Talk:Witch Fire

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Witch Fire has been listed as one of the History good articles under the good article criteria. If you can improve it further, please do so. If it no longer meets these criteria, you can reassess it.
Review: December 10, 2023. (Reviewed version).

Text and/or other creative content from this version of 2007 California wildfires was copied or moved into Witch Fire with this edit on 16 August 2023. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

A fact from Witch Fire appeared on Wikipedia's Main Page in the Did you know column on 20 December 2023 (check views). The text of the entry was as follows:

Did you know... that as a result of the Witch Fire almost 1 million people had to evacuate Southern California?

A record of the entry may be seen at Wikipedia:Recent additions/2023/December. The nomination discussion and review may be seen at Template:Did you know nominations/Witch Fire.

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GA Review

Passed. Sammi Brie (she/her • t • c) 02:28, 10 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

This review is transcluded from Talk:Witch Fire/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: Sammi Brie (talk · contribs) 20:29, 4 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)
It is reasonably well written. a (prose, spelling, and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists): It is factually accurate and verifiable. a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR): d (copyvio and plagiarism): It is broad in its coverage. a (major aspects): b (focused): It follows the neutral point of view policy. Fair representation without bias: It is stable. No edit wars, etc.: It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate. a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):
Overall: Pass/Fail:
· · ·

I've been eyeing this since the GA drive some months back. I've noticed the nominator's activity is sporadic. If I do not get comments within 7 days of finishing, I will likely close this nomination, but I believe someone should at least look at it.

The article could use fresh eyes and paring back of the excessive time and year references. It needs a holistic review to not read like a proseline while still being an account of the fire's progression. I struggle to understand how a couple of sources are used and would like clarification from the nominator. Will hold. Sammi Brie (she/her • t • c) 06:30, 5 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Sammi Brie, Hey, thanks for picking up this article. I should be able to work on this after today over the weekend. — The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 16:24, 8 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Made a bunch more changes to try and make it an easier read on the eyes. Also fixed some reference consistency issues. Sammi Brie (she/her • t • c) 02:01, 10 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@The4lines is this ready or does it need additional changes? Sammi Brie (she/her • t • c) 02:05, 10 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Sammi Brie, Unless you have any other concerns, I think it might be ready. — The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 02:18, 10 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Did you know? If you fancy doing so, I always have plenty of GA nominees to review. Just look for the all-uppercase titles in the Television section. Reviews always appreciated.

Copy changes

General:

Consider looking at this with fresh eyes to determine if less verbose phrasing can be used.
Try and vary the beginnings of sentences to avoid WP:PROSELINE, which plagues parts of this article.

Lead

The small font in the infobox should be removed. This is part of the Manual of Style as MOS:SMALLFONT and is an accessibility concern. The containment item could be a footnote called by {{efn}} and a {{notelist}} further down. Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 04:17, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Fanned by powerful Santa Ana winds, the Witch Creek Fire rapidly spread westward, and consumed large portions of San Diego County. The second comma is not needed as there is just one subject (Witch Creek Fire). See User:Sammi Brie/Commas in sentences (CinS). Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 16:03, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
During its duration, 80–100 feet-high flames were reported by fire officials This should be reworded to permit for a unit conversion. During its duration, flames 80 to 100 feet (24 to 30 m) high... (The syntax to do this in {{convert}} is included in this sample) Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 16:03, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The Witch Fire was a major contributor to the mass evacuations across much of Southern California at that time, which saw 1,000,000 residents evacuate, becoming the largest evacuation in California history. Consider rewording to be less verbose. Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 16:03, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
As of 2020 statistics may need to be updated. Updated The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 16:03, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Progression

12:35 PM PDT try "p.m." and consider linking PDT on first use. Done
the two fires combined into a single, massive wildfire, before dawn The second comma is not needed. Done
The Witch Creek Fire had become a firestorm by this time, exhibiting extreme fire behavior and long-range spotting. This needs a citation. Removed The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:15, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
By 9:30 P.M. PDT on October 22, a dispatch from the city of Del Mar's web site stated: "For your safety, we are strongly advising that all Del Mar residents evacuate." Consider rewording to be less verbose. This may not need to be quoted in full, and the time might not be necessary as just five minutes after the previous time. Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:15, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
Evacuations were also ordered for Scripps Ranch neighborhood, specifically "Everything south of Scripps Poway Parkway, north of MCAS Miramar, east of Interstate 15, and west of Highway 67". Likely not needing to be quoted; this would be unavoidable phrasing. Miramar and Highway 67 have not been mentioned yet and should be wikilinked and MCAS expanded. (There is a use of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar later on that should have the opposite done to it.) Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:15, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
By the end of October 22, the Witch Creek Fire had exploded to an enormous 145,000 acres (587 km2), and the fire was still rapidly expanding. Consider the less verbose By the end of October 22, the Witch Creek Fire had exploded to an enormous 145,000 acres (587 km2) and was still rapidly expanding. Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:15, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
At 9:50 P.M. PDT on October 23, 2007, the town of Julian, California was ordered to evacuate. missing MOS:GEOCOMMA Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:15, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Impacts

