October 2017 Northern California wildfires
Copernicus Sentinel-3A satellite picture, October 9
LocationNorthern California
Statistics[1]
Total fires250[1]
Total areaAt least 245,000 acres (99,148 ha)
Cost~$14.5 billion (2017 USD)[2][3]
Date(s)October 8–31, 2017
(contained)
Buildings destroyed8,900
Deaths44 civilians[4]
Non-fatal injuries192[5][6]
🌍
Location of Northern California wildfires
The 2017 Northern California wildfires from October 7 to October 14

The October 2017 Northern California wildfires, also known as the Northern California firestorm, North Bay Fires, and the Wine Country Fires[7] were a series of 250 wildfires that started burning across the state of California, United States, beginning in early October. Twenty-one became major fires that burned at least 245,000 acres (99,148 ha).[1]

The wildfires broke out throughout Napa, Lake, Sonoma, Mendocino, Butte, and Solano Counties during severe fire weather conditions, effectively leading to a major red flag warning for much of the Northern California area. Pacific Gas and Electric reported that red flag conditions existed in 44 of the 49 counties in its service area.[8] Seventeen separate wildfires were reported at that time.[9] These fires included the Tubbs Fire (which grew to become the most destructive wildfire in the history of California up until that time - fires in 2018 were more destructive),[1][10] the Atlas Fire, Nuns Fire, and others.

These wildfires were also the most destructive ones of the 2017 California wildfire season. The October 2017 fires were the costliest group of wildfires on record at the time, causing around $14.5 billion (2017 USD) in damages, including $11 billion in insured losses and $1.5 billion in fire suppression costs,[2][3] surpassing the 1991 Oakland firestorm, which until then had been the single costliest fire on record.[11][12] In addition, the Northern California fires were predicted to cost the US economy at least $85 billion.[13] In 2018, the Camp Fire surpassed the October 2017 fires to become the single-costliest fire on record, causing an estimated $16.5 billion (2018 USD) in property damage.[14]

Owing to the extreme conditions, shortly after the fires ignited on October 8 and 9, they rapidly grew to become extensive, full-scale incidents spanning from 1,000 acres (400 hectares) to well over 20,000 acres (8,100 ha), each within a single day. By October 14, the fires had burned more than 210,000 acres (85,000 ha)[1] while forcing 90,000 people to evacuate from their homes.[15] In total, the Northern California fires killed 44 people[4] and hospitalized at least 192 others,[16][5] making this one of the deadliest wildfire events in the United States during the past century.[17][18][1][19][20]

Weather

Days prior to the wildfires, the National Weather Service had begun issuing red-flag warnings throughout much of northern California as conditions were expected to become extremely volatile, with winds expected to be gusting between 25 and 35 miles per hour (40 and 56 km/h) from the north to the south.[21] By the evening of October 8, the Diablo winds were reported gusting up to 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) within the affected areas as over a dozen wildfires began to break out.[22]

Impact and reaction

Many of those killed in the fires are believed to have died late on October 8 or early on October 9, 2017, when most of the fires broke out overnight. Most of the victims were elderly, though the ages of the victims ranged from 14 to 100 years old.[23]

On October 9, California governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for the counties of Napa, Sonoma, Yuba, Butte, Lake, Mendocino, Nevada, and Orange, and sent a letter to the White House requesting a major disaster declaration.[24][25] President Donald Trump approved the disaster declaration on October 10.[24] That evening, Governor Brown issued an emergency declaration for Solano County.[24] Surveying the region, representative Mike Thompson of California's 5th congressional district said, "I fully expect this will be the worst fire disaster in California history."[24]

More than 10,000 firefighters battled the blaze, using more than 1,000 fire engines and other equipment, with crews arriving from as far away as Canada and Australia.[15][23]

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) reported mobilizing 4,300 workers to restore power.[8] It also said that more than 350,000 customers had lost electric service and 42,000 customers gas service since the wildfires began on October 8. By October 14, PG&E had restored electricity to 92% and gas service to 16,800 of the customers affected.[20][8]

Reinsurance broker Aon Benfield stated that these are the costliest wildfires in U.S. history, with an estimated eight billion U.S. dollars in insured losses. The largest portion of these losses was to residential property. Additional losses were to automobiles, commercial property including business interruption insurance, and to crops. Many of the losses were in urban areas not historically prone to wildfire exposure.[26]

Air pollution

The wildfires caused severe air quality problems around the Bay Area.

