2003 California wildfires

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2003 California wildfires
October 2003 wildfires.jpg
Satellite view of the October 2003 wildfires in Southern California, depicting the smoke blowing out over the Pacific Ocean.
Statistics[1][2][3]
Total fires9,116
Total area1,020,460 acres (4,129.7 km2)[3][4]
Cost>$2.729 billion (2003 USD)[5][6][1]
Deaths24 civilians[7]
1 firefighter
Non-fatal injuriesAt least 1 firefighter,[4] 36 civilians
Season
← 2002
2004 →

The 2003 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that were active in the state of California during the year 2003. In dry January 2003 has 31 days straight with no rain in Southern California, and wet mid February 2003 arrives in California. In total, there were 9,116 fires[2] that burned 1,020,460 acres (4,129.7 km2) of land.[3][4]

2003 California wildfires resulted in 24 fatalities; many of the victims were killed in their cars while trying to flee.[8][9]

By the time the 14 major fires were extinguished, 24 lives were lost, 3,710 homes were destroyed and 750,043 acres were blackened. In addition, countless miles of power lines were damaged, communication systems destroyed, watersheds reduced to bare scorched soils and thousands of people were forced into evacuation centers, unsure if they would have a home to return to—many did not."[10]

We had rain in Southern California until end of October 2003 it arrived on Halloween 2003, after the wildfires put out.

Fires[]

Below is a list of fires that exceeded 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) during the 2003 fire season.[3] The list is taken from CAL FIRE's list of large fires.

Name County Acres Km2 Start Date Contained Date Notes
Riverside 12,000 48.6 February 23, 2003 February 23, 2003
Tulare 3,000 12.1 May 3, 2003 May 3, 2003
San Joaquin 6,804 27.5 June 1, 2003 June 1, 2003
Kern 1,155 4.7 June 29, 2003 June 2, 2003 2 structures destroyed
San Luis Obispo 1,200 4.9 July 20, 2003 July 22, 2003 18 structures destroyed
Tuolumne 9,815 39.7 July 20, 2003 October 2, 2003
San Diego 18,705 75.7 July 16, 2003 July 26, 2003 2 structures destroyed
Riverside 1,898 7.7 August 18, 2003 August 20, 2003 1 structure destroyed
Humboldt 24,882 100.7 September 3, 2003 October 15, 2003 2 structures damaged
Riverside 2,397 9.7 October 21, 2003 October 23, 2003 3 structures destroyed
Grand Prix San Bernardino 66,894 270.7 October 21, 2003 November 5, 2003 136 structures destroyed
Ventura 63,991 259.0 October 23, 2003 November 14, 2003 8 structures destroyed
Los Angeles 8,650 35.0 October 24, 2003 October 24, 2003 1 structure destroyed
Simi Ventura 108,204 437.9 October 25, 2003 November 5, 2003 300 structures destroyed, 21 injuries
Cedar San Diego 273,246 1,105.8 October 25, 2003 December 5, 2003 2,820 structures destroyed, 15 fatalities
Old San Bernardino 91,281 369.4 October 25, 2003 November 14, 2003 1,003 structures destroyed, 6 fatalities
San Diego 46,291 187.3 October 26, 2003 October 27, 2003 1 residential structure and 5 outbuildings destroyed, 1 firefighter injured[4]
San Diego 46,000 186.2 October 26, 2003 October 28, 2003
Riverside 10,000 40.5 October 26, 2003 October 29, 2003 61 structures destroyed
San Diego 56,700 229.5 October 26, 2003 November 6, 2003 223 structures destroyed, 2 fatalities
Whitmore Shasta 1,200 4.9 October 27, 2003 October 30, 2003

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Cedar Fire Memorial". www.lakesidehistory.org. Archived from the original on 23 June 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2016.
  2. ^ a b "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State in 2003" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. 2004. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d "Large Fires 2003" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  4. ^ a b c d "Otay Fire". CalFire. October 27, 2003. Retrieved December 10, 2017.
  5. ^ Dr. Tomas Girnius; Tyler Hauteniemi; Scott Stransky (August 2008). "California Wildfire: How Large Can The Losses Be?" (PDF). AIRCurrents. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 12, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "CDF 2003 Fire Season Summary" (PDF). CalFire. May 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Jack A. Blackwell; Andrea Tuttle (2004). "California Fire Siege 2003: The Story" (PDF). CalFire. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  8. ^ Mutch, R.W. "FACES: The Story of the Victims of Southern California‘s 2003 Fire Siege", by Robert W. Mutch; Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center; July 2007.
  9. ^ USDA "The 2003 San Diego County Fire Siege Fire safety Review"; USDA Forest Service; 2003.
  10. ^ The California Fire Siege 2003: The Story – October 21 - November 4, 2003 by J.A. Blackwell & A. Tuttle; Pacific Southwest Region U.S. Forest Service & California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection 2003.

External links[]

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