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As of August 16, 2024, California has recorded 5,210 wildfires that have destroyed 821,877 acres; just in July, the fourth largest in state history was recorded, the Park Fire, which is known to have been arson, destroying 429,188 acres and 637 structures so far, and is still active.
There are currently 12 active fires, with the largest affecting Butte, Tehama, Shasta and Plumas counties.
It has been active for more than a month and authorities have only been able to contain it to 49 percent. It has generated 32 evacuation warnings in Tehama and 6 in Shasta; while there are 10 evacuation orders in Tehama.
It is located off Upper Park Road in Upper Bidwell Park, east of Chico, where 1,003 structures are under threat. The Park Fire has burned 113,744 acres in the Lassen National Forest.
According to CalFireCalifornia experienced a warmer than normal June combined with excessive fine fuels due to unusually wet winter and spring seasons, resulting in vegetation being more susceptible to fire ignition and spread than seen in previous years.
Additionally, vegetation is much denser below 3,000 feet, which can lead to rapid fire growth during the initial attack, especially in areas where wind and topography align. These conditions are widely viewed as indicative of a longer and more intense fire year, especially compared to the past 3 fire years.
According to the agency, the months of July through September are more influenced by grass and fine fuels than by large wood, which are less likely to catch fire due to the spring rainy season. However, fire spread through understory and woody fuels, based on incident activity in the first half of the fire year, indicates that fire is likely to spread vigorously and rapidly, even in the wood fuel model.
While the number of fires in the state remains on pace with the five-year average, the number of acres burned is much higher than average over that span. Climate predictions call for above-normal temperatures for all of California, resulting in an abnormally high fire risk for the remainder of the year.
As of May 31, 2024, 38 people have been arrested for arson.
From 1980 to 2024, wildfires are California's costliest disaster, accounting for 64.7 percent of total costs, ranging from $50 billion to $100 billion.
Key numbers 2024
- 99 wildfires with 300 or more acres burned, which is 628 percent more than the five-year average of large wildfires.
- 826,398 acres burned by local, state and federal wildfires; 125 percent compared to the five-year average of acres burned to date.
- 1 wildfire-related death this year.
It is worth noting that most wildfires occur between the months of April and October, when the weather becomes warmer and drier. In Southern California in particular, the hot and dry Santa Ana winds increase the risk of wildfires in October and November.
Some of the worst wildfires in California history occurred outside that window. The Camp Fire in 2018, which killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise outside Redding in Northern California, was a November fire.
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