Dixie Fire

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Pyrocumulus (cloud of fire) caused by the Dixie Fire in Northern California in July 2021.
False color image of the Dixie Fires, July 29, 2021
Dixie Fire, August 4, 2021
Dixie Fire, August 4, 2021

The Dixie Fire is a forest fire during California's 2021 forest fire season that devastated large areas in Butte County , Plumas County , Lassen County, and Tehama Counties . The fire broke out on July 13, 2021, a few days after the extreme heat wave in North America in 2021 , allegedly as a result of a tree that fell on a power line and expanded significantly as a result. By August 17, it had grown to over 2,446 km² (604,511 acres ), prior to the Bootleg Fire in Oregonthe largest fire that raged in the United States in early August 2021 . It is the second largest forest fire on record in California after the August Complex from the 2020 forest fire season , the largest single fire (excluding fire complexes) in that state, and one of the most devastating fires in California history with more than 1,100 buildings destroyed. Likewise, with the outbreak of the Dixie Fire, six of the seven largest forest fires in California history have started since the summer of 2020. At times, more than 6,500 firefighters were deployed to contain it.

location

The fire is in a region that has been devastated by two other serious fires in recent years. To the south it borders on the area of ​​the North Complex Fire, which burned in the record season to date in 2020 and was the sixth largest in California history until the Dixie Fire. In the southwest it borders on the area of ​​the Camp Fire from the 2018 forest fire season , the deadliest fire in the history of California, which, among other things, had largely destroyed the city of Paradise . The Dixie Fire was named after a street near the place where it was created.

course

The fire was presumably triggered by a tree that fell on a power line, an official confirmation is not yet available. According to a report from utility company Pacific Gas and Electric , one of their employees found a burning tree hanging on a power line in a wooded area near the Cresta Dam after a power failure. Given the prevailing drought in California and driven by wind, this fire spreads quickly, so that the alarmed fire department was unable to bring the fire under control.

At the end of July, the Dixie Fire doubled its area in four days from 100,000 to almost 200,000 acres. The rapid spread was facilitated by a combination of adverse conditions that are favored by climate change : As a result of the previous heat wave and the drought prevailing in the western United States , the vegetation was parched and therefore easily inflammable, and there were also strong winds, among other things. A fire analyst referred to what he believed to be a "historic or unprecedented period of drought" and stated that conditions existed as early as mid-July that would otherwise only occur at the end of September or the beginning of October. He also gave the inflammability of the vegetation on a scale ranging from 1 to 100, with 99 to 100. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection also spoke of "fuels with historically low moisture content".

Fighting the fire was made more difficult by the steep, difficult-to-access terrain.

At the beginning of August, after the situation had calmed down, the fire spread rapidly. The reason for this were strong winds in combination with high temperatures and the very great drought. The authorities ordered the people of Greenville (approx. 1,000 residents) and Chester to evacuate immediately. From August 4th to 5th, the fire grew by more than 200 km² (50,000 acres) and traveled more than 22 km in 24 hours as it moved north. A day later it even grew by around 110,000 acres or around 450 km².

As of August 14, the fire threatened nearly 15,000 buildings. On August 17th, wind was moving towards Susanville , a town of approximately 15,000. In addition, Janesville, southeast of Susanville, was evacuated.

consequences

As a result of the fire, around 26,500 people in several counties were under evacuation requests. Some of them refused, with guns drawn, to comply with the request.

As of August 17, the fire had destroyed at least 1,180 buildings , making it the fourteenth most devastating fire in California history. At least 74 other buildings were damaged. Greenville was particularly hard hit. According to initial estimates, around 75% of the town's buildings were destroyed. The small town of Canyondam also burned in the fire.

In Chester, which was circled by the fire on two sides, the airport was hit, and various fires occurred within the city. Rescue workers had to move several residents who did not comply with the evacuation order to a makeshift protection zone in a baseball stadium. The fire also moved into Lassen Volcanic National Park . The national park was then closed.

As of August 14, one person from Greenville was still missing. Four firefighters were injured by a falling branch and had to be hospitalized.

There was also heavy air pollution due to the large amount of smoke . Parts of Plumas County in particular have recorded the worst air quality values ​​in the world. In various regions including San Francisco , people were asked to keep windows closed because of the unhealthy forest fire smoke.

The fire also repeatedly led to the formation of pyrocumulonimbus clouds, which caused light rain, but also dangerous winds and lightning strikes in the vicinity of the fire, which can further heat the fire or ignite new sources of fire. One of these clouds reached a height of more than 12 km. In this way the fire produced its own weather in phases.

A fire department spokesman said it was particularly worrying how early in the season the Dixie Fire occurred. In the past, he might have expected a Dixie Fire-like forest fire sometime in September, but not in July.

Web links

Commons : Dixie Fire  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Extensive Plumes from the Dixie Fire NASA Earth Observatory, July 31, 2021, accessed August 8, 2021
  2. ↑ a b California’s Dixie Fire Keeps on Growing NASA Earth Observatory, August 7, 2021, accessed August 8, 2021
  3. ↑ Dixie Fire . INCIWEB. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  4. ↑ Top 20 Largest California Wildfires . California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection . Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  5. ↑ a b c Dixie fire: eight missing in largest single wildfire in California history . In: The Guardian , August 7, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  6. ↑ a b Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires . Calfire. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  7. ^ Six of California's seven largest wildfires have erupted in the past year . In: The Washington Post , August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ a b c d Wildfire updates: Dixie Fire swells amid thunderstorms, crews expect another 'critical day' . In: The Sacramento Bee , August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  9. ↑ The Dixie Fire reignites trauma for people who survived California's deadliest wildfire in history . In: CNN , July 31, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  10. ↑ How do wildfires get their names? . In: The New York Times , August 6, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  11. ^ Dixie Fire becomes California's second megafire of the year . In: San Francisco Chronicle , July 20, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  12. ↑ Dixie fire scorches nearly 200,000 acres, doubling in size in days . In: Los Angeles Times , July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 26, 2021.
  13. ↑ a b c Anatomy of a monster: How the Dixie fire became California's biggest of the year . In: The Los Angeles Times , July 24, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  14. ↑ 'Very intense' fire activity ahead as Dixie Fire chars nearly 280,000 acres . In: Mercury News , August 4, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  15. ^ Raging Dixie fire burns homes, businesses in Greenville amid 'critical' conditions . In: The Los Angeles Times , August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  16. ↑ a b c d Dixie Fire Update: Firefighters Battle To Save Chester; 'We Lost Greenville Tonight'; Let Volcanic National Park Shut Down . In: CBS Local , August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
  17. ↑ Wildfire updates: Dixie Fire 3rd largest in California history, sends smoke to Sacramento . In: The Sacramento Bee , August 9, 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
  18. ^ The Dixie fire nears communities in the Sierra Nevada foothills. . In: The New York Times , August 17, 2021. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
  19. ↑ a b Giant fire in California. Eight missing people after "Dixie Fire" . In: n-tv.de , August 8, 2021. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
  20. ^ 'We lost Greenville': A California town is overrun by the Dixie Fire. . In: The New York Times , August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
  21. ^ Dixie Fire's huge pyro-cloud generated its own weather: lightning bolts, and even rain . In: San Francisco Chronicle , July 19, 2021. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
  22. ↑ California's largest wildfire is burning near scarred communities. . In: The New York Times , July 26, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.

Coordinates: 39 ° 52 ′ 17 ″  N , 121 ° 23 ′ 22 ″  W.