Woolsey Fire | |
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![]() The large smoke plume from the fire encroaching on Malibu on November 9, seen from the Pacific Coast Highway | |
Date(s) |
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Location | Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, California, United States |
Coordinates | 34°14′06″N 118°42′05″W / 34.2350°N 118.7013°W |
Statistics[1][2][3] | |
Burned area | 96,949 acres (39,234 ha) |
Land use | Recreational and residential |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 3 civilians |
Non-fatal injuries | 2 civilians 3 firefighters |
Damage | $6 billion (2018 USD)[5] |
Ignition | |
Cause | Faulty SoCal Edison Equipment |
Map | |
The Woolsey Fire was a wildfire that started in Los Angeles County and spread north to neighboring Ventura County, both located in the U.S. state of California. The fire ignited on November 8, 2018 and wasn't fully contained until November 21, 2018. The fire burned 96,949 acres (39,234 hectares) of land, destroyed 1,643 structures,[4] killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people.[3] It was one of several fires in California that ignited on the same day, along with the nearby Hill Fire and the destructive Camp Fire in Northern California.[6][7]
The fire started in Woolsey Canyon on the Santa Susana Field Laboratory property, and burned 80% of the site, a complex of industrial research and development buildings belonging to Boeing, in the Santa Susana Mountains above the Simi Valley near the boundary between Los Angeles and Ventura counties.[8][9] The Santa Ana winds, which often are a factor for Southern California fires, pushed the fire in a southerly direction throughout the first day.[10][11] The Ventura Freeway (US 101) between the San Fernando Valley and the Conejo Valley was closed as the fire crossed and headed into the rugged Santa Monica Mountains.
The fire raced through the chaparral-covered steep canyons where it encountered historic movie and TV sets, small ranches, and the houses of celebrities.[12] Hundreds of houses in Malibu were destroyed or damaged on both sides of Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1). Many of these were on Point Dume that juts out from the narrow coastal terrace that lies between the mountains and the Pacific Ocean. The mitigation measures Pepperdine University had in place successfully protected the campus, with students sheltering in place, to the south. The entire sparsely populated portion of the Malibu coast west to the community of Solromar, which includes state and national parklands, suffered damage from the fire. The fire cost at least $6 billion (2018 USD) in property damage.[5]
Thousands of residents were kept away from their houses in numerous neighborhoods along the Ventura Freeway and the communities along the Malibu coast. The evacuations frustrated residents as they lasted for many days as the fire continued to threaten houses especially when the winds increased and fanned the flames. The evacuated residents were incrementally allowed to return to see if their houses were damaged or destroyed as the fire continued to spread through the rugged wilderness at the western end of the Santa Monica Mountains. Authorities in many of the damaged communities declared that they needed to prevent residents from returning quickly as neighborhoods were crowded with crews repairing downed power lines and other hazardous conditions. In the months after the fire, residents criticized what they thought was a slow and inadequate response by cities and counties during public meetings held by public officials.
While this and other fires were burning, President Donald Trump blamed poor forest management by the state. One fire scientist explained that forest management (good or bad) had a minor influence on the severity of the fires, and that Woolsey was not a forest fire.[13]
The California Public Utilities Commission is investigating an equipment problem near the point of origin reported by Southern California Edison.
Los Angeles Times
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).The Woolsey Fire broke out at the site on Nov. 8, 2018, sparked during high winds by electrical equipment owned there by Southern California Edison, an investigation by the Ventura County Fire Department concluded. The blaze went on to burn about 97,000 acres, including 80% of the field lab site, ... The study examined 360 samples of household dust, surface soils and ash from 150 homes and other locations such as parks and trails collected after the fire. It concluded that while most of the collected samples were at normal levels, "some ashes and dusts collected from the Woolsey Fire zone in the fire's immediate aftermath contained high activities of radioactive isotopes associated with the Santa Susana Field Laboratory."