September 22, 2024 – The first day of fall has been a busy one for local firefighters, including three wildland fires within one hour. Peak fire season is upon us, here is a snapshot of what has happened so far.
The statewide picture
Since January 1, 2024 a total of 11,014 wildland starts were recorded in the Integrated Reporting of Wildfire Information (IRWIN) in California. 6,269 of those grew into fires 10 acres and larger. As of today, nearly a million acres have burned in the state, 1,425 structures have been destroyed and another 255 damaged per CAL FIRE statistics.
The countrywide numbers
As of this morning, 37,760 fires have burned 7,331,514 acres. The ten-year average (2014-2023) is 45,136 fires and 5,878,219 acres burnt. Fewer fires this year but 16% more acreage burnt. The Northwest and Southern areas each have experienced the most loss of acreage so far, according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC.)
The local statistics
Nevada, Placer, Sierra and Yuba counties are part of Cal Fire’s NEU unit. Here is some basic demographic information, coupled with the number of wildfire starts.
Placer County: 1,407 sq mi, pop. 404,739 – 196 wildland fire starts
Nevada County: 958 sq mi, pop. 102,241 – 147 wildland fire starts
Yuba County: 632 sq mi, pop. 81,575 – 59 wildland fire starts
Sierra County: sq mi, pop. 3,268 – 41 wildland fire starts
What does that look like?
You’ll note a concentration of fires along the highways (green lines) and some river drainages. Some of the fires on the east side of the Sierra are lightning-caused fires. The overwhelming majority of fires on the west side is human-caused – car fires, escaped burn piles, sparks caused by equipment or dragging chains.
Fire season is far from over
Some of the largest and most devastating fires in the area started in September and October. The 2017 Wind Complex (Lobo and McCourtney), the 2018 Camp Fire, the 2003 Cedar Fire, the 2017 Tubbs Fire, and of course the 49er Fire.
Stay aware of weather conditions, sign up for emergency alerts from your respective counties, prep your Go Bag, have a plan to evacuate and communicate.
Below is a map we created with IRWIN data listing all the fire starts in 2024. You can zoom in and click on each red dot to learn more. Be safe!