Cedar Fire (2003)
| Cedar Fire | |
|---|---|
A dozen simultaneous wildfires in October 2003; the Cedar Fire is the group of large red dots right of center.
|
|
| Location |
Cleveland National Forest, San Diego County, California |
| Coordinates | 33°01′00″N 116°41′00″W / 33.016667°N 116.683333°WCoordinates: 33°01′00″N 116°41′00″W / 33.016667°N 116.683333°W |
| Statistics | |
| Cost | $27 million (2003 USD) |
| Date(s) | October 25, 2003 – November 4, 2003 |
| Burned area | 280,278 acres (1,134 km2) |
| Cause | Signal fire |
| Buildings destroyed |
|
| Injuries | 113 |
| Fatalities |
|
| Map | |
 |
|
The Cedar Fire was a wildfire which burned over 280,000 acres (1,133 km2) of land in San Diego County, California during October and November 2003. The fire's rapid growth was driven by the Santa Ana winds, causing the fire to spread at a rate of 3,600 acres (15 km2) per hour. By the time the fire was fully contained on November 4, it had burned 280,278 acres (1,134.2 km2) of land, destroyed 2,820 buildings (including 2,232 homes) and killed 15 people, including one firefighter.
The fire remains the largest wildfire in California history. According to CALFIRE, it is also the third deadliest and second most destructive wildfire in state history.
The Cedar Fire began in the Cuyamaca Mountains within the Cleveland National Forest. It was first reported at 5:37 PM PDT on October 25, 2003, to the south of Ramona in central San Diego County. At the time it began, at least eleven other wildfires were actively burning in southern California. Within ten minutes of the initial report, the U.S. Forest Service had deployed 10 fire engines, two water tenders, two hand crews and two chief officers. Within 30 minutes, 320 firefighters and six fire chiefs were en route. A San Diego County Sheriff's Department ASTREA helicopter that was rescuing a hunter spotted the fire at about the same time as the first phone report was received and called for an air response. Another Sheriff's helicopter equipped with a Bambi bucket was dispatched to drop water on the fire. When the helicopter was only minutes away from the fire, a Forest Service fire chief cancelled the water drop because policy required the cutoff of aerial firefighting 30 minutes before sunset.
...
Wikipedia