August 2020 California lightning wildfires information
An overview of major wildfires in California during August in the year 2020.
August 2020 California lightning wildfires
NASA satellite image of the wildfires on August 24, 2020
Date(s)
August 11, 2020 (2020-08-11) – January 5, 2021 (2021-01-05)
Location
California
Statistics[2]
Total fires
650[1]
Total area
Over 2,529,000 acres (1,023,450 ha)[1]
Impacts
Deaths
23[3]
Non-fatal injuries
43
Structures destroyed
3,586+
Damage
Unknown
Ignition
Cause
Lightning
2020 Western U.S. wildfires
Multiple wildfires burning near the Pacific coast of the U.S. on September 9, 2020
Affected states
Arizona (Maricopa)
California (August)
Colorado
Nevada
New Mexico
Oregon
Utah
Washington (Labor Day)
Background
2020–23 North American drought
Wildfires in the United States
Largest wildfire by state
Arizona - Bush (193,455 acres)
California - August Complex (1,032,648 acres)
Colorado - Cameron Peak (208,913 acres)
Nevada - Meadow Valley (59,265 acres)
New Mexico - Cub (25,950 acres)
Oregon - Santiam (402,274 acres)
Utah - East Fork (89,765 acres)
Washington - Pearl Hill (223,730 acres)
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The August 2020 California lightning wildfires (also referred to as the August lightning siege or August wildfire siege) were a series of 650 wildfires that ignited across Northern California in mid-August 2020, due to a siege of dry lightning from rare, massive summer thunderstorms, which were caused by an unusual combination of very hot, dry air at the surface, dry fuels, and advection of moisture from the remains of Tropical Storm Fausto northward into the Bay Area.[4][5] These fires burned between 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km2) to 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) within a 2–3 week period. The August 2020 lightning fires included three enormous wildfires: the SCU Lightning Complex, the August Complex, and the LNU Lightning Complex. On September 10, 2020, the August Complex set a record for the single-largest wildfire in the modern history of California, reaching a total area burned of 471,185 acres (1,907 km2). On September 11, the August Complex merged with the Elkhorn Fire, another massive wildfire of 255,039 acres (1,032 km2), turning the August Complex into a monster wildfire of 746,607 acres (3,021 km2).[6]
The three major Bay Area fires, the SCU, LNU, and the CZU Lightning Complex, collectively burned about 846,000 acres (3,420 km2) by mid-September 2020, destroyed 2,723 structures, and took 6 lives.[7]
^ abVera, Amir; Lynch, Jamiel (August 23, 2020). "Deadly California wildfires scorch more than 1 million acres with no end in sight". CNN. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
^"California Daily Wildfire Update". CAL FIRE. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
^Batey, Eve (August 24, 2020). "At Least Seven Dead and 1.1 Million Acres Burned in California Wildfires". Eater SF. Retrieved August 24, 2020.
^"Cal Fire 72 hour activity". twitter.com. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
^"Moisture from Tropical Storm Fausto fuels NorCal thunderstorms". KTLA. August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
^Michele Chandler (September 11, 2020). "What we know Thursday about North State fires: Elkhorn merges with August Complex to create 726K-acre monster". Redding.com. Redding Record Searchlight. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
^"'Minimal Fire' In Santa Cruz Mountains CZU Complex; LNU, SCU Complexes Near Total Containment". CBS Bay Area. September 15, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
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