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140-639: The 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California 's Butte County was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California's history. The fire began on the morning of Thursday, November 8, 2018, when part of a poorly maintained Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) transmission line in the Feather River Canyon failed during strong katabatic winds . Those winds rapidly drove the Camp Fire through

280-463: A moratorium on new home construction in fire-prone areas. In September 2009 however, the Butte County Board of Supervisors called the grand jury report "not reasonable", citing improved building codes and fire prevention requirements as arguments against a moratorium. Despite these reports, Paradise city planners did not include study results in new plans. In 2009, the town of Paradise proposed

420-502: A Butte County civil grand jury report concluded that the roads leading from Paradise and Upper Ridge communities had "significant constraints" and "capacity limitations" on their use as evacuation routes. The report noted a combination of road conditions "which increases the fire danger and the possibility of being closed due to fire and or smoke", namely sharp curves, inadequate shoulders, and fire hazards adjacent to shoulders, such as "fire fuel and steep slopes". The report also recommended

560-451: A back fire is the term given to the process of lighting vegetation in such a way that it has to burn against the prevailing wind. This produces a slower moving and more controllable fire. Controlled burns utilize back burning during planned fire events to create a "black line" where fire cannot burn through. Back burning or backfiring is also done to stop a wildfire that is already in progress. Firebreaks are also used as an anchor point to start

700-466: A dirt road surrounded by barbed wire as the fire encroached. In the second, a fire captain and a firefighter received face and neck burns on November 9 when a propane tank exploded as they were defending a house from the fire. Summary of impact on population and first responders reported by Cal Fire. The fire forced the evacuation of Paradise , Magalia , Centerville , Concow , Pulga , Butte Creek Canyon , Berry Creek and Yankee Hill and threatened

840-725: A financial and cultural center. Substantial tensions during this era included nativist sentiments (primarily against Chinese immigrants), tensions between the increasing power of the Southern Pacific Railroad and small farmers, and the beginnings of the labor union movement. Northern California's economy is noted for being the de facto world leader in high-tech industry ( software , semiconductor /micro-electronics, biotechnology and medical devices /instruments), as well as being known for clean power , biomedical, government, and finance. Other significant industries include tourism, shipping, manufacturing, and agriculture. Its economy

980-402: A fuel ladder and begin an active crown fire . Predictions show thinned forests lead to a reduction in fire intensity and flame lengths of forest fires compared to untouched or fire-proofed areas. Aerial ignition is a type of controlled burn where incendiary devices are released from aircraft. There are two basic causes of wildfires . One is natural, mainly through lightning, and the other

1120-429: A line of fires along natural or man-made features such as a river, road or a bulldozed clearing. Head fires, that burn with the prevailing wind, are used between two firebreaks because head fires will burn more intensely and move faster than a back burn. Head fires are used when a back burn would move too slowly through the fuel either because the fuel moisture is high or the wind speed is low. Another method to increase

1260-534: A long-term cumulative reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. One working example is the West Arnhem Fire Management Agreement, started to bring "strategic fire management across 28,000 square kilometres (11,000 sq mi) of Western Arnhem Land" to partially offset greenhouse gas emissions from a liquefied natural gas plant in Darwin , Australia. Deliberately starting controlled burns early in

1400-474: A major trading post just north of today's Portland, Oregon . British fur trappers and hunters then used the Siskiyou Trail to travel throughout northern California. The leader of a further French scientific expedition to northern California, Eugene Duflot de Mofras , wrote in 1840 " ...it is evident that California will belong to whatever nation chooses to send there a man-of-war and two hundred men ." By

1540-625: A part of the Bay Area, in recent years the Bay Area has drawn more commuters from as far as Central Valley cities such as Sacramento , Stockton , Fresno , Turlock and Modesto . These cities in the central part of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada foothills may be viewed as part of a single megalopolis . The 2010 U.S. Census showed that the Bay Area grew at a faster rate than the Greater Los Angeles Area while Greater Sacramento had

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1680-523: A reduced number of travel lanes on the roadways and received state funding from the California Department of Transportation to implement a road diet along Skyway, Pearson Road, and Clark Road, three of the town's main thoroughfares and evacuation routes. Paradise planners opted in March 2015 to convert Skyway into a one-way route during emergencies, effectively doubling its capacity. Despite this change,

1820-404: A reporting location. The fire was named after Camp Creek Road, near its place of origin. The road was unpaved and poorly maintained; it had taken one of McKenzie's engines an hour to travel one mile (1.6 km) along it during a previous fire. McKenzie requested that Cal Fire activate its aircraft earlier than their scheduled 8:00 a.m. flight time, and requested more personnel to try and stop

1960-676: A reservoir to escape the flames. Butte County Sheriff's Department initially reported a partial death count for each community (total 67): 50 in Paradise , seven in Concow , nine in Magalia , and one in Chico . Five firefighters were injured during two separate incidents in the first two days of the Camp Fire. In the first, one fire captain and two prison inmate firefighters were seriously burned on their upper bodies on November 8 when shifting winds trapped them on

2100-539: A rest home, churches, part of Feather River hospital, a Christmas tree farm, a large shopping center anchored by a Safeway , several fast food chains, such as Black Bear Diner and McDonald's , and numerous small businesses, as well. The Honey Run Covered Bridge over nearby Butte Creek , the last three-span Pratt-style truss bridge in the United States, was incinerated on November 10. Northern California Northern California (commonly shortened to NorCal )

2240-769: A revolt and seized the small Mexican garrison in Sonoma. They raised the " Bear Flag " of the California Republic over Sonoma. The "Bear Flag Republic" lasted only 26 days, until the U.S. Army, led by John Frémont , took over on July 9. The California state flag today is based on this original Bear Flag, and continues to contain the words "California Republic." Commodore John Drake Sloat ordered his naval forces to occupy Yerba Buena (present San Francisco ) on July 7 and within days American forces controlled San Francisco, Sonoma, and Sutter's Fort in Sacramento. The treaty ending

2380-406: A unique evolution with fire, quickly replacing damaged buds or stems in the case of danger . They also carry their seeds in capsules which can be deposited at any time of the year . During a wildfire, the capsules drop nearly all of their seeds and the fire consumes the eucalypt adults, but most of the seeds survive using the ash as a source of nutrients. At their rate of growth, they quickly dominate

