The River Fire was a
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...
that broke out from a lightning storm early on August 16, 2020 in
Monterey County, California
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas.
Monte ...
, south of
Salinas, near River Road and
Mount Toro.
Within its first day, it spread to 2,000 acres and was 10% contained; mandatory evacuations were ordered, while air and ground crews worked the fire.
On August 17, the fire, three miles south of Salinas, spread to 2,800 acres and threatened 1,500 structures; four firefighters were injured.
The fire had burned 4,070 acres by August 18,
and as of August 19, the fire had grown to over 10,000 acres. By August 21, over 42,000 acres had burned and the fire was 12% contained. The nearby Carmel Fire was over 5,069 acres and five percent contained.
On September 4,
Cal Fire
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsi ...
reported that both the River Fire and the Carmel Fire were 100% contained. The River Fire had burned 48,088 acres and the Carmel Fire had burned 6,905 acres; between them, they had destroyed 103 structures and damaged 20.
When a strong
atmospheric river
An atmospheric river (AR) is a narrow corridor or filament of concentrated moisture in the atmosphere. Other names for this phenomenon are tropical plume, tropical connection, moisture plume, water vapor surge, and cloud band.
Atmospheric rivers ...
winter storm came to the burned area in January, 2021, a mudslide occurred and damaged homes and barns near River Road,
and trapped several horses that were later rescued.
References
Wildfires in Monterey County, California
2020 California wildfires
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