December 2017 Southern California wildfires
A series of 29 wildfires ignited across Southern California in December 2017. Six of the fires became significant wildfires, and led to widespread evacuations and property losses. The wildfires burned over 307,900 acres (1,246 km2), and caused traffic disruptions, school closures, hazardous air conditions, and power outages; over 230,000 people were forced to evacuate. The largest of the wildfires was the Thomas Fire, which grew to 281,893 acres (1,140.78 km2), and became the largest wildfire in modern California history, until it was surpassed by the Ranch Fire in the Mendocino Complex, in the following year.
| December 2017 Southern California wildfires | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Satellite image of the smoke from the Thomas Fire and 2 smaller wildfires, on December 5, 2017. | ||||||||||||
| Date(s) | December 4, 2017 – March 22, 2018 | |||||||||||
| Location | Southern California | |||||||||||
| Statistics | ||||||||||||
| Total fires | 29 | |||||||||||
| Total area | 307,953 acres (1,246.24 km2) | |||||||||||
| Impacts | ||||||||||||
| Deaths | 1 firefighter, 1 civilian | |||||||||||
| Non-fatal injuries | 12 firefighters, 7 civilians | |||||||||||
| Structures destroyed | 1,355 structures | |||||||||||
| Damage | ~$3.5 billion (2018 USD) | |||||||||||
| Ignition | ||||||||||||
| Cause | Downed power lines, burning debris, illegal cooking fire, others unknown | |||||||||||
On December 5, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, followed by San Diego County on December 7; U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently declared a State of Emergency for California on December 8.
This swarm of wildfires was exacerbated by unusually powerful and long-lasting Santa Ana winds, as well as large amounts of dry vegetation, due to a then-far unusually dry rainy season thus far. They also occurred at the end of an unusually active and destructive wildfire season; the fires cost at least $3.5 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including $2.2 billion in insured losses and $300 million in fire suppression costs.