An overview of major wildfires in California during the year 2021
2021 California wildfires
Smoke from multiple wildfires in California
Date(s)
January 14 – December 16
Statistics[1]
Total fires
8,619
Total area
2,569,009 acres (1,039,641 ha)
Impacts
Deaths
3
Non-fatal injuries
22
Structures destroyed
3,629
Damage
Unknown
Season
← 2020
2022 →
The 2021 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the U.S. state of California. By the end of 2021 a total of 8,835 fires were recorded, burning 2,568,948 acres (1,039,616 ha) across the state.[1] Approximately 3,629 structures were damaged or destroyed by the wildfires, and at least seven firefighters and two civilians were injured.[1]
The wildfire season in California experienced an unusually early start amid an ongoing drought and historically low rainfall and reservoir levels.[2] In January 2021 alone, 297 fires burned 1,171 acres (4.74 km2) on nonfederal land according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, which is almost triple the number of fires and more than 20 times the acreage of the five-year average for January.[3][2] The January fires were exacerbated by unseasonably strong Santa Ana winds, and some of them burned in the same areas as previous fires like the CZU Lightning Complex.[4]
The long term trend is that wildfires in the state are increasing due to climate change in California.[5][6] The 2021 wildfire season was exceptionally severe in California, although it did not approach the extent of the previous year's wildfire season, which was the largest season in the state's recorded history. As of July 11, more than three times as many acres have burned compared to the previous year through that date, with drought, extreme heat, and reduced snowpack contributing to the severity of the fires.[7][8][9] The state also faces an increased risk of post-wildfire landslides.[10][11]
As of August 18, 2021, the state of California was facing "unprecedented fire conditions" as multiple fires including the Dixie Fire, McFarland Fire, Caldor Fire, and others, raged on.[12] The USDA Forest Service temporarily closed all of California's national forests at the end of August to mitigate the impact of potential fires.[13]
On October 18, 2021, much of the state—particularly Northern California, where the majority of the significant fires had been located—received its first major precipitation since the start of the wildfire season.[14] This significantly lowered wildfire risk in the region.
^ abc"Fire Statistics". CAL FIRE. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
^ ab"California's rainfall is at historic lows. That spells trouble for wildfires and farms". The Guardian. February 11, 2021. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
^Arthur, Damon (February 2, 2021). "A bad omen for 2021? There were 297 wildfires in California in January, nearly tripling five-year average". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 2, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
^"Powerful Santa Ana wind event kindles January wildfires in California". The Washington Post. January 20, 2021. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
^"Wildfires & Climate Change". California Air Resources Board. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.
^Field, Rebecca Miller,Katharine Mach,Chris. "Climate Change Is Central to California's Wildfires". Scientific American. Archived from the original on January 14, 2022. Retrieved July 8, 2021.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^Popovich, Nadja (June 11, 2021). "How Severe Is the Western Drought? See For Yourself". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
^Smith, Hayley (July 12, 2021). "California hit by record-breaking fire destruction: 'Climate change is real, it's bad'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
^Meeks, Alexandra; Silverman, Hollie; Sutton, Joe (July 13, 2021). "Wildfires in California this year have scorched 3 times more land than in the same period of last year's record season". CNN. Archived from the original on July 16, 2021. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
^Brackett, Ron (March 2, 2021). "Landslides After Wildfires in Southern California Will Become More Common, New Study Says". The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
^"Post-wildfire landslides becoming more frequent in southern California". Science Daily. February 25, 2021. Archived from the original on March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
^Elamroussi, Aya; Chan, Stella (August 18, 2021). "'Unprecedented' conditions feed Northern California wildfire, forcing thousands to evacuate". CNN. Archived from the original on August 18, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
^Stuart, Gwynedd (September 10, 2021). "A New Podcast Explores How Fire Shaped the West—and How We Can Live with It Moving Forward". Los Angeles Magazine. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
^Duginski, Paul (October 13, 2021). "Late October rains could dampen wildfires and help with drought, forecasters say". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
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