2520-505: A vehicle and two on ATVs. Some residents who were unable to evacuate survived by sheltering in place at the American gas station and the Nearly New antique store across the street. Others gathered in the nearby parking lot shared by a KMart and a Save Mart. The survival of some of those who sheltered in place has raised the question of whether in some scenarios last-minute mass evacuations provide

2660-475: A way that benefited humans and wildlife in forests and grasslands by starting low-intensity fires that released nutrients for plants, reduced competition for cultivated species, and consumed excess flammable material that otherwise would eventually fuel high-intensity, catastrophic fires. The use of controlled burns in North America ended in the early 20th century, when federal fire policies were enacted with

2800-612: A wick at the end that is used to ignite the lines of fire. Safe zones are established to ensure personnel know where the fire cannot cross either because of natural barriers like bodies of water or human-made barriers like tilled earth. During ignition, the Burn Boss relays information about the fire (flame length, flame height, the percent of ground that has been blackened) to the Communications Officer who documents this information. The Communications Officer relays information about

2940-516: Is a geographic and cultural region that comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California , spanning the northernmost 48 of the state's 58 counties . Northern California in its largest definition is determined by dividing the state into two regions, the other being Southern California . The main northern population centers include the San Francisco Bay Area (anchored by the cities of San Jose , San Francisco , and Oakland ),

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3080-449: Is a land management tool. Fire was a part of the landscapes of Ontario until early colonial rule restricted indigenous culture in across Canada. During colonization, large scale forest fires were caused by sparks from railroads and fire was used to clear land for agriculture use. The public perception of forest fires was positive because the cleared land represented taming the wilderness to an urban populace. The conservation movement, which

3220-537: Is also home to one of the largest Air Force Bases on the West Coast, and the largest in California by square meters, Travis Air Force Base . Northern California's largest metropolitan area is the San Francisco Bay Area which consists of 9 counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma counties. The Bay Area consists of the major cities of San Jose , San Francisco , Oakland , and their many suburbs . Although not

3360-566: Is diverse, though more concentrated in high technology. It is home to the state capital, as well as several Western United States regional offices in San Francisco, such as the Federal Reserve and 9th Circuit Court . Northern California has a warm or mild to cool climate, in which the Sierra mountains gets snow in the late fall through winter and occasionally into spring. Summers are mild along

3500-466: Is human activity. Controlled burns have a long history in wildland management. Fire has been used by humans to clear land since the Neolithic period. Fire history studies have documented regular wildland fires ignited by indigenous peoples in North America and Australia prior to the establishment of colonial law and fire suppression. Native Americans frequently used fire to manage natural environments in

3640-508: Is nearly inaccessible. It is on the west side of the river underneath the transmission lines. It’s got about a 35 mi/h sustained wind on it. We’ll keep working on access. I’m going to go up the highway to try and get a better idea about how to get to it. It’s a possibility we may have to come in off the top of Concow Road; Flea Mountain… This has got potential for a major incident. Request 15 additional engines, 4 additional dozers, 2 water tenders, 4 strike teams of hand crews. I’ll get back to you on

3780-434: Is often considered as having an additional division north of the urban areas of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento metropolitan areas. Extreme northern residents have felt under-represented in state government and, in 1941, attempted to form a new state with southwestern Oregon to be called Jefferson , or more recently to introduce legislation to split California into two or three states . The coastal area north of

3920-456: Is responsible for inspecting PG&E's electrical infrastructure. The scope of the CPUC in relation to the scope of electrical infrastructure is unbalanced, however, and the CPUC has had difficulty fulfilling their oversight mandate. A CPUC inspection of the section of the 115 kV Caribou-Palermo line at the origin of the Camp Fire had not been conducted in six years. Many of the electrical towers along

4060-501: Is seen as one component of shifting cultivation , as a part of field preparation for planting. Often called field burning, this technique is used to clear the land of any existing crop residue as well as kill weeds and weed seeds. Field burning is less expensive than most other methods such as herbicides or tillage, but because it produces smoke and other fire-related pollutants, its use is not popular in agricultural areas bounded by residential housing. Prescribed fires are broadly used in

4200-456: Is used by farmers for plant health reasons under several restrictions in cross-compliance regulations. In the north of Great Britain , large areas of grouse moors are managed by burning in a practice known as muirburn. This kills trees and grasses, preventing natural succession, and generates the mosaic of ling (heather) of different ages which allows very large populations of red grouse to be reared for shooting. The peat-lands are some of

4340-598: The California state quarter . Other prominent parks are the Kings Canyon - Sequoia National Park complex, Redwood National Park , Pinnacles National Park , Lassen Volcanic National Park and the largest in the contiguous forty-eight states, Death Valley National Park . Other areas under federal protection include Muir Woods National Monument , Giant Sequoia National Monument , Devils Postpile National Monument , Lava Beds National Monument , Point Reyes National Seashore ,

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4480-605: The Central Valley , one of the world's most productive agricultural regions. Northern California is also home to Silicon Valley , the global headquarters for some of the most powerful tech and Internet-related companies in the world, including Meta , Apple , Google , and Nvidia . The Northern California Megaregion , one of the 11 megaregions of the United States is centered in Northern California, and extends from Metropolitan Fresno north to Greater Sacramento, and from

4620-464: The Cold War –era expansion of the defense industry. Since the 2000 U.S. Census, Northern California has grown at a faster rate than Southern California due to the strong economic performances of the Bay Area and Sacramento. The U.S. National Park System controls a large and diverse group of parks in northern California. The best known is Yosemite National Park , which is displayed on the reverse side of

4760-856: The Greater Sacramento area (anchored by the state capital Sacramento ), the Redding, California , area south of the Cascade Range , and the Metropolitan Fresno area (anchored by the city of Fresno ). Northern California also contains redwood forests, along with most of the Sierra Nevada , including Yosemite Valley and part of Lake Tahoe , Mount Shasta (the second-highest peak in the Cascade Range after Mount Rainier in Washington ), and most of

4900-812: The Missouri Compromise . But instead, the passing of the Compromise of 1850 enabled California to be admitted to the Union as a free state . The decades following the Gold Rush brought dramatic expansion to northern California, both in population and economically – particularly in agriculture. The completion of the First transcontinental railroad in 1869, with its terminus in Sacramento (and then later, Oakland), meant that northern California's agricultural produce (and some manufactured goods) could now be shipped economically to