By October 12, the air quality in the city of Napa was ranked the poorest in the nation, due to high levels of particulates and ozone.[27] By October 13, air quality in the city reached the "hazardous" level, the most dangerous on the Environmental Protection Agency scale.[20] In Solano County, over 250 people were sickened by smoke inhalation, and sought care at hospitals. Twenty-three were admitted to emergency rooms.[27]

By October 12, smoke from the wildfires had spread nearly 100 miles, with "unhealthy" air quality indices registered in the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Rafael.[27] Due to the poor air quality, San Francisco State University canceled classes, and outdoor activities were canceled in a number of cities, including Danville, Palo Alto, and Walnut Creek.[28] Visibility issues spurred the Federal Aviation Administration to implement a ground delay program at San Francisco International Airport, and nearly 280 flights were canceled over a three-day period.[29] Over a week after the fires started, flights continued to be canceled and delayed due to poor visibility from the smoke.[30]

Fires

Name County Acres Start date Containment date Deaths Notes Ref
Cherokee Butte8,417 October 8, 2017 October 16, 2017 [31]
Atlas Napa, Solano51,624 October 8, 2017 October 28, 2017 6 781 structures destroyed, 120 structures damaged [17][32]
Tubbs Napa, Sonoma36,807 October 8, 2017 October 31, 2017 22 5,643 structures destroyed, 317 structures damaged, 1 injured [1][17][33]
Nuns Napa, Sonoma56,556 October 8, 2017 October 30, 2017 3 Merged with the Norrbom, Adobe, Partrick, Pressley, and Oakmont Fires. 1,355 structures destroyed [34][4]
Redwood Valley Mendocino36,523 October 9, 2017 October 26, 2017 9 545 structures destroyed, 43 injured [35][17][36]
La Porte Butte6,151 October 9, 2017 October 19, 2017 [37]
Cascade Yuba9,989 October 9, 2017 October 19, 2017 4 143 residential and 123 outbuildings destroyed [38]
Sulphur Lake2,207 October 9, 2017 October 26, 2017 150 structures destroyed [39]
37 Fire Sonoma1,660 October 9, 2017 October 12, 2017 25 structures destroyed, 55 structures damaged [1]
Pocket Sonoma17,357 October 9, 2017 October 31, 2017 [40]
Lobo Nevada821 October 9, 2017 October 18, 2017 At least 30 structures destroyed [41]
Bear Santa Cruz391 October 16, 2017 October 27, 2017 4 structures destroyed, 7 injuries [6]

Cherokee Fire

The Cherokee Fire broke out on the evening of Sunday, October 8, near Oroville in Butte County just after 9 PM PDT. Reportedly igniting near Cherokee Road, the fire quickly expanded from hundreds to thousands of acres within a few hours of burning as it threatened nearby Oroville and surrounding rural neighborhoods.[42]

Atlas Fire

Aerial view of smoke from the 2017 fires in Napa and Sonoma Counties, California, on October 12 from near the south end of Lake Berryessa, nearest to the Atlas fire and looking toward the Nuns fire. Point Reyes is visible in the distance.

