| 2008 California wildfires | |
|---|---|
 Some of the wildfires as seen from space during the height of the summer outbreak on July 9, 2008. | |
| Statistics[3][4] | |
| Total fires | 6,255[1] |
| Total area | 1,593,690 acres (6,449.4 km2)[2] |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 32 (13 firefighters)[5] |
| Non-fatal injuries | At least 93[6] |
| Damage | Over $651.5 million (2008 USD)[1] |
| Season | |
← 2007
2009 → | |
The 2008 wildfire season was one of California's most devastating in the 21st century. While 6,255 fires occurred,[1] about two-thirds as many as in 2007, the total area burned— 1,593,690 acres (6,449.4 square kilometres)[2]—far exceeded that of previous years.[3]
By July 5, 2008, 328 wildfires were burning, and those fires were only 81% contained.[7] For the first time since 1977, the US military helped with ground-based firefighting, when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger dispatched 400 California National Guard troops, including Chief Medical Officer Susan Pangelinan, to manage fire lines.[8] He said the number of fires had stretched the state's fire-fighting resources thin. "One never has resources for 1,700 fires. Who has the resources for that?" Schwarzenegger said, adding, "Something is happening, clearly. There's more need for resources than ever before... it's fire season all year round."[9]
- ^ a b c "CAL FIRE 2008 Wildland Fire Summary" (PDF). CalFire. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 25, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2017.
- ^ a b "California Wildfires and Acres for all Jurisdictions" (PDF). CalFire. August 24, 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2022. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ a b "National Report of Wildland Fires and Acres Burned by State 2008" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
- ^ "Wildland Fire Accidents and Fatalities by Year" (PDF). National Interagency Fire Center. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 17, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2015.
- ^ "2008 June Fire Siege" (PDF). Cal Fire. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Cal fires 2008was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Moran, Nancy; Brandt, Nadja (July 5, 2008). "California's Wildfires Have Scorched 527,000 acres". Bloomberg. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
- ^ "Military joining fire battles up, down California". NBC News. July 2, 2008. Retrieved July 7, 2008.
- ^ Abdollah, Tami (July 5, 2008). "'Critical day' for growing Goleta fire; Big Sur blaze only 5% contained". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2008.