5040-731: The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary , and the Cordell Bank and Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries (both off the coast of San Francisco). Included within the latter National Marine Sanctuary is the Farallon National Wildlife Refuge ; this National Wildlife Refuge is one of approximately twenty-five such refuges in northern California. National forests occupy large sections of northern California, including

5180-735: The Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond , and the Tule Lake National Monument outside of Tulelake . Northern California hosts a number of world-renowned universities including Stanford University and University of California, Berkeley . Top-tier public graduate schools include Boalt Hall and Hastings law schools and UC San Francisco (a top-ranked medical school) and UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine ,

5320-710: The Shasta tribe in the north, to the Miwoks in the central coast and Sierra Nevada, to the Yokuts of the southern Central Valley, northern California was among the most densely populated areas of pre-Columbian North America. The first European to explore the coast was Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo , sailing for the Spanish Crown; in 1542, Cabrillo's expedition sailed perhaps as far north as the Rogue River in today's Oregon . Beginning in 1565,

5460-622: The Shasta–Trinity , Klamath , Modoc , Lassen , Mendocino , Eldorado , Tahoe , and Sequoia national forests, among others. Included within (or adjacent to) national forests are federally protected wilderness areas, including the Trinity Alps , Castle Crags , Granite Chief , and Desolation wilderness areas. In addition, the California Coastal National Monument protects all islets, reefs, and rock outcroppings from

5600-546: The Siskiyou Trail from missions in northern California to British and American settlements in Oregon . Although a small number of American traders and trappers had lived in northern California since the early 1830s, the first organized overland party of American immigrants to arrive in northern California was the Bartleson-Bidwell Party of 1841 via the new California Trail . Also in 1841, an overland exploratory party of

5740-575: The Spanish mission at Monterey was the first European settlement in the area, followed by other missions along the coast—eventually extending as far north as Sonoma County . Northern California is not a formal geographic designation. Historically, the state was divided by the Tehachapi Mountains which was a barrier to travelers before highways were built, and remains a bioregion barrier. This geographical barrier curves from Point Conception at

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5880-525: The Summer of Love , winemaking , the cradle of the international environmental movement, and the open, casual workplace first popularized in the Silicon Valley dot-com boom and now widely in use around the world. Other examples of innovation across diverse fields range from Genentech (development and commercialization of genetic engineering) to CrossFit as a pioneer in extreme human fitness and training. It

6020-654: The United States Exploring Expedition came down the Siskiyou Trail from the Pacific Northwest. In 1846, the Donner Party earned notoriety as they struggled to enter northern California. When the Mexican–American War was declared on May 13, 1846, it took almost two months (mid-July 1846) for word to get to California. On June 14, 1846, some 30 non-Mexican settlers, mostly Americans, staged

6160-533: The Yellowstone fires of 1988 occurred, which significantly politicized fire management. The ensuing media coverage was a spectacle that was vulnerable to misinformation. Reports drastically inflated the scale of the fires which disposed politicians in Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana to believe that all fires represented a loss of revenue from tourism. Paramount to the new action plans is the suppression of fires that threaten

6300-548: The soil , damaging it physically , chemically or sterilizing it. Broadcast burns tend to have lower temperatures and will not harm the soil as much as pile burning, though steps can be taken to treat the soil after a burn. In lop and scatter burning, slash is left to compact over time, or is compacted with machinery. This produces a lower intensity fire, as long as the slash is not packed too tightly. The risk of fatal fires that stem from burning slash can also be reduced by proactively reducing ground fuels before they can create

6440-438: The "Abnormally Dry" category beginning in late June. By November 8, Butte County's lower elevations had gone more than 200 days without receiving one-half inch (1.3 cm) of rain. The energy release component (ERC), a metric for the dryness and flammability of vegetation, was above average all summer. As summer turned into fall and significant rain had not materialized by early October, ERC levels were well above average, and on

6580-414: The 1830s, a significant number of non- Californios had immigrated to northern California. Chief among these was John Sutter , a European immigrant from Switzerland , who was granted 48,827 acres (197.60 km ) centered on the area of today's Sacramento . American trappers began entering northern California in the 1830s. In 1834, American visionary Ewing Young led a herd of horses and mules over

6720-493: The 20th century, fire control authorities began reintroducing controlled burns and indigenous leadership into land management. Controlled burning reduces fuels , improves wildlife habitat , controls competing vegetation, helps control tree disease and pests , perpetuates fire dependent species and improves accessibility . To improve the application of prescribed burns for conservation goals, which may involve mimicking historical or natural fire regimes, scientists assess

6860-506: The Bay Area east across the Nevada state line to encompass the entire Lake Tahoe – Reno area. Evidence of Native American habitation in the area dates from at least 19,000 years ago and successive waves of arrivals led to one of the most densely populated areas of pre-Columbian North America. The arrival of European explorers from the early 16th to the mid-18th centuries did not establish European settlements in northern California. In 1770,

7000-540: The Bay Area is often referred to as the North Coast , touching the counties of Mendocino , Lake , Humboldt , and Del Norte . The interior region north of Sacramento metropolitan area is referred to by locals as the Northstate , consisting of about 20 counties. "Northern California" was used by Tim Draper as the name of the northernmost state to be created by splitting California into three new states. The bill, Cal 3 ,

7140-558: The Butte Lightning Complex burned 100,000 acres (40,470 ha) on either side of Paradise, killing two people and destroying hundreds of buildings in the region. In 2005, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) released a fire management plan for the region, which warned that the town of Paradise was at risk for an east wind-driven conflagration similar to the Oakland firestorm of 1991 . In June 2009,

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7280-420: The CPUC gave PG&E permission to replace the aging line, though the design did not include line hardening through high fire hazard areas. The winter of 2016–2017 saw above-average precipitation across much of California, ending a six-year statewide drought . One of the effects of the wet winter was the second spring in a row with an above-average grass crop. That winter was followed by that of 2017–2018, which

7420-600: The Camp Fire's ignition, as the company did not de-energize transmission lines. The downslope winds that formed on November 8 were particularly intense through Jarbo Gap, an area where air squeezes through the Feather River Canyon from the northeast. These "Jarbo Gap winds" commonly developed in the autumn, and in the fifteen years prior to the Camp Fire, records showed 35 days with wind gusts higher than 100 miles per hour (160 km/h). Gusty winds at Jarbo Gap began at about 7:00 p.m. on November 7 and increased over