The Atlas Fire burned Napa County, north of the city of Napa, near Napa Soda Springs.[32] On October 29, the fire had burned 51,057 acres (20,662 ha) and was 100% contained.[32]

Tubbs Fire

Aerial view of smoke from the Tubbs and Pocket fires, with the north end of Lake Berryessa, October 12
Landsat 8 OLI bands 753, Napa, Sonoma fires of October 2017

The Tubbs Fire started near Tubbs Lane in Calistoga on the evening of October 8, 2017, and burned at least 34,000 acres (13,759 ha).[24][43] In the Fountain Grove area numerous homes, the Fountaingrove Inn, the historic Round Barn, and a Hilton resort were destroyed.[44] By October 14, the death toll from this fire alone had risen to 20.[20] By October 20, the Tubbs Fire had become the most destructive wildfire in the history of California.[1][10] This was later surpassed by the Camp Fire (2018).

A filing by PG&E to the judge overseeing PG&E's probation for the 2010 San Bruno fire said that the Tubbs Fire may have started with privately owned equipment on private property for which PG&E was not responsible.[45]

Nuns Fire

The Nuns Fire, centered in the areas to the east and north of the city of Sonoma, merged with the Norrbom fire on October 11.[46] The Adobe fire merged with Nuns/Norrbom on October 12.[1] The Partrick fire joined the four-fire conflagration on October 13.[28] By October 16, the combined fire, which now also included the Pressley fire, covered over 48,000 acres (19,000 ha).[34] On October 18, the Oakmont Fire merged into the Nuns Fire, and the combined fire grew to over 54,000 acres (22,000 ha) in size.[1]

Investigation

Based on the investigation by CalFire, it has been found that Pacific Gas & Electric equipment was the cause of all of the individual fires except for the Tubbs Fire.[47] In January 2019 CalFire determined the Tubbs Fire was caused by incorrectly maintained electrical equipment owned by a private landowner.[48] However, in August 2019 a fast-track jury trial was scheduled to revisit whether or not PG&E was the cause of the Tubbs Fire.[49][50][51]

News media noted reports of wind-damaged power equipment around the time the fires were starting.[52] Pacific Gas & Electric stated that strong winds had affected the utility's power lines in the North Bay area on late October 8 and early October 9.[53] A California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) spokesperson stated that investigators were considering this among other possible causes.[52]

The California Public Utilities Commission sent PG&E a notification to preserve equipment, emails, and documents relevant to the utility's tree-trimming program.[54]

CAL FIRE Director Ken Pimlott discouraged premature speculation of causes, stating that, "The facts will come out when the investigations are done."[52]

Wildfire victim claims

On July 1, 2020, the PG&E Fire Victim Trust (FVT) was established as part of the reorganization plan[55] of the 2019 bankruptcy of PG&E to administer the claims of the wildfire victims.[56][57] Also on July 1, PG&E funded the Fire Victim Trust (FVT) with $5.4 billion in cash and 22.19% of stock in the reorganized PG&E, which covers most of the obligations of its settlement for the wildfire victims.[58][59][60] PG&E has two more payments totaling $1.35 billion in cash, scheduled to be paid in January 2021 and January 2022, to complete its obligations to the wildfire victims.[61]

