November 2008 California wildfires

November 2008 California Wildfires
Smoke and highlighted burn areas imaged on November 16 by the Terra Earth observation satellite
Location	Southern California
Date	November 13, 2008-November 25, 2008
Burned area	more than 43,445 acres (17,582 ha)
Ignition source	Various
Land use	Mixed, residential and wildlands
Fatalities	Potentially 1[1]
Injuries	At least 32[2]

The November 2008 California wildfires are a series of wildfires that began burning across Southern California on November 13. At least 400 houses and 500 mobile homes were destroyed. According to USA Today these together with the October 2007 California wildfires were the worst California wildfires in two decades.^[3]

The most significant fires were the following:

• Montecito Tea Fire - a wildfire that started on November 13, 2008, in the wealthy community of Montecito, in Santa Barbara County, California, resulting in the destruction of 210 homes.^[4] Many celebrities have homes in the area of the Tea Fire, including Oprah Winfrey, Rob Lowe, and Steven Spielberg. The home of actor Christopher Lloyd was destroyed in the fire.^[5][6]

• Sayre Fire - a wildfire that started on November 13, 2008, in the Sylmar section of Los Angeles, California, resulting in the destruction of at least 630 structures, including 500 mobile homes, nine single-family homes, and eleven commercial buildings.^[7][8] The loss of more than 500 residences is the "worst loss of homes due to fire" ever in the City of Los Angeles, California, exceeding the loss of 484 residences in the 1961 Bel Air fire.^[8]

• Freeway Complex Fire^[9] - A series of wildfires, also known as the Yorba Linda-Corona Fire by the news media, or Triangle Complex Fire, that started at approximately 9:00 a.m. PDT on November 15, 2008, and spread across the communities of Corona, Chino Hills, Yorba Linda, Anaheim Hills and Brea in Orange and Riverside County, California, and also spread to Diamond Bar in Los Angeles County.^[10] The Freeway Fire burned about 30,305 acres (12,264 ha),^[9] injured 14 firefighters, destroyed about 200 structures,^[11] and forced the evacuations of about 7,000 homes.^[12][13][14]

Reaction

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa told residents, "If you wait until the fire gets there you have waited too long, this fire can be on you in a moment's notice."^[15] California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Governor Schwarzenegger described the conditions contributing to the fires as a "perfect storm," including strong Santa Ana and sundowner winds, with gusts reaching 80 miles per hour (129 km/h), as well as high temperatures, low humidity and dry conditions.^[16]

See also

• 2010 California wildfires
• 2009 California wildfires
• Summer 2008 California wildfires
• October 2007 California wildfires
• Old Fire (2003)
• Cedar Fire

Notes

1. ^ Chawkins, Steve; Sahagun, Louis; Weiss, Kenneth R. (2008-11-14). "Montecito fire consumes 111 homes". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sbfire15-2008nov15,0,3157160.story. Retrieved 2008-11-15. 
2. ^ "Several injured in California fire". Al Jazeera. 13 November 2008. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2008/11/2008111418830639894.html. Retrieved 16 November 2008. 
3. ^ Dorell, Oren (2009-04-22). "Renewed drought conditions fan California's wildfire fears". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/weather/drought/2009-04-22-drought-california_N.htm. Retrieved 2009-05-03. 
4. ^ State of California
5. ^ Brenoff, Ann. "Christopher Lloyd among the unlucky". LA Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laland/2008/11/christopher-llo.html. Retrieved 2008-11-15. ^{[dead link]}
6. ^ "CA MTO Tea Fire Update 3000+ Acres". California Fire News. http://calfire.blogspot.com/2008/11/ca-mto-tea-fire-update-2500-acres-0.html. 
7. ^ Blogspot.com
8. ^ ^{a b} Tami Abdollah and Howard Blume (2008-11-16). "Schwarzenegger calls for review after Sylmar tragedy as blazes rage on". Los Angeles Times. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/valley/la-me-firemain17-2008nov17,0,2305426.story. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Orange County Fire Authority
10. ^ State of California
11. ^ Pirani, Niyaz; Townsend, Adam; Jolly, Vik (November 17, 2008). "Heat may hamper firefighters this afternoon". The Orange County Register. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/orange-county-fire-2230899-triangle-complex. 
12. ^ Freedom Blogging: Freedom Politics
13. ^ FOX Los Angeles. FOX 11
14. ^ "Freeway Complex Fire Burns 7,300 Acres; Tens of Thousands Evacuated". NBC Los Angeles. 2008-11-16. http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Brush-Fire-Shuts-Down-Freeway-in-Corona.html. Retrieved 2008-11-28. 
15. ^ Gorman, steve (15 November 2008). "Los Angeles fears blackouts as wildfire burns". Reuters. http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN1547041620081115. Retrieved 18 November 2008. 
16. ^ Comments of Govovernor Schwarzenegger in televised press conference at 9:50 PDT on November 16, 2008.