7560-603: The Caribou-Palermo line were unusually high. A 2012 windstorm brought down five towers. After the Camp Fire, the CPUC's Safety and Enforcement Table Mountain Division audited three years of the missing ten years of PG&E's records. Focusing on where the Camp Fire broke out, the audit found "the company was late in fixing 900 problems on its towers and other equipment, including two critical threats that regulators say languished more than 600 days before being repaired." In May 2018,

7700-422: The Central Valley, as well as Fresno and Visalia on the southern end. Though smaller in each case, with the notable exception of Fresno , than the larger cities of the general region, these smaller regional centers are often of historical and economic importance for their respective size, due to their locations, which are primarily rural or otherwise isolated. Inhabited for millennia by Native Americans , from

7840-606: The FAA: Controlled burn Controlled burns are conducted during the cooler months to reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of more dangerous, hotter fires. Controlled burning stimulates the germination of some trees and reveals soil mineral layers which increases seedling vitality. In grasslands , controlled burns shift the species assemblage to primarily native grassland species. Some seeds , such as those of lodgepole pine , sequoia and many chaparral shrubs are pyriscent , meaning heat from fire causes

7980-681: The Feather River Canyon spotted the fire and radioed his colleagues at Rock Creek Powerhouse; they called 911 , who in turn transferred the call to the Cal Fire Emergency Communications Center (ECC) at 6:25 a.m. Additional calls to 911 followed, describing the fire as about 100 by 100 feet (30 by 30 m) in area, underneath the electrical transmission lines on the north side of the North Fork Feather River. By 6:31 a.m., Cal Fire had notified firefighters at Fire Station 36 (located near Concow/Jarbo Gap) of

8120-444: The Gold Rush era (52%) came during the 1940s, as the region was the destination of many post-War veterans and their families, attracted by the greatly expanding industrial base and (often) by their time stationed in northern California during World War II . The largest absolute increase occurred during the 1980s (over 2.1 million person increase), attracted by job opportunities in part by the expansion taking place in Silicon Valley and

8260-574: The Mexican–American War was signed on February 2, 1848, and Mexico formally ceded Alta California (including all of present-day northern California) to the United States. The California Gold Rush took place almost exclusively in northern California from 1848 to 1855. It began on January 24, 1848, when gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in Coloma . News of the discovery soon spread, resulting in some 300,000 people coming to California from

8400-518: The Pacific Ocean eastward through Mount Pinos , Tejon Pass and Tehachapi Pass , then cuts northward through the Sierra Nevada mountain range to Mount Patterson and the Nevada border. The Mojave Desert and the Great Basin Desert are separated from Northern California by mountain ranges in this definition of bioregions. California's north–south midway division is around 37°N , near

8540-476: The Paradise region were awarded $ 5 million in grants from the fire prevention programs to pay for fuel reduction and education projects. Despite years of fuel reduction funded by special fees, numerous wildfires ravaged wildland–urban communities. Investigations found that PG&E power line failures during high winds had caused many of the fires. Utilities have the ability to disable dangerous power lines; however,

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8680-459: The Russian state-sponsored Russian-American Company established Fort Ross , a fur trading outpost on the coast of today's Sonoma County . Fort Ross was the southernmost Russian settlement, located some 60 miles (97 km) north of Spanish colonies in San Francisco. In 1839, the settlement was abandoned due to its inability to meet resource demands, and the increasing Mexican and American presence in

8820-645: The Spanish Manila galleons crossed the Pacific Ocean from Mexico to the Spanish Philippines , with silver and gemstones from Mexico. The Manila galleons returned across the northern Pacific, and reached North America usually off the coast of northern California, and then continued south with their Asian trade goods to Mexico. In 1579, northern California was visited by the English explorer Sir Francis Drake who landed north of today's San Francisco and claimed

8960-483: The Western United States were deployed to fight the fire. In the first week, the fire burned tens of thousands of acres per day. Containment on the western half was achieved when the fire reached primary highway and roadway arteries that formed barriers. In the second week the fire expanded by several thousand acres per day along a large uncontained fire line. Each day, containment increased by five percent along

9100-409: The age of a stand or the assemblage of species. To minimize the impact of smoke , burning should be restricted to daylight hours whenever possible. Furthermore, in temperate climates, it is important to burn grasslands and prairies before native species begin growing for the season so that only non-native species, which send up shoots earlier in the spring, are affected by the fire. Back burning or

9240-530: The approaching main fire front. Simultaneously, the first Cal Fire air tanker left the ground at 7:44 a.m., quickly followed by an observation plane. The pilot quickly discovered that the winds were so strong—more than 50 miles per hour (80 km/h)—and the air so turbulent that fire retardant drops were impossible. The air tanker returned to base 45 minutes later, still fully loaded. Cal Fire made two more attempts to send air tankers, both of which were unsuccessful. While helicopters—better able to fly beneath

9380-412: The area for England. In 1602, the Spaniard Sebastián Vizcaíno explored California's coast as far north as Monterey Bay , where he went ashore. Other Spanish explorers sailed along the coast of northern California for the next 150 years, but no settlements were established. The first European inhabitants were Spanish missionaries, who built missions along the California coast. The mission at Monterey

9520-606: The best outcomes, with some pointing to Australia's policy discouraging them, instituted following the 1983 Ash Wednesday brushfires in which many of the 75 dead were killed while trying to evacuate. However, 70 of the 84 fatalities listed in the Butte County District Attorney's Camp Fire investigation summary occurred inside or immediately outside the victim's residences, indicating that failure to evacuate contributed to many more deaths (70) than occurred while evacuating (8). Many seniors were evacuated by passersby and neighbors, with at least one account of dozens of evacuees jumping into

9660-520: The coast and generally warm and dry, while winters are cool and usually wet. The high temperatures range from 50s °F (10–15 °C) to 30s °F (−1 – +4 °C) in the winters while summers temperature range is 90s °F (32–37 °C) to 60s °F (15–20 °C) or 50s °F (10–15 °C), with highs well into the 100s °F (37–42 °C) for the Sacramento region. Snow covers the mountains (generally above 3,000 feet (910 m)) in mid January through February. Fog occurs infrequently or occurs normally in

9800-400: The coasts. The Gold Rush also had negative effects: American colonists chose to use genocide as a tool to remove the Indigenous people so that they could look for gold on their land. The Gold Rush also increased pressure to make California a U.S. state . Pro-slavery politicians initially attempted to permanently divide northern and southern California at 36 degrees, 30 minutes, the line of

