IT'S OFFICIAL; FIRES BURN >4 MILLION ACRES

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this

By Emily Hoeven, CalMatters

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.

Photo:  The remains of a burned home in Berryessa Highlands on Sept. 21, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

October 5, 2020 (San Diego) - California surpassed a staggering milestone Sunday:  more than four million acres have now burned in a record-defying fire season still far from over. That’s four Rhode Islands, three-and-a-half Grand Canyon National Parks, and a little more than one Connecticut.

It’s also more than double the 1.98 million acres burned in 2018, California’s previous modern-day record.

Also unfathomable: the size of the monstrous August Complex fire, which at 970,563 acres and growing dwarfs every other fire in recorded California history, none of which have passed the 500,000-acre mark. The massive conflagration gained steam Saturday amid gusty winds, forcing additional evacuations even as officials fear it could merge with the deadly Zogg Fire.

Meanwhile, firefighters over the weekend made progress on the Glass Fire, which has damaged at least 17 wineries and destroyed nearly 300 homes, establishing it as the most destructive blaze to confront California's famed Wine Country. More than 215 other wineries and nearly 100,000 people remain under mandatory evacuation or evacuation warnings.

Northern California is expected to see cooler weather, higher humidity and rain later in the week—which could help soothe fire-ravaged areas, tamp down flames and bring relief to residents choked by unhealthy air quality.

But rain brings problems, too — namely, the ability to poison California’s water supply with dangerous chemicals from burned buildings, trees and land, CalMatters' Rachel Becker reports. About two-thirds of the state’s water supply flows from forests susceptible to burning.

CalMatters is an independent public interest journalism venture covering California state politics and government.


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.