The Creek Fire was a large wildfire which started on September 4, 2020, near
Shaver Lake
Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
, and became one of the largest fires of the
2020 California wildfire season
The 2020 California wildfire season, part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season, was a record-setting year of wildfires in California. By the end of the year, 9,917 fires had burned , more than 4% of the state's roughly 100 mil ...
. The fire burned and was declared 100% contained on December 24, 2020.
The fire burned mostly in the
Sierra National Forest
Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...
. The Creek Fire was the fifth-largest wildfire in modern California history, and the second-largest single fire not part of a greater complex.
The fire necessitated the rescue of hundreds of people by National Guard helicopters.
Evacuations were issued in North Fork, Bass Lake, Big Creek, Shaver, Huntington Lake, Tollhouse and
Auberry, California
Auberry () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fresno County, California, United States. The population was 2,369 at the 2010 census, up from 2,053 at the 2000 census. Auberry is located on Little Sandy Creek west of Shaver Lake Heights, at an ...
. Half the homes in
Big Creek were reported to have been destroyed by the fire. The Creek Fire destroyed at least 856 buildings and cost over $193 million (2020 USD) in fire suppression costs,
while the total property damage is currently unknown.
Events
![2020 Creek Fire pyrocumulonimbus cloud formation](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/2020_Creek_Fire_pyrocumulonimbus_cloud_formation.gif)
The fire began around 6:40 PM PDT on Friday, September 4, 2020, in the
Big Creek drainage area between Shaver Lake and
Huntington Lake, California
Huntington Lake (formerly, Basin) is an unincorporated community in Fresno County, California. It is located on the west end of Huntington Lake north of Big Creek, at an elevation of 7027 feet (2142 m).
The Basin post office opened in 1913, ...
. Driven by powerful diurnal up-canyon winds within the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
drainage, the Creek Fire quickly became a
firestorm
A firestorm is a conflagration which attains such intensity that it creates and sustains its own wind system. It is most commonly a natural phenomenon, created during some of the largest bushfires and wildfires. Although the term has been used ...
.
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
documented the creation of a
pyrocumulonimbus cloud
The cumulonimbus flammagenitus cloud (CbFg), also known as the pyrocumulonimbus cloud, is a type of cumulonimbus cloud that forms above a source of heat, such as a wildfire or volcanic eruption, and may sometimes even extinguish the fire that ...
believed to be one of the largest ever seen in the United States. The fire was fed in part by these cloud formations, which generated downdrafts that supplied the fire with additional oxygen and pushed it across
fire lines. The fire has been characterized as a plume-dominated blaze, where the environment allows for the continued upward blowing of smoke and the vertical transfer of heat, causing extreme fire behavior, such as multiple
fire tornado
A fire whirl or fire devil (sometimes referred to as a fire tornado) is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often (at least partially) composed of flame or ash. These start with a whirl of wind, often made visible by smoke, and may occur when int ...
es observed using
Doppler weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar (WSR) and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, calculate its motion, and estimate its type (rain, snow, hail etc.). Modern wea ...
data.
Within the first four days, the Creek Fire rapidly exploded, expanding anywhere between to each day from September 4–9. Reasons for this explosive behavior included strong, gusty winds pushing east from the Central Valley into the
Sierra Nevada
The Sierra Nevada () is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primarily ...
and a pileup of dead trees due to the
2011–17 California drought and subsequent
bark beetle
A bark beetle is the common name for the subfamily of beetles Scolytinae. Previously, this was considered a distinct family (Scolytidae), but is now understood to be a specialized clade of the "true weevil" family (Curculionidae). Although the ...
infestation. With over burned on September 23, the Creek Fire became the largest single blaze in the history of California, though it was surpassed the following year by the
2021 Dixie Fire.
The Creek Fire also spawned two
fire tornadoes on September 5; the first was rated EF2 near Huntington Lake with approximately 125 mph winds, and the second was rated EF1 near Mammoth Pool with approximately 100 mph winds. Damage included uprooted pine trees as well as stripped bark. These "firenadoes" formed due to the intense heat the fire had generated, which pulled in air, creating rotational vortices. The Mammoth Pool firenado trapped hundreds of campers in the area, while the Huntington Lake one caused severe damage to trees in the Camp Silver Fir, B.S.A. & Kennolyn Camps area, and continued to attack their root systems a week later, burning underground at over .
The fire had initially trapped about 1,000 people near
Mammoth Pool Reservoir after it jumped the San Joaquin River, with at least 200 individuals trapped at a boat launch.
The
California National Guard
The California National Guard is part of the National Guard of the United States, a dual federal-state military reserve force. The CA National Guard has three components: the CA Army National Guard, CA Air National Guard, and CA State Guard. ...
, using
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is a tandem rotor helicopter developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The Chinook is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, C ...
and
UH-60 Black Hawk
The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...
helicopters and
night goggles
A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The devi ...
