Old Fire (2003)
| Old Fire | |
|---|---|
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| Location | San Bernardino Mountains |
| Coordinates | 34°12′N 117°17′W / 34.20°N 117.28°WCoordinates: 34°12′N 117°17′W / 34.20°N 117.28°W |
| Statistics | |
| Date(s) | October 25, 2003 – November 2, 2003 |
| Burned area | 91,281 acres (369 km2) |
| Cause | Arson |
| Buildings destroyed |
975 |
| Fatalities | 6 |
| Perpetrator(s) | Rickie Lee Fowler |
| Map | |
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The Old Fire was a wildfire that started on October 25, 2003, near Old Waterman Canyon Road and California State Route 18 in the San Bernardino Mountains, in San Bernardino County, Southern California.
The Old Fire was one of 15 wildfires throughout Southern California that month, which became known as the "2003 Firestorm" and the "Fire Siege of 2003.". This included the huge Cedar Fire, the second largest fire in California's history after the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889.
Fanned by the Santa Ana winds, the Old Fire burned 91,281 acres (369.40 km2), destroyed 993 homes and caused 6 deaths. The fire threatened San Bernardino and Highland, as well as the mountain resort communities of Cedar Glen, Crestline, Running Springs and Lake Arrowhead and forcing upwards of 80,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Part of California State University, San Bernardino burned during the fire.
The fire was fully contained on November 2, 2003 with the help of rain and snow. The final cost of the fire was $42 million. The Lake Arrowhead community is now part of a Redevelopment Agency which is controlled by a Board of Supervisors.
A USFS report on the "true" combined costs of the 2003 Old Fire, Padua, and the Grand Prix wildfires (the Grand Prix Fire merged with the Old Fire and the part of the Grand Prix Fire that crossed into Los Angeles County was known as the "Padua Fire") was nearly $1.3 billion. When cleanup, watershed damages and other costs are considered beyond the expenses for firefighting and property damage, wildfire impacts are much higher. About 750,000 acres (3,000 km2) were blackened across five southern California counties.
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