Major forest fires in Southern California (USA)

The forests of California (United States) are plagued by several fires, to the point of threatening the surroundings of residential suburbs.

Spatial and temporal information about the event

• Start date: 07/11/2024
• End date: 07/11/2024
• Pays : UNITED STATES [Statistiques du pays]
• Continent : Americas
• Subcontinent: North America
• Localisation fine : California
• Other countries concerned:
• Lat / long : 34.3135 / -118.9624

Phenomenology of the event

• Origin : Climate
• Hazard: Forest fires
• Danger: –
• Sub-peril: –

Consequences of the event

• Number of killed: –
• Number of injured: –
• Number of evacuees: 10000
• Number of affected: –
• Number of homeless people: –
• Cost (in millions of $): ND

Other information

The forests of California (United States) are plagued by several fires, to the point of threatening the surroundings of residential suburbs. Under the effect of violent winds, sometimes reaching 130 km/h, the fires consumed 3,600 hectares of land and numerous homes. The firefighters are on the job. Although some vehicles were saved from the flames, the material damage was considerable.

The fire triggered evacuation orders Wednesday for more than 10,000 people as it threatened 3,500 structures in suburban communities, ranches and agricultural areas around Camarillo. The fire grew from less than about 1.2 square kilometers to more than 62 square kilometers in just over five hours.

First responders pleaded with residents to evacuate. MPs made contact with 14,000 people to urge them to leave as embers spread for miles and ignited new flames.

Meanwhile, to the south, Los Angeles County Fire Department crews worked to contain a wildfire near Broad Beach in Malibu as authorities briefly closed Pacific Coast Highway as flames burned near of multi-million dollar properties. Residents were told to shelter in place as planes dropped water on the Broad Fire, which spanned 20 hectares. Firefighters said two structures burned.

Wednesday’s fires were burning in the same areas as other recent destructive fires, including the 2018 Woolsey Fire, which killed three people and destroyed 1,600 homes near Los Angeles, and the 2017 Thomas Fire, which destroyed more than a thousand homes and other structures in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.

United States: Forest fires since 2001

• Number of events: 1130
• Number of victims: 549 dead, 1222 injured
• Average severity (out of 6): 2.39 [+ d’info]
• The 5 most serious events:
  1. 05/07/2020: Giant forest fires in all western states of the USA: 2.1 million ha burned (USA) [Détails]
  2. 07/08/2023: Forest fires on the island of Maui (Hawaii – USA): 97 dead and missing [Détails]
  3. 08/11/2018: Major forest fires kill 91 people and devastate several thousand hectares in California (USA) [Détails]
  4. 10/10/2017: California in the grip of major fires: 43 dead [Détails]
  5. 03/08/2006: 400,000 ha burned in Texas and New Mexico [Détails]

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United States: natural disasters since 2001

• Country Risk Index: 234 (15th worldwide out of 214 countries) [+ d’info]
• Number of events: 3505
• Number of victims: 11,984 dead, 19,365 injured
• Average severity (out of 6): 2.08 [+ d’info]
• The 5 most serious events:
  1. 09/27/2022: Hurricane Ian devastates Western Cuba and the South-East of the USA: 152 dead [Détails]
  2. 05/07/2020: Giant forest fires in all western states of the USA: 2.1 million ha burned (USA) [Détails]
  3. 08/26/2005: Katrina devastates the southern USA: 1836 dead [Détails]
  4. 09/25/2024: Hurricane Helene hits the Mexican Yucatan Peninsula and the South-East of the USA: 369 dead and missing [Détails]
  5. 02/07/2021: Canada, the USA and northern Mexico in the grip of an intense cold snap and snowy episodes [Détails]

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Source: BD Catnat database

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Real-time statistics

Forest fires around the world since 2001

• Number of events: 3302
• Number of victims: 3213 dead, 17268 injured
• Average severity (out of 6): 2.25 [+ d’info]
• The 5 most affected countries: United States (1130), France (535), Canada (166), Australia (154), China (135)
• The 5 most serious events:
  1. 05/10/2019: Fires cover 11.7 million hectares in New South Wales and Queensland (Australia) [Détails]
  2. 05/07/2020: Giant forest fires in all western states of the USA: 2.1 million ha burned (USA) [Détails]
  3. 09/07/2015: Gigantic forest fires in East Sumatra (Indonesia) [Détails]
  4. 06/27/2021: Hundreds of forest fires in the Western Canadian provinces and the NW USA: 5 dead [Détails]
  5. 05/05/2023: Numerous forest fires in Western Canada: 3 dead [Détails]

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Source: BD Catnat database