, flew multiple sorties to evacuate people from near Mammoth Pool Reservoir. The Chinook flew three flights, carrying 67, 102, and 37 people each time (not including crew). The Black Hawk flew another three times, carrying 15, 22, and 21 people each time. Evacuees were taken to an airfield in Fresno.
Over the next month, the Creek Fire continued to grow in size, exceeding on September 27. In October, most of the new growth in the Creek Fire was coming from the eastern flank of the fire, which was expanding towards
Mono Hot Springs and
Lake Thomas A Edison
Lake Thomas A Edison (also known as Thomas A. Edison Lake and Edison Lake) is a reservoir in the Sierra National Forest and in Fresno County, California. It is in the Sierra Nevada, and near the Pacific Crest Trail.
The reservoir's waters are impo ...
. In late October 2020, the Creek Fire became the fourth-largest fire in the recorded history of California.
On October 26, the Creek Fire had grown to , while containment was at 63 percent.
Full containment was expected around November 30, however, the fire persisted for another month, before it was fully contained on December 24.
Impact
On September 5, hours after the fire broke out, the
Fresno County Sheriff's Office closed Shaver Lake, a popular destination for boating and camping. The
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is a state law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and roads and streets outside city limits, and can exercise law enfor ...
also shut down
California State Route 168
State Route 168 (SR 168) is an east-west state highway in the U.S. state of California that is separated into two distinct segments by the Sierra Nevada mountains. The western segment runs from State Routes 41 and 180 in Fresno east to Huntin ...
for access only to emergency responders and evacuees.
On September 7, California governor
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom (born October 10, 1967) is an American politician and businessman who has been the 40th governor of California since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 49th lieutenant governor of California fr ...
issued a state of emergency for the Creek Fire in the
Fresno
Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...
,
Madera, and
Mariposa counties, as the fire crossed State Route 168 and was rapidly moving southward, threatening the community of
Shaver Lake
Shaver Lake is an artificial lake on Stevenson Creek, in the Sierra National Forest of Fresno County, California. At elevation , several smaller streams also flow into the lake, and it receives water from the tunnels of Southern California Edis ...
. The town of
Big Creek was already decimated on September 5. 1,000 firefighters were called to fight this fire, which was already large with no containment, moving quickly towards cabins, homes, and shops.
![Creek Fire progression map, October 26, 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/Creek_Fire_progression_map%2C_October_26%2C_2020.png)
Scores of people were airlifted from hiking trails within the
Sierra National Forest
Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of central Sierra Nevada in Central California and bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is kno ...
in the early days of the fire, with at least 150 people and some dogs evacuated by September 8.
On September 9, at least 60 homes were destroyed and 278 commercial-residential structures were destroyed along with the historic Cressman's General Store, a local-landmark.
On September 9, the fire reached explosives stored by the China Peak Mountain Resort that were used to control avalanches causing the cache to explode. Firefighters had been warned of the cache and evacuated prior to the fire reaching the explosive materials.
On September 22, the fire had destroyed more than 855 structures and forced the evacuation of over 30,000 people in Fresno and Madera Counties.
Smoke from the fire, worsened the air quality in the
Central Valley area and caused an increase in at-risk individuals and children to be affected by respiratory issues and an increase in the use and prescribing of inhalers. On September 17, the
Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...
- Southern Sierra Council announced that the fire had badly damaged
Camp Kern
Camp Kern is a Boy Scouts of America summer camp owned and operated by the Southern Sierra Council. Camp Kern is located along the south eastern shore of Huntington Lake in the Sierra National Forest in Fresno County, California.
During the Cr ...
, with some significant structures fully destroyed by the fire.
Multiple organizations and locations housed pets and livestock during the evacuations, such as the Fresno Fairgrounds, Clovis Rodeo Grounds and local high schools. The
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
organized hotel rooms for evacuees; group shelters were not an available option due to
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
social distancing requirements.
Response
On September 15, Gavin Newsom and California senator
Kamala Harris
Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well ...
travelled to
Fresno County
Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populous city in Cali ...
to survey Creek Fire damage. They were met with both supporters and protestors. They talked to first responders about their efforts to fight the fire, as well as wildfire evacuees. They also addressed
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
as a major problem facing California and the country, helping to fuel wildfires like the Creek Fire. However, an Auberry family accused the pair of using their property for photo-op purposes, merely to push their political agenda, before even the family themselves could survey the damage.
Fire growth and containment process
See also
*
2020 California wildfires
The 2020 California wildfire season, part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season, was a record-setting year of wildfires in California. By the end of the year, 9,917 fires had burned , more than 4% of the state's roughly 100 mil ...
*
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 f ...
References
External links
Cal Fire incident page
{{California wildfires
2020 California wildfires
Wildfires in Fresno County, California
Wildfires in Madera County, California
September 2020 events in the United States