California is experiencing an unprecedented wildfire season. The season is extraordinary not only due to the number of acres burned, but aslo due to the length, with large fires and red flag warnings expected through the end of the year. In October of 2017, fast-moving wind-driven wildfires burned through more than 200,000 acres in seven California counties. More than 8,000 homes were destroyed and 42 people lost their lives as they tried to escape. In December, new incidents began in Southern California, with the largest fire, the Thomas fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties estimated at almost 272,000 acres (~435 mi2) as of 12/19/17. Smaller fires such as the Rye, Creek, and Skirball fires in December and the La Tuna fire in September occurred in Los Angeles county and burned just under 30,000 acres. Losses in Southern California were extensive in Ventura and Southern Santa Barbara counties (over 1250 structures destroyed or damaged).
The Thomas fire is one of the largest fires ever recorded in California history – but perhaps more important than acreage is the location of this, and the recent wine country fires burning significant areas of urban and suburban development. The land uses affected by these fires are complex as well, including residential and commercial areas as well as areas of row and tree crops, active rangeland, and wild habitat along with its significant watershed protection and recreational values.
In addition to the local resources to be found at http://ucanr.edu/sites/SAFELandscapes/, statewide information and resources can be found here.
Thomas Fire image captured on 17 December 2017, by the MODIS instrument, on board the Terra satellite. from https://earthdata.nasa.gov/thomas-fire-california