Witch Fire

The Witch Creek Fire, also known as the Witch Fire, was the second-largest wildfire of the 2007 California wildfire season, burning of land in San Diego County. Fanned by powerful Santa Ana winds, the Witch Creek Fire rapidly spread westward and consumed large portions of San Diego County. During its duration, flames reached high, and the Witch Fire exhibited the characteristics of a firestorm at its height. On the morning of October 22, 2007, about a day after the Witch Creek Fire had ignited, residents of San Diego County were ordered to evacuate through the Reverse 911 system. Eventually, the Witch Creek Fire led to the evacuations of 500,000 people across San Diego County. It also contributed to mass evacuations across much of Southern California, which saw 1,000,000 residents evacuate, the largest in Californian history. The Witch Fire caused at least $1.142 billion (equivalent to $ billion in ) in insured damages alone, becoming the costliest wildfire of 2007. the Witch Fire is the nineteenth-largest wildfire in modern California history, as well as the seventh-most destructive wildfire on record in California.

The Witch Creek Fire, also known as the Witch Fire, was the second-largest wildfire of the 2007 California wildfire season, burning of land in San Diego County. Fanned by powerful Santa Ana winds, the Witch Creek Fire rapidly spread westward and consumed large portions of San Diego County. During its duration, flames reached high, and the Witch Fire exhibited the characteristics of a firestorm at its height. On the morning of October 22, 2007, about a day after the Witch Creek Fire had ignited, residents of San Diego County were ordered to evacuate through the Reverse 911 system. Eventually, the Witch Creek Fire led to the evacuations of 500,000 people across San Diego County. It also contributed to mass evacuations across much of Southern California, which saw 1,000,000 residents evacuate, the largest in Californian history. The Witch Fire caused at least $1.142 billion (equivalent to $  billion in ) in insured damages alone, becoming the costliest wildfire of 2007. the Witch Fire is the nineteenth-largest wildfire in modern California history, as well as the seventh-most destructive wildfire on record in California.

Fire progression

The Witch Creek Fire started in Witch Creek Canyon near Santa Ysabel, at 12:35 p.m. PDT on Sunday, October 21, 2007, after powerful Santa Ana winds blew down a power line, releasing sparks into the wind. The Witch Fire quickly spread to San Diego Country Estates, Ramona, Rancho Bernardo, Poway, and Escondido. From there, the fire jumped over Interstate 15 and continued west, causing significant damage in Lake Hodges, Del Dios, and Rancho Santa Fe. Strong Santa Ana winds pushed the fires west towards the coast. San Diego County Sheriff William B. Kolendar stated that the Witch Creek Fire could be "well in excess of the Cedar Fire of 2003". While many coastal communities were evacuated as the fire moved west, the shifting winds prevented it from directly threatening those areas. By the evening of October 21, the Witch Creek Fire had expanded to .

Impacts

By mid-morning on October 22, thousands of evacuees were taking shelter in Qualcomm Stadium and other locations throughout San Diego. That afternoon, the Marines evacuated some planes from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar to other military bases in California and Arizona. The Navy moved all non-essential personnel from Naval Base San Diego barracks onto nearby vessels to accommodate refugees. The San Diego Wild Animal Park moved some animals to the on-site animal hospital for their protection. Both legal and illegal alien workers were endangered by the crisis, sometimes staying at work in the fields within mandatory evacuation zones. Many had lived in the canyons nearby and distrusted officials. When fleeing the fires, some were arrested, while others were turned away from shelters due to lack of adequate identification. The Witch Creek Fire forced the evacuation of at least 500,000 people from over 346,000 homes in San Diego County. Evacuation sites in San Diego County included Qualcomm Stadium, Escondido High School, Mission Hills High School, Poway High School, Mira Mesa Senior High School, and the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Many major roads were also closed as a result of the fires and smoke. On October 22, the California Highway Patrol closed Interstate 15 in both directions between State Routes 78 and 56. On October 24, the Ammo (Horno) Fire forced the closure of Interstate 5, as well as the Amtrak California Surfliner service between Oceanside and San Clemente. Traffic from Interstate 5 was being diverted to Interstate 15, which had reopened.

Aftermath

A total of 197,000 acres were burned by the Witch Fire. In addition, the fire killed two people, injured 40 firefighters, and destroyed 1,125 homes. The Witch Fire is estimated to have at least $1.142 billion (equivalent to $  billion in ) in insured damages alone. the Witch Fire is the eighteenth-largest wildfire in modern California history, as well as the seventh-most destructive wildfire on record in California. The California Public Utilities Commission ruled that in the Witch and Guejito fires, along with the Rice Fire, San Diego Gas & Electric had not trimmed back trees as state law requires. The power line that caused the Witch fires shorted three times in three hours, but the utility did not cut power to it for six hours. In August 2017, administrative law judges S. Pat Tsen and Sasha Goldberg ruled that the utility did not reasonably manage its facilities and that the wildfires were not outside of its control. Therefore, they ruled that the utility could not pass its uninsured costs along to its ratepayers. The PUC agreed in early December in a 5–0 vote. Legal claims after the fires totaled $5.6 billion (equivalent to $  billion in ), $2.4 billion (equivalent to $  billion ) after the utility settled 2,500 lawsuits for damages. The $379 million (equivalent to $  million ) it had sought to pass along to customers represented uninsured costs.

Notes

References

External links

Interagency State BAER Report: The Witch Fire Largest fires in San Diego County history from 10News Southern California's Worst Brush Fires

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1361965178 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.

Names in other languages