Claimants are wildfire victims from the 2017 North Bay Fires, 2015 Butte Fire, and 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California.[55] The 2017 Tubbs Fire is considered to be one of the 2017 North Bay Fires.[57] The court case for the Tubbs Fire was superseded by the PG&E Restructuring Support Agreement (RSA) of December 9, 2019[62] and by the PG&E bankruptcy reorganization plan, wherein PG&E accepted liability for the Tubbs Fire.[63]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "California Statewide Fire Summary". CAL FIRE. State of California. October 30, 2017. Archived from the original on June 2, 2018. Retrieved October 30, 2017.
  2. 1 2 "California wildfire industry losses put at $13.2bn by Aon Benfield". Artemis.bm. January 25, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "California spent nearly $1.8 billion last year fighting major wildfires". Los Angeles Times. March 1, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 Emslie, Alex (29 November 2017). "October Fires' 44th Victim: A Creative, Globetrotting Engineer With 'the Kindest Heart'". KQED News. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  5. 1 2 "Hospitals say at least 185 treated for injuries". Wilx10 News. October 10, 2017. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  6. 1 2 "Bear Fire". CAL FIRE. October 19, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  7. ↑ "One death and 1,500 structures lost in Northern California firestorm, among worst in state's history". Los Angeles Times. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on 12 September 2019. Retrieved 9 October 2017.
  8. 1 2 3 "Power-line restart device scrutinized". San Francisco Chronicle. November 2, 2017. p. A10.
  9. ↑ Fuller, Thomas; Bromwich, Jonah Engel; Turkewitz, Julie (October 10, 2017). "Wildfires Sweep Across Northern California; 13 Are Dead". The New York Times. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires" (PDF). CAL FIRE. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 26, 2019. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  11. ↑ Dale Kasler (December 8, 2017). "Wine country wildfire costs now top $9 billion, costliest in California history". The Sacramento Bee. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  12. ↑ Jonathan J. Cooper (December 7, 2017). "October's Wine Country Fires Were the Costliest Ever". TIME Money. Archived from the original on October 8, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2017.
  13. ↑ "Devastating California wildfires predicted to cost US economy $85 billion; Containment may take weeks". Fox News Weather Center. October 13, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
  14. ↑ Reyes-Velarde, Alejandra (January 11, 2019). "California's Camp fire was the costliest global disaster last year, insurance report shows". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  15. 1 2 "California firefighters battle winds as number of people evacuated hits 90,000". The Guardian. Associated Press. October 14, 2017. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  16. ↑ FOX. "California wildfires by the numbers: 40 killed, 5,700 homes destroyed". KTVU. Archived from the original on 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
  17. 1 2 3 4 Uria, Daniel; DuVall, Eric (October 14, 2017). "California wildfire death toll rises to 38, earthquake hits Mendocino County". UPI. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Northern California Wildfires: Emergency Alerts Scrutinized Amid Deadly Blazes". NBC News. Associated Press. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  19. ↑ "California fires: deadliest week in history kills 31 as blaze rages on". The Guardian. Associated Press. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  20. 1 2 3 4 Ho, Vivian; Lyons, Jenna (15 October 2017). "Live updates: Northern Calif. wildfires cause estimated $3 billion damage; death toll still 40". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
  21. ↑ "Red Flag Warnings". CAL FIRE. October 7, 2017. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  22. ↑ Lin II, Rong-Gong (October 9, 2017). "'Diablo winds' fuel widespread destruction from fires in California wine country". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  23. 1 2 "Firefighters beating back deadly California wildfires, official says". The Guardian. Associated Press. October 15, 2017. Retrieved October 15, 2017.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Lyons, Jenna; Rubenstein, Steve; Aleaziz, Hamed; Fimrite, Peter; Tucker, Jill (October 11, 2017). "Live updates: 23 dead in Wine Country fires; parts of city of Napa warned". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  25. ↑ Wong, Julia Carrie; Gee, Alastair (October 9, 2017). "California wildfires: 10 killed in 'unprecedented' wine country blaze". The Guardian. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  26. ↑ Ling, Danielle (November 21, 2017). "2017 to be one of the costliest catastrophe loss years ever, Fitch says". Property Casualty 360°. ALM Media, LLC. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
