| 2019 California wildfires | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Smoke from the Kincade Fire on October 24 as viewed from GOES-17 | |
| Statistics[1] | |
| Total fires | 7,860 |
| Total area | 259,823 acres (105,147 ha) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths | 3 |
| Non-fatal injuries | 22 |
| Structures destroyed | 703 [2] |
| Damage | US$163 million (suppression efforts)[3] |
| Map | |
 A map of wildfires in California in 2019, using Cal Fire data | |
| Season | |
← 2018
2020 → | |
By the end of 2019, according to Cal Fire and the US Forest Service, 7,860 wildfires were recorded across the U.S. state of California, totaling an estimated of 259,823 acres (105,147 hectares) of burned land.[1] These fires caused 22 injuries, 3 fatalities, and damaged or destroyed 732 structures.[4] The 2019 California fire season was less active than that of the two previous years (2017 and 2018), which set records for acreage, destructiveness, and deaths.
In late October, the Kincade Fire became the largest fire of the year, burning 77,758 acres (31,468 ha) in Sonoma County by November 6.
Massive preemptive public safety power shutoff events in 2019 were controversial. Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric preemptively shut off power to 800,000 electric customers to reduce the risk of wildfires by preventing electrical arcing in high winds from their above-ground power lines.[5][6] While large areas were without power for days, people in fire danger areas had trouble getting information, and life support equipment would not work without backup power.[7]
- ^ a b "2019 Incident Archive". CalFire. State of California. 2020. Archived from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved September 11, 2020.
- ^ "2019 Incident Archive". CALFIRE. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ National Large Incident Year-to-Date Report (PDF) (Report). Geographic Area Coordination Center. October 21, 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 21, 2019.
- ^ "2019 Fire Season". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
- ^ Morris, J.D; Cabanatuan, Michael (October 9, 2019). "PG&E: Massive power shut-off to hit 800,000 customers, could extend nearly a week". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ "Wildfires rage in California as residents scramble without power". CBS News. October 10, 2019. Retrieved December 22, 2019.
- ^ "Wildfires rage in California as residents scramble without power". CBS News. October 10, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.