2009 California wildfires


The 2009 California wildfires were a series of 9,159 wildfires that were active in the US state of California, during the year 2009. The fires burned more than of land from early February through late November, due to Red Flag conditions, destroying hundreds of structures, injuring 134 people, and killing four. The wildfires also caused at least US$134.48 million in damage. Although the fires burned many different regions of California in August, the month was especially notable for several very large fires which burned in Southern California, despite being outside of the normal fire season for that region.
The Station Fire, north of Los Angeles, was the largest and deadliest of these wildfires. It began in late August, and resulted in the devastation of of land as well as the death of two firefighters. Another large fire was the La Brea Fire, which burned nearly in Santa Barbara County earlier in the month. A state of emergency was also declared for the Lockheed Fire in Santa Cruz County, to the north.

Fires

Below is a list of all fires that exceeded during the 2009 fire season. The list is taken from CAL FIRE's list of large fires.
NameCountyAcresKmStart DateContained DateNotes
JesusitaSanta BarbaraMay 5, 2009May 20, 2009160 structures destroyed-
GrouseMariposaMay 30, 2009July 13, 2009-
HardenTuolumneJune 8, 2009July 11, 2009-
ExplosiveSan JoaquinJune 19, 2009June 19, 2009-
Lion ComplexTulareJune 30, 2009August 21, 2009-
BackboneTrinityJuly 1, 2009July 24, 20091 fatality-
YankeeSan DiegoJuly 11, 2009July 14, 2009-
ForkInyoJuly 18, 2009July 27, 2009-
TennantSiskiyouJuly 19, 2009July 27, 2009-
KnightTuolumneJuly 26, 2009August 11, 2009-
WildcatTuolumneJuly 29, 2009August 31, 2009-
Hat Creek ComplexShastaAugust 1, 2009August 12, 2009-
W-4LassenAugust 1, 2009August 7, 2009-
Dodge ComplexLassenAugust 1, 2009August 3, 2009-
BrownShastaAugust 2, 2009August 12, 2009-
FairfieldShastaAugust 2, 2009August 21, 2009-
Chalk ShastaAugust 3, 2009August 16, 2009-
Goose ShastaAugust 3, 2009August 17, 2009-
Cassel ShastaAugust 3, 2009August 14, 2009-
La BreaSanta BarbaraAugust 8, 2009August 23, 20092 buildings destroyed-
LockheedSanta CruzAugust 12, 2009August 23, 200913 structures destroyed-
CoffinTrinityAugust 12, 2009August 15, 2009-
CorralSan JoaquinAugust 13, 2009August 16, 2009-
YubaYubaAugust 14, 2009August 24, 2009-
Red RockSiskiyouAugust 21, 2009September 4, 2009-
MorrisLos AngelesAugust 25, 2009September 3, 2009-
BrysonMontereyAugust 25, 2009August 29, 2009-
StationLos AngelesAugust 26, 2009October 16, 2009209 Structures destroyed, 2 firefighters killed.-
Big MeadowsMariposaAugust 26, 2009September 10, 2009-
GloriaMontereyAugust 27, 2009September 1, 2009-
CottonwoodRiversideAugust 27, 2009August 31, 2009-
PachecoSanta ClaraAugust 29, 2009August 30, 2009-
Oak Glen IIISan BernardinoAugust 30, 2009September 8, 2009-
OasisLakeSeptember 7, 2009September 12, 2009-
GuibersonVenturaSeptember 22, 2009October 1, 20091 building destroyed-
SixYoloOctober 1, 2009October 1, 2009-
SheepSan BernardinoOctober 3, 2009October 10, 2009-
Mill Creek #4HumboldtOctober 7, 2009October 17, 2009-

Weather conditions

Invasive, non-native vegetation dies and re-sprouts year after year creating an unnatural buildup of dead plant material. While periodic fires are natural, and many native plants depend upon fire to reproduce; the intensity and frequency of these fires is altered by the presence of non-natives.
In Southern California, the normal wildfire season begins in October, with the arrival of the infamous Santa Ana winds, and it is unusual to see fires spread so rapidly during other times of year. However, temperatures throughout the southern part of the state exceeded 100 °F for much of late August. The combination of high temperatures, low humidity and a large quantity of tinder-dry fuel, some of which had not burnt for decades, allowed some of the normal fires to quickly explode out of control despite the lack of winds to spread the flames. These conditions, along with extreme terrain in many undeveloped areas that slowed access to burn areas, made firefighting difficult.

Notable fires

Dozens of fires burned throughout California in August 2009. Some of the most notable are listed here.

Northern California

Alameda County

Los Angeles County