  27. 1 2 3 Lyons, Jenna; Rubenstein, Steve; Gutierrez, Melody (October 12, 2017). "Live updates: Fire death toll at 29 in Northern California fires". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  28. 1 2 Lyons, Jenna; Ma, Annie; Egelko, Bob; Gutierrez, Melody (October 13, 2017). "Live updates: Death toll rises to 32 in Northern California wildfires". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  29. ↑ Ioannou, Filipa (October 13, 2017). "Wildfire smoke continues to delay, cancel flights at SFO". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  30. ↑ Ioannou, Filipa (October 17, 2017). "Smoke continues to cause delays and cancellations at SFO". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Cherokee Fire". CAL FIRE. October 8, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  32. 1 2 3 "Atlas Fire". CAL FIRE. October 8, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  33. ↑ "Tubbs Fire". CAL FIRE. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on October 14, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  34. 1 2 "Nuns Fire". CAL FIRE. October 9, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  35. ↑ Peter Fimrite & Kurtis Alexander, 17-year-old dies of burns, becomes 43rd victim of California wildfires, San Francisco Chronicle (October 30, 2017).
  36. ↑ "Redwood Valley Fire". CAL FIRE. October 9, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  37. ↑ "La Porte Fire". CAL FIRE. October 9, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  38. ↑ "Cascade Fire". CAL FIRE. October 9, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  39. ↑ "Sulphur Fire". CAL FIRE. October 9, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  40. ↑ "Pocket Fire". CalFire. October 12, 2017. Retrieved May 26, 2018.
  41. ↑ "Lobo Fire". Inci Web. Archived from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  42. ↑ "Crews Working Fast-Moving Fire in Oroville Near Cherokee Road". FOX 40. October 9, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Santa Rosa mayor: 2,834 homes destroyed in Tubbs Fire". KCRA. October 12, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Fire destroys Paradise Ridge Winery, Fountaingrove Inn, Willi's Wine Bar, other local landmarks". The Press Democrat. October 9, 2017. Archived from the original on October 10, 2017. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
  45. ↑ Erin Allday; Roland Li (January 1, 2019). "PG&E faces new scrutiny: Role in wildfires: Many workers spotted Butte County blaze early". San Francisco Chronicle. p. A1.
  46. ↑ "Incident Update" (PDF). Cal Fire. October 12, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  47. ↑ "Cal Fire: PG&E equipment caused 12 Northern California fires". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2018-06-10.
  48. ↑ Callahan, Mary (January 24, 2019). "Cal Fire: Private equipment, not PG&E, caused Tubbs fire". Santa Rosa Press Democrat. Retrieved January 24, 2019.
  49. ↑ Johnson, Julie (August 16, 2019). "Bankruptcy judge clears way for trial against PG&E on Tubbs fire". The Press Democrat.
  50. ↑ Morris, J.D. (August 16, 2019). "PG&E's role in the 2017 Tubbs Fire to go to jury trial". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  51. ↑ Katherine Blunt (19 August 2019). "PG&E Shares Tumble After Judge Allows Trial on Whether It Caused Wildfire". The Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Wikidata Q114357413. Retrieved 2022-10-03.
  52. 1 2 3 Albarazi, Hannah (12 October 2017). "Downed lines, equipment failures among possible causes of Northern California wildfires". CBS San Francisco. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  53. ↑ Smith, Dakota (11 October 2017). "Cause of raging Northern California fires remains under investigation, officials say". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  54. ↑ Baker, David R. (October 12, 2017). "California regulators tell PG&E to preserve fire evidence". San Francisco Chronicle. SFGate. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
  55. 1 2 PG&E (March 17, 2020). "Disclosure Statement to the Plan" (PDF download). Prime Clerk. pp. 24–29.
  56. ↑ "PG&E Fire Victim Trust Begins Accepting Online Claims From California Wildfire Victims". businesswire. August 21, 2020.
  57. 1 2 "Fire Victim Trust - Frequently Asked Questions" (PDF). firevictimtrust.com. August 17, 2020.
  58. ↑ Penn, Ivan (July 1, 2020). "PG&E, Troubled California Utility, Emerges From Bankruptcy". The New York Times.
  59. ↑ Iovino, Nicholas (July 1, 2020). "PG&E Emerges From Chapter 11 Bankruptcy". Courthouse News Service.
  60. ↑ "Fire Victim Trust Funded July 1st". PR Newswire. July 1, 2020.
  61. ↑ Iovino, Nicholas (June 12, 2020). "PG&E Boosts Stock for Fire Victims in Bankruptcy Case". Courthouse News Service.
  62. ↑ "RESTRUCTURING SUPPORT AGREEMENT". U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. December 9, 2019.
  63. ↑ PG&E (March 17, 2020). "Disclosure Statement to the Plan" (PDF download). Prime Clerk. pp. 9, 159.
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