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Delta Fire

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Coordinates: 40°53′28″N 122°13′41″W / 40.891°N 122.228°W / 40.891; -122.228
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Delta Fire
The Delta Fire as it closed of Interstate 5
Date(s)
  • September 5, 2018 (2018-09-05) –
  • October 7, 2018 (2018-10-07)
LocationShasta National Forest, California, United States
Coordinates40°53′28″N 122°13′41″W / 40.891°N 122.228°W / 40.891; -122.228
Statistics[1]
Burned area63,311 acres (256 km2)
Impacts
DeathsNone reported
Non-fatal injuries2
Structures destroyed42 structures
DamageUnknown
Ignition
CauseHuman related
Map
Delta Fire is located in California
Delta Fire
The fire's location in Northern California

The Delta Fire was a 2018 wildfire that burned near Lakehead, California, in the Shasta National Forest. The fire burned 63,311 acres (256 km2)[1] and destroyed 20 structures, before it was 100% contained on October 7, 2018. The fire burned into the western flank of the nearby Hirz Fire on September 10, and also burned only a couple of miles away from the enormous Carr Fire, the seventh-most destructive fire in Californian history.

Progression

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The Delta Fire ignited on September 5, 2018, at approximately 12:51 PM PDT, 2 miles north of Lakehead, California. The fire rapidly grew in size, crossing over Interstate 5 between Lakehead, California, and Castella, California, which forced the interstate to be shut down from September 5 to September 10. On September 10, the fire merged with the nearby Hirz Fire to the east, and by September 11, the fire was only a few miles away from burning into the already-contained Carr Fire to the southwest.[2]

On September 12, the Delta Fire reached 57,253 acres (232 km2) and was only 17% contained. On September 13, the northern flank of the fire flared up again and shut down Interstate 5 again for six hours during the afternoon. During the next few days, the Delta Fire continued to grow in size, albeit at a slow rate, while firefighters continued making progress on containing the wildfire, with the fire reaching 60,277 acres (243.93 km2) and 76% containment by September 17.[3] On September 18, firefighters had contained most of the Delta Fire's northern flank, while flames on the fire's southwestern flank continued to spread, nearly reaching the Carr Fire's burn area.[4] Late on September 19, the Delta Fire had grown to 60,592 acres (245.21 km2), while containment increased to 88%, with the southwestern flank of the wildfire being the only active portion of the fire.[1] On September 24, the Delta Fire had grown to 60,751 acres (245.85 km2), while containment increased to 98%.[1]

On September 25, a spot fire broke out in Bear Gulch, outside of the southwestern perimeter of the Delta Fire, which quickly reached 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) by the next morning.[5] On September 27, a second, smaller spot fire had broken out to the south of the larger spot fire, situated south of Damnation Creek, which was estimated at 14 acres (0.057 km2).[6] The first spot fire continued to spread uncontained, while the main body of the Delta Fire was contained; by September 29, the first spot fire had exceeded 2,376 acres (9.62 km2) in size, increasing the total burn area of the Delta Fire to 63,093 acres (255.33 km2), and dropping the overall containment of the Delta Fire to 97%. The spot fires were at 0% containment.[7][1] On September 30, the Delta Fire expanded to 63,293 acres (256.14 km2), with containment remaining at 97%.[8] The fire did not experience any further growths for the next several days, while containment generally remained at 97% up until October 5.[9] Afterward, the Delta Fire experienced another small growth, increasing to 63,311 acres (256.21 km2). On October 7, the Delta Fire was fully contained, without any further increases in size.[10]

The fire was determined to be man-made, although the exact cause remains unclear.[11] On May 5, 2021, Shasta County District Attorney, Stephanie A. Bridgett announced that a Cynthia Ann LeRoux had been arrested and faces charges for starting the Delta Fire.[citation needed]

Growth and containment

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Video from the US Forest Service about the Delta / Herz fires
Fire suppression efforts on September 14
Fire containment status[12]
Gray: contained; Red: active; %: percent contained;
Date Area burned
acres (hectares)		 Containment
Sept 5 5,000 (2,023)
0%
Sept 6 22,000 (8,903)
0%
Sept 7 31,325 (12,677)
0%
Sept 8 40,580 (16,422)
0%
Sept 9 47,110 (19,065)
5%
Sept 10 49,874 (20,183)
5%
Sept 11 53,837 (21,787)
11%
Sept 12 57,233 (23,161)
17%
Sept 13 60,018 (24,288)
26%
Sept 14 60,018 (24,288)
28%
Sept 15 60,018 (24,288)
41%
Sept 16 60,018 (24,288)
64%
Sept 17 60,277 (24,393)
76%
Sept 18 60,277 (24,393)
81%
Sept 19 60,592 (24,521)
88%
Sept 20 60,681 (24,557)
88%
Sept 21 60,705 (24,566)
92%
Sept 22 60,748 (24,584)
96%
Sept 23 60,748 (24,584)
98%
Sept 24 60,751 (24,585)
98%
Sept 25 60,779 (24,596)
98%
Sept 26 61,715 (24,975)
98%
Sept 28 62,159 (25,155)
97%
Sept 29 63,093 (25,533)
97%
Sept 30–Oct 5 63,293 (25,614)
97%
Oct 6 --- ---
Oct 7 63,311 (25,621)
100%

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Delta Fire.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Delta Fire Information - InciWeb the Incident Information System". inciweb.nwcg.gov. October 7, 2018. Archived from the original on September 19, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Pike, Haleigh (September 11, 2018). "Delta Fire". krcrtv.com. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "Delta Fire Daily Update 9-17-18". inciweb.nwcg.gov. September 17, 2018. Retrieved September 18, 2018.
  4. ^ "Delta Fire PIO Map 9-18-18". InciWeb. September 18, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2018.
  5. ^ "Delta Fire Daily Update for Wednesday, September 26th". inciweb.nwcg.gov. September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 29, 2018.
  6. ^ Christian Wohlfeil (September 27, 2018). "Delta Fire Update Thursday, September 27: Aerial mapping shows more accurate acreage". KCRC. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  7. ^ "Delta Fire Update for September 29th, 2018". inciweb.nwcg.gov. September 29, 2018. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  8. ^ "Delta Fire Daily Update for Sunday, September 30th". inciweb.nwcg.gov. September 30, 2018. Retrieved October 1, 2018.
  9. ^ "Delta Fire Update for Friday, October 5, 2018". inciweb.nwcg.gov. October 5, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  10. ^ "Delta Fire Update for October 7, 2018". inciweb.nwcg.gov. October 7, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  11. ^ "Delta Fire: Latest maps and road closures". 5 September 2018.
  12. ^ "Incident information - Delta Fire". InciWeb. Archived from the original on 2018-09-19. Retrieved 2018-09-12.
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