9940-489: The communities of Butte Valley , Chico , Forest Ranch , Helltown , Inskip , Oroville , and Stirling City . The community of Concow and the town of Paradise were destroyed within the first six hours of the fire, losing an estimated 95 percent of their buildings. The town of Magalia also suffered substantial damage, and the community of Pulga , California suffered some. Nearly 19,000 buildings were destroyed, most of them homes, along with five public schools in Paradise,

10080-634: The communities of Concow , Magalia , Butte Creek Canyon , and Paradise , largely destroying them. The fire burned for another two weeks, and was contained on Sunday, November 25, after burning 153,336 acres (62,050 ha). The Camp Fire caused 85 fatalities, displaced more than 50,000 people, and destroyed more than 18,000 structures, causing an estimated $ 16.5 billion in damage. It was the most expensive natural disaster (by insured losses) of 2018. PG&E filed for bankruptcy in January 2019, citing expected wildfire liabilities of $ 30 billion. On December 6, 2019,

10220-465: The community of Pulga. The tower had two arms, each with a hook hanging from a hole in a long piece of metal. The hook held up a string of electrical insulators . The transmission power lines were suspended from these insulators, away from the steel tower itself so as to prevent electricity arcing between them. One of the hooks on the tower (about three inches (7.6 cm) wide and one inch (2.5 cm) in diameter) had been worn down by rubbing against

10360-426: The composition of plants from non-native species to native species. These controlled burns occur during the early spring before native plants begin actively growing, when soil moisture is higher and when the fuel load on the ground is low to ensure that the controlled burn remains low intensity. Controlled burns reduce the amount of understory fuel so when a wildfire enters the area, a controlled burn site can reduce

10500-534: The cone or woody husk to open and disperse seeds. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and has been used by indigenous people across the world for millennia to promote biodiversity and cultivate wild crops. Colonial law in North America and Australia displaced indigenous people from lands that were controlled with fire and prohibited from conducting traditional controlled burns. After wildfires began increasing in scale and intensity in

10640-588: The context of woody plant encroachment , with the aim of improving the balance of woody plants and grasses in shrublands and grasslands. In Northern-India, especially in Punjab , Haryana , and Uttar Pradesh , unregulated burning of agricultural waste is a major problem. Smoke from these fires leads to degradation in environmental quality in these states and the surrounded area. In East Africa, bird densities increased months after controlled burning had occurred. Controlled burns on Australian savannas can result in

10780-492: The created of a prescribed burn program as well as training and regulation for controlled burns in Ontario. In British Columbia , there was an increase in the intensity and scale of wildfires after local bylaws restricted the use of controlled burns. In 2017, following one of the worst years for wildfire in the province's history, indigenous leadership and public service members wrote an independent report that suggested returning to

10920-563: The day of the start of the Camp Fire, they were setting records for the date. The National Fire Danger Rating System had four reporting stations in Butte County. On November 8, all of them reported fire danger ratings of "Very High" or "Extreme". At the time of the fire's ignition, an upper-level atmospheric ridge (an elongated region of high pressure ) was positioned off the coast of California. Its placement, allowing for northerly atmospheric flow, created an east–west pressure gradient . At

11060-481: The development of world-famous and online business models (such as Apple , Hewlett-Packard , Google , Yahoo! , and eBay ), northern California has been at the forefront of new ways of doing business. In science, advances range from being the first to isolate and name fourteen transuranic chemical elements , to breakthroughs in microchip technology. Cultural contributions include the works of Ansel Adams , George Lucas , and Clint Eastwood , as well as beatniks ,

11200-510: The dispatchers began telling those callers from the far northeastern corner of Paradise to evacuate. The dispatchers learned of the Butte County Fire Department's orders to evacuate the entire town shortly after 8:00 a.m. and then began instructing all callers that they were under a mandatory evacuation, and should collect their belongings and leave. By 8:20 a.m., the Paradise 911 dispatch center had received 132 calls about

11340-529: The dry season results in a mosaic of burnt and unburnt country which reduces the area of stronger, late dry season fires; it is also known as "patch burning". Health and safety, protecting personnel, preventing the fire from escaping and reducing the impact of smoke are the most important considerations when planning a controlled burn. While the most common driver of fuel treatment is the prevention of loss of human life and structures, certain parameters can also be changed to promote biodiversity and to rearrange

11480-430: The energized power line struck the transmission tower. This created an electric arc between the power line and the tower, which reached temperatures estimated at 5,000 to 10,000 °F (2,760 to 5,540 °C) and melted metal components of the conductor and the tower. The molten metal fell into the brush beneath the tower, setting it alight. At about 6:20 a.m., a PG&E employee driving eastbound on Highway 70 in

11620-613: The fire and, overwhelmed by the sheer quantity, began forwarding them to the dispatch center in Chico. The main fire front reached Paradise at 8:30 a.m. between Apple View Way and Merrill Road. At this point it was approximately 0.6 miles (1 km) across, and shortly thereafter grew to two miles (2.8 km) wide as it grew to the south. By 10:45 a.m., the fire had burned approximately 20,000 acres (8,100 ha). At some point that day, emergency shelters were established. Wind speeds approached 50 miles per hour (22 m/s), allowing

11760-525: The fire at Concow Road. At the same time, one fire engine was dispatched to Pulga and began door-to-door evacuations. By 6:51 a.m., the Camp Fire had burned about ten acres (four ha). The fire crested the ridge above the Feather River Canyon "shortly after" 7:00 a.m., and about ten minutes later, it had burned 200–300 acres (81–121 ha) and was spreading rapidly towards the community of Concow. Incident command requested that an evacuation warning be issued for Concow at 7:22 a.m. Buildings in

11900-616: The fire had burned not quite 55,000 acres (22,000 ha). The day after the fire started, PG&E employees noted the Big Bend's line equipment on the ground. On November 10, an estimate placed the number of structures destroyed at 6,713, which surpassed the Tubbs Fire as the most destructive wildfire in California history, but that has since been updated to 18,793. By November 15, 5,596 firefighters, 622 engines, 75 water tenders, 101 handcrews , 103 bulldozers, and 24 helicopters from all over

12040-486: The fire has cleared non fire-adapted, competing species. Pyriscent species benefit from moderate-intensity fires in older stands; however, climate change is causing more frequent high intensity fires in North America. Controlled burns can manage the fire cycle and the intensity of regenerate fires in forests with pyriscent species like the boreal forest in Canada. Eucalyptus regnans or mountain ash of Australia also shows

