December 2017 Southern California Wildfires
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December 2017 Southern California Wildfires
A series of 29 wildfires ignited across Southern California in December 2017. Six of the fires became significant wildfires, and led to widespread evacuations and property losses. The wildfires burned over , and caused traffic disruptions, school closures, hazardous air conditions, and power outages; over 230,000 people were forced to evacuate. The largest of the wildfires was the Thomas Fire, which grew to , and became the largest wildfire in modern California history, until it was surpassed by the Ranch Fire in the Mendocino Complex, in the following year. On December 5, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Ventura and Los Angeles Counties, followed by San Diego County on December 7; U.S. President Donald Trump subsequently declared a State of Emergency for California on December 8. This swarm of wildfires was exacerbated by unusually powerful and long-lasting Santa Ana winds, as well as large amounts of dry vegetation, due to a then-far unusually dry rain ...
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Thomas Fire
The Thomas Fire was a massive wildfire that affected Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and one of multiple wildfires that ignited in southern California in December 2017. It burned approximately before being fully contained on January 12, 2018, making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time. It was surpassed by the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex, in August 2018. The fire is currently the seventh-largest wildfire in modern California history, as of 2021. The fire was officially declared out on June 1, 2018, after more than two months in which no hotspots were detected. The Thomas Fire destroyed at least 1,063 structures, while damaging 280 others; and the fire caused over $2.2 billion (2018 USD) in damages, including $230 million in suppression costs, becoming the seventh-most destructive wildfire in state history at the time. As of August 2020, the Thomas Fire is California's tenth-most destructive wildfire. Ventura's agriculture indus ...
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Semi-trailer Truck
A semi-trailer truck, also known as a semitruck, (or semi, eighteen-wheeler, big rig, tractor-trailer or, by synecdoche, a semitrailer) is the combination of a tractor unit and one or more semi-trailers to carry freight. A semi-trailer attaches to the tractor with a type of hitch called a fifth wheel. Regional configurations Europe The noticeable difference between tractor units in Europe and North America is that almost all European models are cab over engine (called "forward control" in the UK), while the majority of North American trucks are "conventional" (called "normal control" or "bonneted" in the UK). European trucks, whether straight trucks or fully articulated, have a sheer face on the front. This allows shorter trucks with longer trailers (with larger freight capacity) within the legal maximum total length. Furthermore, it offers greater maneuverability in confined areas, a more balanced weight-distribution, and better overall view for the driver. The m ...
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Lake Casitas
Lake Casitas is a reservoir in Ventura County, California, built by the United States Bureau of Reclamation and completed in 1959. The project provides drinking water and water for irrigation. A secondary benefit is flood control. It was the venue for canoeing and rowing at the 1984 Summer Olympics. Casitas Dam was constructed on Coyote Creek, two miles (3 km) before it joins the Ventura River. Santa Ana Creek and North Fork Coyote Creek also flow into the lake. The system was designed for water from the Ventura River to be diverted into a canal under specific conditions since the impounded watershed is not sufficient to fill the lake. The dam is creating a lake capacity of . The dam was built as part of the Ventura River Project. In the center of Lake Casitas is 2 km Main Island, whose peak rises more than from the lake surface. History The lake filled and overflowed for the first time around the 1970s. During the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, Lake Casitas ...
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Carpinteria, California
Carpinteria (; es, Carpintería, meaning "Carpentry") is a small seaside city in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, it had a population of 13,264 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Carpinteria is a popular surf destination; the city embraced the slogan "World's Safest Beach" in 1912, which it still uses today. History Carpinteria was home to a Chumash people, Chumash village during pre-colonial times, which was known as Šujtu. In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition came west along the beach from the previous night's encampment at Rincon (surfspot), Rincon. The explorers found a large native village on the point of land where Carpinteria Pier is today. The party camped nearby on Timeline of the Portolá expedition, August 17. Fray Juan Crespí, a Franciscan missionary travelling with the expedition, noted that "Not far from the town we saw some springs of pitch. The Indians have ...
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List Of California Wildfires
This is a partial and incomplete list of California wildfires. California has dry, windy, and often hot weather conditions from spring through late autumn that can produce moderate to severe wildfires. Pre-1800, when the area was much more forested and the ecology much more resilient, 4.4 million acres (1.8 million hectares) of forest and shrubland burned annually. California land area totals 99,813,760 or roughly 100 million acres, so since 2000, the area that burned annually has ranged between 90,000 acres, or 0.09%, and 1,590,000 acres, or 1.59% of the total land of California. During the 2020 wildfire season alone, over 8,100 fires contributed to the burning of nearly 4.5 million acres of land. Wildfires in California are growing more dangerous because of the accumulation of wood fuel in forests, higher population and greater electricity transmission and distribution lines. United States taxpayers pay about US$3 billion a year to fight wildfires, and big fires can lead to b ...
