407 Caused by arsonMcLaughlin Inyo 2,900 Caused by lightningHoover Complex Mariposa 8,007 Caused by lightning; was allowed to burn in Yosemite National Park for ecological reasonsReche Riverside 1,798 Caused by a vehicleStream Lassen 3,560 Caused by lightningTrough Lake, Glenn, Colusa 24,970 Cause undetermined; destroyed 30 structuresCowhead Modoc 1,670 Caused by lightningModoc Complex Modoc 5,367 Caused by lightningShaffer Lassen 1,100 Caused by lightningObservation Lassen 67,700 Caused by lightningBlue Complex Modoc 37,950 Caused by lightning(Emigrant) Gap Nevada, Placer 2,462 Caused by human activityCrater Mono 5,800 Caused by lightningBuzz Modoc 2,206 Caused by lightningPonderosa Placer 2,780 Caused by a vehicleCreek Mariposa, Tuolumne 11,095 Caused by arson; destroyed 43 structuresLeonard Calaveras 5,167 Caused by equipment use; destroyed 22 structuresHighway Fresno 4,152 Caused by arson; destroyed 8 structuresNorth Fork Madera 2,930 Star El Dorado 16,761 Oregon Trinity 1,680 Cause undetermined; destroyed 33 structures and caused evacuations in the town of WeavervilleHyampon Trinity 1,065 Cause undeterminedDarby Calaveras 14,280 Cause undeterminedPoe Butte 8,333 Caused by tree into PG&E power lines, destroyed 133 structures in the Yankee Hill areaHappy Camp Complex Siskiyou 8,500 Caused by lightningStables Los Angeles 6,544 Highway 70 Butte 1,711 Caused by arsonBell San Diego 1,204 Cause undetermined; 2 fatalities

2001 California wildfires

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