12180-457: The fire to grow rapidly. Most residents of Concow and many residents of Paradise were unable to evacuate before the fire arrived. Due to the speed of the fire, firefighters for the most part never attempted to prevent the flames from entering Concow or Paradise, and instead sought to help people get out alive. According to Chief Scott McLean of Cal Fire , "Pretty much the community of Paradise is destroyed, it's that kind of devastation. The wind that

12320-542: The fire. By 6:35 a.m., two fire engines had left the station and were en route via Highway 70. They stopped above Poe Dam , on the opposite side of the Feather River, to survey the fire. At 6:44 a.m., the fire captain made an initial report to the Cal Fire ECC, describing the fire's inaccessibility and prospective growth. We have eyes on the vegetation fire. It’s going to be very difficult access; Camp Creek Road

12460-530: The first week, nearly ten victims per day were found. In the second week, that lowered to several victims per day. Victims were still being found in the third week and beyond. Identification of the deceased was hampered by the fragmentary condition of many bodies. Ten of 18 dentists in Paradise lost their offices and patient records in the fire. Two of the dead were identified from the serial numbers on artificial joints, 15 from dental records, five from fingerprints and 50 from DNA. Funerals and benefits were delayed by

12600-576: The goal of suppressing all fires. Since 1995, the US Forest Service has slowly incorporated burning practices into its forest management policies. Fire suppression has changed the composition and ecology of North American habitats, including highly fire-dependent ecosystems such as oak savannas and canebrakes, which are now critically endangered habitats on the brink of extinction. In the Eastern United States, fire-sensitive trees such as

12740-518: The ground". The fee was suspended and repealed by the California State Legislature in July 2017. Initially, much of the fire-fee revenue funded existing fire programs; the process of building out new prevention programs was slow, but the revenue did fund projects such as secondary evacuation routes and fuel reduction zones. In August 2018, three months before the fire, fire safe councils in

12880-478: The highest success still failed to reach 25 percent of those residents signed up. At about 1:00 p.m., the wind slackened enough to allow fixed-wing air tankers to operate effectively. Nine air tankers operated for the next four-and-a-half hours: five S-2s , a DC-10 , and three other large air tankers. They collectively dropped more than 69,000 gallons of fire retardant on November 8 alone. Fixed-wing air tankers ceased flying at 5:30 p.m. By 6:00 p.m.,

13020-502: The identification difficulties. As of 2022, a few victims are still unidentified and are undergoing testing and identification by the DNA Doe Project . Traffic jams on the few evacuation routes led to cars being abandoned while people evacuated on foot, but did not contribute to any deaths. At least seven deaths occurred when the fire overtook people who were trapped in their vehicles, most on Edgewood Road, as well as one person outside

13160-412: The impact of variation in fire attributes. Parameters measured are fire frequency, intensity, severity, patchiness, spatial scale and phenology. Furthermore, controlled fire can be used for site preparation when mechanized treatments are not possible because of terrain that prevents equipment access. Species variation and competition can drastically increase a few years after fuel treatments because of

13300-412: The increase in soil nutrients and availability of space and sunlight. Many trees depend on fire as a way to clear out other plant species and release their seeds. The giant sequoia , among other fire-adapted conifer species, depends on fire to reproduce. The cones are pyriscent so they will only open after exposed to a certain temperature. This reduces competition for the giant sequoia seedlings because

13440-468: The increasing prevalence of climate change. As drought conditions worsen, North America has been facing an abundance of destructive wildfires. Since 1988, many states have made progress toward controlled burns. In 2021, California increased the number of trained personnel to perform controlled burns and created more accessibility for landowners. In the European Union, burning crop stubble after harvest

13580-507: The indigenous practice of prescribed fire. This was done against scientific evidence that supported prescribed burns as a natural process. At the loss to the local environment, colonies utilized fire suppression in order to benefit the logging industry. The notion of fire as a tool had somewhat evolved by the late 1970s as the National Park Service authorized and administered controlled burns. Following prescribed fire reintroduction,

13720-432: The intensity of the fire or prevent the fire from crossing the area entirely. A controlled burn prior to the wildfire season can protect infrastructure and communities or mitigate risks associated with many dead standing trees such as after a pest infestation when forest fuels are high. In the developing world, the use of controlled burns in agriculture is often referred to as slash and burn . In industrialized nations, it

13860-415: The land and a new, like-aged eucalyptus forest grows. Other tree species like poplar can easily regenerate after a fire into a like-aged stand from a vast root system that is protected from fires because it is underground. Native grassland species in North America and Australia are adapted to survive occasional low intensity fires. Controlled burns in prairie ecosystems mimic low intensity fires that shift

14000-515: The largest carbon sinks in the UK, providing an immensely important ecological service. The governments has restricted burning to the area but hunters have been continuing to set the moors ablaze, releasing a large amount of carbon into the atmosphere and destroying native habitat. The Maasai ethnic group conduct traditional burning in savanna ecosystems before the rainy season to provide varied grazing land for livestock and to prevent larger fires when

14140-401: The largest growth rate of any metropolitan area in California. The state's larger inland cities are considered part of Northern California in cases when the state is divided into two parts. Key cities in the region which are not in major metropolitan areas include Eureka on the far North Coast , Redding , at the northern end of the Central Valley, Chico , and Yuba City in the mid-north of

14280-561: The largest veterinary school in the United States. (Partial list) (Partial list) The following regions are entirely or partly within northern California: Northern California is home to three of the state's four extended metropolitan areas , which are home to over three-fourths of the region's population as of the 2010 United States Census : The following are major central business districts: See also articles: See also categories: There are 11 airports in Northern California categorized as Primary Service Commercial airports by

14420-399: The level of Morgan Hill and Chowchilla . (The geographic center of California is at 37°09′58″N 119°26′58″W  /  37.16611°N 119.44944°W  / 37.16611; -119.44944 near North Fork , northeast of Fresno. ) Popularly, though, "Northern California" usually refers to the state's northernmost 48 counties. Because of California's large size and diverse geography,

14560-486: The line are original to the Upper North Fork Feather River Project , which was constructed in the early 1900s. A 2009 inspection noted three-bolt connectors, used to join two conductors, were in need of replacement, which PG&E said had been done by 2016. In a 2011 audit, the CPUC found several thousand deficiencies, some of which PG&E disputed; it was not clear if the number of deficiencies on

