October 2007 California wildfires

October 2007 California wildfires
NASA satellite photo (provided by NSPO, Taiwan National Space Organization) from October 22, 2007, showing the active fire zones and smoke plumes.
Date(s)	October 20, 2007[1] – November 16, 2007[2]
Location	Southern California
Statistics
Total fires	30[3]
Burned area	972,147 acres (3,900 km2)[3][4][5][6]
Land use	Mixed, residential, and wildlands
Impacts
Deaths	17[5][7][8]
Non-fatal injuries	At least 160[3][6]
Structures destroyed	3,143
Damage	At least $2.393 billion (2007 USD)[9][10][8]
Ignition
Cause	Human; downed power lines; heat; vehicle fires, etc.

The October 2007 California wildfires, also known as the Fall 2007 California firestorm,^[11] were a series of about thirty wildfires (17 of which became major wildfires)^[8] that began igniting across Southern California on October 20. At least 1,500 homes were destroyed^[12] and approximately 972,147 acres (about 3,934 km², or 1,520 mi²) of land was burned from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border, surpassing the October 2003 California wildfires in scope, which were estimated to have burned 800,000 acres (3,200 km²).^[3] The wildfires killed a total of 14 people, with nine of them dying directly from the fires;^[13] 160 others were injured, including at least 124 firefighters.^[3][14] At their height, the raging fires were visible from space.^[15] These fires included the vast majority of the largest and deadliest wildfires of the 2007 California wildfire season. The only wildfire in 2007 that surpassed any of the individual October 2007 fires in size was the Zaca Fire.^[16]

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven California counties where fires were burning.^[17] President George W. Bush concurred, and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts.^[18] Over 6,000 firefighters worked to fight the blazes; they were aided by units of the United States Armed Forces,^[19] United States National Guard,^[20] almost 3,000 prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes,^[21] and 60 firefighters from the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Tecate.^[22] The fires forced approximately 1,000,000 people to evacuate from their homes, becoming the largest evacuation in California's history.^[23]

Major contributing factors to the extreme fire conditions were drought in Southern California, hot weather, and unusually strong Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching 85 mph (140 km/h).^[24] California's "fire season," which traditionally runs from June to October, has become a year-round threat, due to a mixture of perennial drought and the increasing number of homes built in canyons and on hillsides, surrounded by brush and forest.^[25]

The fires had numerous sources. Several were triggered by power lines damaged by the high winds.^[26][27] One fire^[which?] started when a semi-truck overturned.^[28] Another^[which?] was suspected to have been deliberately caused; the suspect was shot and killed in flight by state authorities.^[29] A 10-year-old boy admitted that he accidentally started the Buckweed Fire by playing with matches.^[30] The last active fire, the Harris, was fully extinguished on November 16, 2007, about 27 days after the series of wildfires had begun to ignite.^[2] The October 2007 wildfires caused over $2 billion (2007 USD) in insured property damages.^[9][10]