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User:Penitentes/Nuns Fire

Coordinates: 0°00′00″N 0°00′00″E / 00.00°N -000.000°E / 00.00; -000.000
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Nuns Fire
Part of the 2017 North Bay wildfires
Thick gray plumes of smoke rise from dark, blurry hills and drift off to the left in the background of the photo, but the focus is on a row of grapevines in the foreground.
The Nuns Fire burns near Oakville, California wineries on October 14 (seen from Napa)
Date(s)
  • October 8 (8-10) –
  • October 31, 2017 (2017-10-31)
  • (24 days)
LocationNapa County & Sonoma County, California
Coordinates0°00′00″N 0°00′00″E / 00.00°N -000.000°E / 00.00; -000.000
Statistics
Burned area56,556 acres (22,887 ha; 88 sq mi; 229 km2)
Impacts
Deaths3
Structures destroyed1,355 (172 damaged)
Ignition
CauseTrees striking powerlines
Map
The Nuns Fire formed an irregular shape, burning in the foothills between the city of Napa to the southeast and Santa Rosa to the northwest, in the North Bay area.
The eventual footprint of the Nuns Fire
Refer to caption
Refer to caption
The general location of the Nuns Fire in Northern California

The Nuns Fire was a large and destructive wildfire in Northern California's Napa and Sonoma counties in October 2017. The fire formed from the merger of multiple smaller fires during a downslope windstorm on October 8. The Nuns Fire burned 56,556 acres (22,887 hectares), destroyed more than 1,300 structures, and killed three people.

The Nuns Fire was the largest of multiple major wildfires in the North Bay area. [total losses]

The Nuns Fire technically comprised six fires that merged together: the Nuns, Oakmont/Pythian, Norrbom, Adobe, Pressley, and Partrick fires.

https://web.archive.org/web/20180117193901/http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents_details_newsreleases?incident_id=1868

Background

[edit]

The winter prior to the Nuns and other North Bay area fires delivered substantial rainfall to Northern California, promoting the growth of grasses that later dried and became fuel.[1]

The primary cause of the wildfire outbreak that included the Nuns Fire was a strong Diablo wind event on October 8–9.[1]

A weather pattern conducive to wildfires was well forecast by the National Weather Service up to one week in advance of the event. The Storm Prediction Center alluded to the possibility of critical fire weather conditions, stemming from offshore winds and low relative humidity, as early as October 3. The National Weather Service office for San Francisco and Monterey Bay issued a fire weather watch on October 5, which was upgraded to a red flag warning the following day.[2]

Cause

[edit]

Cal Fire investigators determined that the Nuns, Adobe, Partrick, and Norrbom fires all separately began when trees struck powerlines. They determined that the Pythian Fire began when PG&E attempted to re-energize an already-downed powerline. All the involved powerlines but for the Nuns Fire were operated by PG&E.[3] Cal Fire investigators did not find that PG&E had violated state code on brush clearance or equipment maintenance in the case of the Nuns Fire ignition, but they did find such evidence in the case of the Norrbom, Partrick, Pythian, and Adobe fires, with which the Nuns Fire eventually merged and superseded in name.[4]

Progression

[edit]

The Nuns Fire originated east of Glen Ellen along Nuns Canyon Road—from which it received its name—near California State Route 12.[5][6] Firefighting resources were dispatched at about 11:11 p.m. PST. Concurrently, a remote automated weather station nearby measured sustained winds of 17 miles per hour (27 km/h) with gusts up to 45 miles per hour (72 km/h).[7]

The Nuns Fire merged with the Norrbom Fire overnight on October 11–12,[8] with the Adobe Fire on the morning of October 12, and the Partrick Fire overnight on October 12–13.[9] On October 16, the main fire—then 51,512 acres (20,846 ha) and 53 percent contained—merged with the Oakmont Fire, which had burned 1,029 acres (416 ha) and was 16 percent contained.[10] By October 22, the Nuns Fire was 90 percent contained. Evacuation orders were rescinded for Glen Ellen that same day, allowing residents to survey damage to their properties.[6] The Nuns Fire was pronounced fully contained on October 31, with the containment of the Tubbs and Pocket fires announced simultaneously.[11]

Effects

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The Nuns Fire led to the deaths of three people. Two of them—residents of Glen Ellen and Bennett Ridge respectively—were caught in the fire itself, and the third fatality was a water tender driver who died in a crash during the fire suppression effort.[11]

The Nuns Fire destroyed 1,355 buildings and damaged an additional 172.[12] The fire particularly devastated northern and western portions of Glen Ellen, the Press Democrat describing it as having "leveled entire blocks". Multiple homes also burned in the western fringes of Kenwood.[13] Glen Ellen lost 183 homes, Kenwood 140.[14] As of 2024, the Nuns Fire remains the thirteenth most destructive wildfire in California's recorded history.[15]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Mass, Clifford F.; Ovens, David (2019-02-01). "The Northern California Wildfires of 8–9 October 2017: The Role of a Major Downslope Wind Event". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 100 (2): 235–256. doi:10.1175/BAMS-D-18-0037.1. ISSN 0003-0007. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Nauslar, Nicholas J.; Abatzoglou, John T.; Marsh, Patrick T. (June 9, 2018). "The 2017 North Bay and Southern California Fires: A Case Study". Fire. 1 (1): 18. doi:10.3390/fire1010018. ISSN 2571-6255.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  3. ^ "CAL FIRE Investigators Determine Causes of 12 Wildfires in Mendocino, Humboldt, Butte, Sonoma, Lake, and Napa Counties" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). June 8, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 10, 2018.
  4. ^ Johnson, Julie; Digitale, Robert; Morris, J.D. (June 8, 2018). "Cal Fire: PG&E equipment caused 12 Northern California fires during October firestorm". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  5. ^ "Five years after the firestorm — From The Press Democrat archives". The Press Democrat. October 7, 2022. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Sernoffsky, Evan (October 22, 2017). "Glen Ellen residents evacuated in Nuns Fire cleared to return". SFGate. Archived from the original on January 18, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  7. ^ "Investigation Report" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). Archived (PDF) from the original on March 26, 2024. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  8. ^ "Incident Update" (PDF). Cal Fire. October 12, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 13, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  9. ^ Lyons, Jenna; Ma, Annie; Egelko, Bob; Gutierrez, Melody (October 13, 2017). "Live updates: 35 dead in NorCal fires, 5,700 structures destroyed". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 1, 2021. Retrieved April 26, 2024 – via SFGate.
  10. ^ Payne, Paul; Rossmann, Randi; Johnson, Julie; Morris, J.D. (October 17, 2017). "More evacuation orders lifted in Sonoma County as firefight grinds on in Sonoma Valley". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  11. ^ a b Rossmann, Randi (October 31, 2017). "Tubbs, Nuns, Pocket fires fully contained in Sonoma and Napa counties". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  12. ^ "2017 Wildfire Activity Statistics" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). April 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on May 15, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  13. ^ Moore, Derek (October 15, 2017). "Return to normalcy seems distant in fire-ravaged Sonoma Valley". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on April 19, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  14. ^ Charrier, Emily (July 27, 2018). "Rebuilding Sonoma County: Sonoma Valley a patchwork of projects, barren lots". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on April 24, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
  15. ^ "Top 20 Most Destructive California Wildfires" (PDF). www.fire.ca.gov. California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire). March 27, 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 15, 2024. Retrieved April 17, 2024.
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