California on the Road to Recovery After Most Active Wildfire Season in State History

Disaster Recovery Roundtable

The state of California continues recovery efforts from a historic wildfire season which included some of the largest fires (in acreage burned) in state —second only to the COVID-19 pandemic for worst disasters of the year. By the end of December, over 9,000 fires burned nearly 4.4 million acres, or about 4% of the state’s approximate 100 million acres of land. The August Complex Fire has been classified as the first “gigafire”- burning over 1 million acres across seven counties. It was one of several large-scale fires and ranked as the Top 5 of the 6 largest fires in California’s recorded wildfire history.

Topics Covered:

• The August Complex Fire has been classified as the first “gigafire”- burning over 1 million acres across seven counties. It was one of several large-scale fires and ranked as the Top 5 of the 6 largest fires in California’s recorded wildfire history.
• Since August of last year, California has received 19 fire management assistance grants approved for 25 counties.
• The year’s season was forecasted early in 2020 to be severe after an extremely dry January and February, which set the stage for a catastrophic season when extreme heat and high winds fueled hundreds of fires across the state in August and September.
• Due to the nature of ongoing events that California has faced over the last several years, the state continues to evolve around the phases of emergency from Recovery to Preparedness to Mitigation back to Response and Recovery
• The wildfires may be over, but now California is looking ahead to the next threats. The large burn scars could produce dangerous mud slides if heavy rains come through the rainy season. The state has been working closely with cities and counties throughout our Watershed Task Force to map out the possible threats and areas of risk where mudflows could be likely.

Additional Information:

• To learn more on preparing for wildfires and how the state responds to these events, visit the Cal Fire website.
• California Governor’s Office of Emergency Service
• Blog - "California on the Road to Recovery After Most Active Wildfire Season in State History"