14700-448: The loss of human life with leniency toward areas of historic, scientific, or special ecological interest. There is still a debate amongst policy makers about how to deal with wildfires. Senators Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo of Oregon and Idaho have been moving to reduce the shifting of capital from fire prevention to fire suppression following the harsh fires of 2017 in both states. Tensions around fire prevention continue to rise due to

14840-521: The metal plate that it hung from, to the point where only a few millimeters of metal remained. At 6:15 a.m. PST on Thursday, November 8, a PG&E control center in Vacaville recorded an outage on the company's transmission line in the Feather River Canyon. The hook—which was about 7/8ths worn through—had snapped under the weight of the power line and insulator string that it supported, which weighed more than 142 pounds (64 kg). No longer held up,

14980-425: The mop up has finished, the Burn Boss declares the controlled burn over and local fire authorities are notified. There are several different methods used to burn piles of slash from forestry operations. Broadcast burning is the burning of scattered slash over a wide area. Pile burning is gathering up the slash into piles before burning. These burning piles may be referred to as bonfires . High temperatures can harm

15120-461: The nearly 100-year-old transmission lines required intentional manual effort. PG&E shut off residential power to some customers, particularly in Paradise, in the days leading up to the fire. Following the 2017 North Bay fires , PG&E adopted a policy that precluded shutting off lines carrying more than 115 kV due to the number of customers who would be adversely affected by such a shutdown. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC)

15260-479: The next two hours. By 4:00 a.m. on November 8, a remote automated weather station east of Paradise was recording sustained 32-mile-per-hour (51 km/h) winds and 52-mile-per-hour (84 km/h) gusts. By the time of the Camp Fire's ignition, the Jarbo Gap weather station was recording 18-mile-per-hour (29 km/h) winds out of the northeast with 40-mile-per-hour (64 km/h) gusts. The relative humidity level

15400-531: The northern California coast by Spain. By 1820, Spanish influence extended inland approximately 25 to 50 miles (80 km) from the missions. Outside of this zone, perhaps 200,000 to 250,000 Native Americans continued to lead traditional lives. The Adams-Onís Treaty , signed in 1819 between Spain and the young United States, set the northern boundary of the Spanish claims at the 42nd parallel, effectively creating today's northern boundary of northern California. In 1812,

15540-481: The prescribed burn is divided into several roles; the Burn Boss, Communications, Suppression and Ignition. The planning process begins by submitting an application to a local fire management office and after approval, applicants must submit a burn plan several weeks prior to ignition. On the day of the controlled burn, personnel meet with the Burn Boss and discuss the tactics being used for ignition and suppression, health and safety precautions, fuel moisture levels and

15680-424: The recent rain. Over a thousand firefighters remained to search for any smoldering fires near the contained perimeter, clear roadways of debris and hazardous burned trees, and help with search and recovery efforts. There were a large number of fatalities in the first several hours of the fire, but they were not found quickly. Discovery of these early fatalities took place over the course of the following two weeks. In

15820-566: The red maple are increasing in number, at the expense of fire-tolerant species like oaks. In the Anishinaabeg Nation around the Great Lakes , fire is a living being that has the power to change landscapes through both destruction and the regrowth and return of life following a fire. Human beings are also inexorably tied to the land they live on as stewards who maintain the ecosystems around them. Because fire can reveal dormant seedlings, it

15960-448: The region. After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico continued Spain's missions and settlements in northern California as well as Spain's territorial claims. The Mexican Californios (Spanish-speaking Californians) in these settlements primarily traded cattle hides and tallow with American and European merchant vessels. In 1825, the Hudson's Bay Company established

16100-422: The rest of the United States and abroad. San Francisco grew from a tiny hamlet, home to about 1,000 Californios into a boomtown of over 50,000 people in the 12 years between 1848 and 1860. New roads, churches, and schools were built, and new towns sprung up, aided in part by the development of new methods of transportation such as steamships which came into regular service and railroads which now connected

16240-555: The rest of the United States. In return, immigrants from the rest of the United States (and Europe) could comfortably come to northern California. A network of railroads spread throughout northern California, and in 1887, a rail link was completed to the Pacific Northwest . Almost all of these railways came under the control of the Southern Pacific Railroad , headquartered in San Francisco, and San Francisco continued as

16380-547: The roads out of Paradise were only capable of evacuating around a fourth of the population within two hours. Residential development into wilderness areas, known as wildland–urban interface , requires increased state resources to safeguard these communities. To recuperate associated costs, California imposed a special fee on property owners in WUI zones, however the fee was largely unpopular, with assemblyman Devon Mathis (Republican) claiming "not one cent has gone to putting more boots on

16520-503: The same time, a shortwave trough (a smaller-scale 'kink' of low pressure embedded in the flow) was moving over California, acting to intensify the pressure gradient. This created katabatic winds in many valleys in the western Sierra Nevada. Such winds form when the cool, high pressure airmass in the Great Basin spills through the narrow canyons that cut through the Sierra as it moves towards

16660-728: The shore of northern California out to a distance of 12 nmi (22 km), along the entire northern California coastline. In addition, the National Park Service administers protected areas on Alcatraz Island , the Golden Gate National Recreation Area , Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area , and the Smith River National Recreation Area . The NPS also administers the Manzanar National Historic Site in Inyo County ,

16800-567: The single digits and wind gusts of up to 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). The meteorologist-in-charge at the Sacramento NWS office called it "a significant red-flag event and one of the stronger ones of the season". PG&E informed 70,000 customers, residents of Paradise among them, that the utility company was considering shutting off their power to lessen the fire risk from downed power lines. PG&E eventually decided that conditions did not warrant it. The planned outage would not have prevented

16940-488: The speed of a back burn is to use a flank fire which is lit at right angles to the prevailing wind and spreads in the same direction. In Ontario, Canada, controlled burns are regulated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and only trained personnel can plan and ignite controlled burns within Ontario's fire regions or if the Ministry of Natural Resources in involved in any aspect of planning a controlled burn. The team performing

17080-587: The state can be subdivided in other ways as well. For example, the Central Valley is a region that is distinct both culturally and topographically from coastal California, though in northern versus southern California divisions, the Sacramento Valley and most of the San Joaquin Valley are usually placed in northern California. Some observers describe three partitions of California, with north and south sections separated by Central California . The state

