Wildfires happen in dry and hot areas like California. These are the Top 10 tragic fires in California. These fires are part of California’s history.
1. Tunnel Fire- This firestorm is also known as Oakland Hills, and happened in October, 1991 at Alameda County Bay Area. It destroyed 2,900 structures, burned 1,600 acres and there were 25 deaths.
2. Cedar Fire- The Cedar Fire was in San Diego and it was caused by human error. The fire was in October, 2003 and 2,800 structures were destroyed. There were 15 deaths.
3. Valley Fire- Lake, Napa, and Sonoma counties in central California had the Valley Fire. It happened in September, 2015 and destroyed 1,955 structures. 76,067 acres were burned and there were four deaths.
4. Witch Fire- The cause of the Witch Fire was power lines in San Diego County, Southern California. On October, 2007 there were 2 deaths. It destroyed 1,650 structures and 197,990 acres burned.
5. Old Fire- Humans were also the cause for this fire in October, 2003. In San Bernardino County Southeastern California, 1,003 structures were destroyed. There were 6 deaths and 91,281 acres burned.
6. Jones Fire- In Shasta County North-Central California 1 person died during this fire. In October, 1999, the cause is unknown. This fire destroyed 954 structures and 26,200 acres burned.
7. Butte Fire- In September, 2015, this fire destroyed 921 structures. In Amador and Calaveras counties of East-central California, near the Sierra Nevada, 70,868 acres were burned. Two people died in this fire.
8. Paint Fire- In the June, 1990 fire in Santa Barbara County, Southern California one person died. The fire was caused by arson. It destroyed 641 structures and 4,900 acres were burned.
9. Fountain Fire- The Fountain Fire in Shasta County North-central California was also caused by arson. It happened in August 1992 and destroyed 636 structures. The reports say that no one died, but 63,960 acres burned.
10. Sayre Fire- Sayre happened in November, 2008, no deaths were reported. This fire happened in Los Angeles County, Southern California. The fire destroyed 604 structures and 11,262 acres were burned.
Many structures vanished and many acres of land were burned down due to these fires, but the death tole could have been much greater. The information for these fires is from the Weather Channel.