PM10 particles are small enough to enter deep into the lungs, and possibly the bloodstream. Remove comma Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:37, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
The National Guard called more than 2,400 troops, with 17,000 available if needed; of which 100 California National Guard medical personnel provided medical assistance. This is not an appropriate use of a semicolon because "Of which 100..." is not a standalone sentence. Consider reordering, too. The California National Guard called more than 2,400 troops, of which 100 provided medical assistance, with 17,000 soldiers available if needed. Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:37, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
sent through a private contract from its home in Port Alberni, British Columbia on another GEOCOMMA missing Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 03:37, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Aftermath

didn't should be "did not" Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 16:18, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Sourcing and spot checks

A note for future reviewers because I suspect this may go to GA2 on inactivity. If you use Headbomb's source color-coding script, you will notice several Union-Tribune sources that are flagged red since they are on a Blogspot blog. It appears this was an official wildfire live blog run by the newspaper back when its online presence was known as Sign On San Diego. These are reliable sources.

3: Archived CalFire incident report for the Poomacha Fire. I am unable to figure out from the way it's cited what belongs to what. I am concerned the two fire summaries (2 and 3) do not justify the claim the largest complex fire of 2007. Done I reworded the intro to try to make it more clear. I've also removed the offending statement. The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 17:22, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
18: This is used with 7 (As dawn broke, authorities ordered evacuations from Del Dios highway south to state Route 56 and from I-15 west to Interstate 5.) The after action report attributes this to 0600 (The Sheriff’s Department issues a mandatory evacuation order for Del Dios and the unincorporated area of Escondido in response to the Witch Creek Fire.). This discrepancy needs resolving. Done The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 17:23, 9 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]
20: Liveblog evacuation item. Y
24: Trying to figure out what this is used for. Most of the material seems to be in [23] but checks out there. Y
33: Liveblog item on moving of aircraft. Y

I note that The Witch and Guejito Fires combined to burn 197,000 acres, killed two people, injured 40 firefighters, and destroyed 1,141 homes and 239 vehicles. (article) and The Witch and Guejito fires in October 2007 combined to burn 197,000 acres. They killed two people, injured 40 firefighters and destroyed 1,141 homes and 239 vehicles. (Mercury News, 2017) are rather similar, but there are only so many ways to recite these facts.

Images

The images primarily consist of CC-BY and public domain images, most from Flickr, as well as a map from the state with an appropriate license tag indicating it is PD. Encouragement (not necessary for promotion): Add alt text. This may be quite difficult for the fire map!

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Did you know nomination

The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by Bruxton talk 15:32, 12 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

(

Comment or view
Article history

)

... that the Witch Fire was one of the major contributors which led to almost 1 million people evacuating Southern California, the largest in Californian history? Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20110629010510/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aufnKvlM.Et8&pid=newsarchive
- ALT1: ... that illegal migrant workers were arrested when fleeing from the Witch Fire? Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20071029033427/http://www.kcbs.com/Immigrants-Step-Out-of-the-Smoke/1141409
- Comment: If anyone has a better hook, feel free to suggest. I don't believe I need a QPQ yet. The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 20:01, 10 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Improved to Good Article status by The4lines (talk). Self-nominated at 19:59, 10 December 2023 (UTC). Post-promotion hook changes for this nom will be logged at Template talk:Did you know nominations/Witch Fire; consider watching this nomination, if it is successful, until the hook appears on the Main Page.[reply]

@The4lines: Article was recently promoted to GA status, so it is eligible. QPQ is not needed. I feel as if you're trying to put a bit too much information into the ALT0. Are you able to remove some information a bit? Maybe it just needs the high evacuation numbers or other statistics? —Panamitsu (talk) 02:46, 11 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

@Panamitsu: Maybe something like this? The4lines |||| ^{(Talk) (Contributions)} 15:36, 11 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

ALT0a: ... that the Witch Fire contributed to almost 1 million people evacuating Southern California?

Yup, looks good. —Panamitsu (talk) 21:45, 11 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

I formatted ALT0a, but I will tweak the hook a bit.

ALT0b: ... that as a result of the Witch Fire almost 1 million people had to evacuate Southern California? Bruxton (talk) 15:29, 12 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Also note: Earwig is not working for me. Bruxton (talk) 15:31, 12 December 2023 (UTC)[reply]