2007 California wildfires

rdf:langString 2007 California wildfires

rdf:langString >$2.681 billion

rdf:langString At least 17

rdf:langString At least 203

rdf:langString yes

rdf:langString California wildfires

rdf:langString The 2007 California wildfire season saw at least 9,093 separate wildfires that charred 1,520,362 acres (6,152.69 km2) of land. Thirty of those wildfires were part of the Fall 2007 California firestorm, which burned approximately 972,147 acres (about 3,934 km2, or 1,520 mi2) of land from Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border. At the peak of the wildfire activity in October 2007, the raging wildfires were visible from space. The wildfires killed a total of 17 people, with nine of them dying directly from the fires; 203 others were injured, including at least 124 firefighters. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared a state of emergency in seven California counties where fires were burning. President George W. Bush concurred, and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local response efforts. Over 6,000 firefighters worked to fight the blazes; they were aided by units of the United States Armed Forces, United States National Guard, almost 3,000 prisoners convicted of non-violent crimes, and 60 firefighters from the Mexican cities of Tijuana and Tecate. The fires forced approximately 1,000,000 people to evacuate from their homes, becoming the largest evacuation in California's history. Major contributing factors to the extreme fire conditions were drought in Southern California, hot weather, and the unusually strong Santa Ana winds, with gusts reaching 112 mph (180 km/h). California's "fire season," which traditionally runs from June to October, has become a year-round threat, due to a mixture of perennial drought and the increasing number of homes built in canyons and on hillsides, surrounded by brush and forest. The fires had numerous sources. Several were triggered by power lines damaged by the high winds. One fire started when a semi-truck overturned. Another was suspected as having been deliberately caused; the suspect was shot and killed in flight by state authorities. A 10-year-old boy admitted that he accidentally started the Buckweed Fire by playing with matches. Causes of the remaining fires remain under investigation. The last active fire of the October 2007 fires, the Harris Fire, was fully extinguished on November 16, 2007, about 27 days after the series of wildfires had begun to ignite. The October 2007 wildfires collectively caused over $2 billion in property damages. During the season, the National Interagency Fire Center reported that two firefighters were killed. One died in a helicopter crash, and the second was killed in a bulldozer rollover.