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Rincon Oil Field
The Rincon Oil Field is a large oil field on the coast of southern California, about northwest of the city of Ventura, and about east-southeast of the city of Santa Barbara. It is the westernmost onshore field in a series of three fields which follow the Ventura Anticline, an east-west trending feature paralleling the Transverse Ranges. Discovered in 1927, the oil field is ranked 36th in California by size of recoverable oil reserves, and while mostly depleted – now having, by California Department of Conservation estimates, only about 2.5% of its original oil – it remains productive, with 77 wells active at the beginning of 2008. Oil produced in the field flows through the M-143 pipeline, which parallels U.S. Highway 101 southeast to the Ventura Pump Station, at which point it joins a Tosco pipeline which carries it to Los Angeles area refineries. As of 2009, the primary operators of the field were Occidental Petroleum for the onshore portion, and Greka Energy for the ...
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Ventura River
The Ventura River, in western Ventura County in southern California, United States, flows from its headwaters to the Pacific Ocean. The smallest of the three major rivers in Ventura County, it flows through the steeply sloped, narrow Ventura Valley, with its final through the broader Ventura River estuary, which extends from where it crosses under a U.S. Route 101 in California, 101 Freeway bridge through to the Pacific Ocean. Physical geography Watershed The Ventura River watershed encompasses consisting of steep mountains and foothills, with altitudes ranging from to sea level. Valley floors are home to communities and farms. Conditions in much of the watershed remain natural and undeveloped, with 57% of its land area in protected status. Most of the watershed's primary streams and drainages are unchannelized, though the natural hydrologic patterns have been modified by two dams (the Casitas and Matilija) and three levees (the Ventura River, Casitas Springs, and Live Oak). ...
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California State Route 33
State Route 33 (SR 33) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs north from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura through the Transverse Ranges and the western side of the San Joaquin Valley to Interstate 5 at a point east of Tracy. SR 33 replaced part of U.S. Route 399 in 1964 during the "great renumbering" of routes. In the unincorporated sections of Kern County it is known as the West Side Highway. In addition, the California Legislature designated the entire Kern County portion as the Petroleum Highway in 2004. The southernmost portion in Ventura is a freeway known as the Ojai Freeway, while it is known as the Maricopa Highway from Ojai to Maricopa. Route description State Route 33 begins in Ventura as a short freeway ("Ojai Freeway"). SR 33 then continues north as Maricopa Highway, an undivided surface road, through Ojai, following Matilija Canyon past the easternmost extremity of the Santa Ynez Mountains in Los Padres National Forest, and passi ...
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Ojai, California
Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is about long by wide and divided into a lower and an upper valley, each of similar size, surrounded by hills and mountains. The population was 7,637 at the 2020 census, up from 7,461 at the 2010 census. Ojai is a tourism destination known for its boutique hotels, recreation opportunities, hiking, and farmers' market of local organic agriculture. It has small businesses specializing in local and ecologically friendly art, design, and home improvement. Chain stores are prohibited by city ordinance to encourage local small business development and keep the town unique. The name Ojai is derived from the Mexican-era Rancho Ojai, which in turn took its name from the Ventureño Chumash word Awha'y'', meaning "Moon".Tumamait-Stenslie, Julie. " ...
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Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city on the Southern Coast of California and the county seat of Ventura County. The population was 110,763 at the 2020 census. Ventura is a popular tourist destination, owing to its historic landmarks, beaches, and resorts. Ventura was founded by the Spanish in 1782, when Saint Junípero Serra established Mission San Buenaventura. Following the Mexican secularization of the Californian missions, San Buenaventura was granted by Governor Pío Pico to Don José de Arnaz as Rancho Ex-Mission San Buenaventura and a small community arose. Following the American Conquest of California, San Buenaventura eventually incorporated as a city in 1866. The 1920s brought a major oil boom, which along with the post–World War II economic expansion, significantly developed and expanded Ventura. History Archaeological discoveries in the area suggest that humans have populated the region for at least 10,000 ...
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Thomas Aquinas College
Thomas Aquinas College is a Private Roman Catholic liberal arts college with its main campus in Ventura County, California. A second campus opened in Northfield, Massachusetts in 2018. Its education is based on the Great Books and seminar method. It is accredited by the WASC Senior College and University Commission. It is endorsed by The Newman Guide to Choosing a Catholic College. In December 2017 the Thomas wildfire, the largest of the season's wildfires, started near, and was named after, the college. Academics Thomas Aquinas offers one degree program: Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Arts. As a matter of principle, to ensure the institution's autonomy, the school does not accept any direct government funding; neither does it receive funding from the Catholic Church. Rather, it offers need-based scholarships funded by the private donations of individuals and foundations. In 2012, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni included Thomas Aquinas College in its ''What Will ...
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Santa Barbara County, California
Santa Barbara County, California, officially the County of Santa Barbara, is located in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, and the largest city is Santa Maria. Santa Barbara County comprises the Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. Most of the county is part of the California Central Coast. Mainstays of the county's economy include engineering, resource extraction (particularly petroleum extraction and diatomaceous earth mining), winemaking, agriculture, and education. The software development and tourism industries are important employers in the southern part of the county. Southern Santa Barbara County is sometimes considered the northern cultural boundary of Southern California. History The Santa Barbara County area, including the Northern Channel Islands, was first settled by Native Americans at least 13,000 years ago. Evidence for a Paleoindian presence has been found in the fo ...
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