17220-484: The thick smoke—were able to drop water on evacuation routes over the course of the day, fixed-wing aircraft were grounded until the winds slowed. By 7:48 a.m. people began calling 911 to report widespread spot fires on the eastern side of Paradise, 7.5 miles (12 km) from the Camp Fire's origin above the Poe Dam. At least 30 spot fires ignited within Paradise over the following 40 minutes. Until roughly this point,

17360-414: The three on-duty 911 dispatchers in Paradise had been unaware of any evacuation orders or direct threat to Paradise from the fire. Dozens of people reported ash and smoke between 7:10 a.m. and 7:40 a.m., and all were told that the fire was north of Concow near Highway 70. At 7:50 a.m., a caller reporting "spot fires all over" was told that there were "no evacuations at this point." Nevertheless,

17500-479: The town began to burn by 7:25 a.m, and five minutes later Concow residents began calling 911 to report fire in their yards. An evacuation order was requested for Concow at 7:37 a.m. When the main fire front impacted Concow it was between one-half and one mile (0.80 and 1.61 km) across. "Intense fire was widespread" throughout the town by 8:00 a.m., according to a federal report. At 7:44 a.m., spot fires began to ignite in Paradise itself, ahead of

17640-461: The traditional use of prescribed burns to manage understory fuel from wildfires. The government of British Columbia responded by committing to using controlled burns as a wildfire management tool. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality began requiring a permit for farmers to burn their fields in 1981, but the requirements became stricter in 1988 following a multi-car collision in which smoke from field burning near Albany, Oregon , obscured

17780-488: The uncontained eastern half of the fire that expanded into open timber and high country. Heavy rainfall started on November 21, which helped contain the fire. Fire crews pulled back and let the rain put out the remaining fires while teams searched for victims. The Camp Fire was declared 100 percent contained on Sunday, November 25, having burned for 17 days. This was five days ahead of the original projection for full containment on November 30, as firefighters had been aided by

17920-459: The utility made a settlement offer of $ 13.5 billion for the wildfire victims; the offer covered several devastating fires caused by the utility, including the Camp Fire. On June 16, 2020, the utility pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter. The footprint of the Camp Fire had experienced 13 large wildfires since 1999 and 42 large wildfires since 1914. In 2008, the Humboldt Fire and

18060-480: The vision of drivers on Interstate 5 , leading to a 23-car collision in which 7 people died and 37 were injured. This resulted in more scrutiny of field burning and proposals to ban field burning in the state altogether. With controlled burns, there is also a risk that the fires get out of control. For example, the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire , the largest wildfire in the history of New Mexico ,

18200-463: The warmer, low pressure airmass closer to the coast. The National Weather Service (NWS) described this as a "common synoptic pattern for strong winds and very dry conditions". The NWS office in Sacramento issued a fire weather watch on November 5, which was upgraded to a red flag warning on November 6. The warning was effective for the night of Wednesday, November 7, through the morning of Friday, November 9, and it called for relative humidity levels in

18340-420: The weather (wind direction, wind speed, temperature and precipitation) for the day. On site, local fire control authorities are notified by telephone about the controlled burn while the rest of the team members fill drip torches with pre-mixed fuel, fill suppression packs with water and put up barricades and signage to prevent pedestrian access to the controlled burn. Driptorches are canisters filled with fuel and

18480-406: The west and coast, especially in the summer, creating some of the coolest summer conditions in North America. Since the first decade of the 21st century, droughts and wildfires have increased in frequency as a consequence of climate change . The population of the forty-eight counties of northern California has shown a steady increase over the years. The largest percentage increase outside

18620-436: The wind speed and wind direction so the Burn Boss can determine how the direction of both flames and smoke and plan their lines of fire accordingly. Once the ignition phase has ended in a section, the suppression team "mops up" by using suppression packs to suppress smoldering material. Other tools used for suppression are RTVs equipped with a water tank and a pump and hose that is installed in a nearby body of water. Finally, once

18760-590: Was 23 percent. The Camp Fire was caused by the failure of a single metal hook attached to a PG&E transmission tower on the company's Caribou-Palermo transmission line, which carried power from hydroelectric facilities in the Sierra Nevada to the Bay Area . The tower, a little under 100 feet (30 m) tall, was built on a steep incline on a ridge above Highway 70 and the North Fork Feather River near

18900-525: Was both hotter and drier than average, allowing for 'fine fuels' such as grass to carry over from the previous year. A third consecutive above-average grass crop developed following a warm and wet March 2018. This was followed by the cessation of rain in late April, and a hot and dry summer in Northern California. Paradise received only 0.88 inches (2.2 cm) of rain between May 1 and mid-November, when it typically received more than seven inches (18 cm). The U.S. Drought Monitor had logged Butte County in

19040-452: Was first established in 1770, and at San Francisco in 1776. In all, ten missions stretched along the coast from Sonoma to Monterey (and still more missions to the southern tip of Baja California ). In 1786, the French signaled their interest in the northern California area by sending a voyage of exploration to Monterey. The first twenty years of the 19th century continued the colonization of

19180-519: Was predicted came and just wiped it out." The first hours saw a cascade of failures in the emergency alert system, rooted in its patchwork, opt-in nature, and compounded by a loss of 17 cell towers. Thousands of calls to 9-1-1 inundated two emergency dispatchers on duty. Emergency alerts suffered human error as city officials failed to include four at-risk areas of the city in evacuation orders and technical error as emergency alerts failed to reach 94 percent of residents in some areas and even in areas with

19320-529: Was prevented from appearing on the 2018 California ballot because of a constitutional review by the Supreme Court of California . Since the events of the California Gold Rush , Northern California has been a leader on the world's economic, scientific, and cultural stages. From the development of gold mining techniques and logging practices in the 19th century that were later adopted around the world, to

19460-475: Was spearheaded by Edmund Zavitz in Ontario, caused a ban on all fires, both natural wild fires and intentional fires. In the 1970s, Parks Canada began implementing small prescribed burns however, the scale of wildfires each year outpaces the acreage of land that is intentionally burnt. In the late 1980s, the Ministry of Natural Resources in Ontario began conducting prescribed burns on forested land which led to

19600-530: Was started by two distinct instances of controlled burns, which had both been set by the US Forest Service , getting out of control and merging. The conflict of controlled burn policy in the United States has roots in historical campaigns to combat wildfires and to the eventual acceptance of fire as a necessary ecological phenomenon. Following colonization of North America, the US used fire suppression laws to eradicate

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