Angora Fire
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The Angora Fire was a 2007 wind-driven
wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
in
El Dorado County, California El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 191,185. The county seat is Placerville. Th ...
. It started near North Upper Truckee Road subdivision near Angora Lakes, Fallen Leaf Lake, Echo Lake and
South Lake Tahoe, California South Lake Tahoe is the most populous incorporated city in El Dorado County, California, El Dorado County, California, United States, in the Sierra Nevada mountains. The city's population was 21,330 at the 2020 census, down from 21,403 at the 20 ...
around 2:15 p.m. on Sunday, June 24, 2007, as a result of an illegal campfire. As of July 2, 2007, the fire was 100 percent contained, and 100 percent control (all interior fires extinguished) was achieved on July 10. The fire burned 3,100 acres (12.5 km2), destroyed 242 residences and 67 commercial structures, and damaged 35 other homes. At the peak of the fire, there were as many as 2,180 firefighters involved in battling the blaze.KTVN News
Angore Fire Update page
The fire cost $13.5 million to fight and caused at least $150 million in property damage.


Background

Prior to European settlement of the Lake Tahoe area in the mid-1800s, a "natural cycle of low-intensity fires"—ignited both by lightning and by the indigenous Washoe people—prevailed. Vigorous
wildfire suppression Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuel, the local atmospheric conditions, the features of the terrain, and the size of the wildfir ...
policies adopted by the U.S. federal government in the early 20th century, aimed at preserving timber and property, ended that fire pattern. Between 1908 and 2004, no wildfire burned more than in the Lake Tahoe basin. Additionally,
clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with Shelterwood cutting, shelterwood and Seed tree, seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters t ...
and subsequent regrowth in the basin led to an "unnaturally thick and even-aged" forest in the basin. With these abundant fuels, the area became vulnerable to high-intensity wildfires. In addition to strong winds, the fire was also fueled by unusually dry conditions in the Sierra Nevada (U.S.). A study concluded that snow pack was 29% of average in 2007.


Progression

The Angora Fire ignited at about 2:00 p.m. PDT, south of Seneca Pond, a popular recreation area. Golfers at a course less than from the fire first reported it at 2:02 p.m., though the '' Reno Gazette-Journal'' reported that people saw smoke as early as 1:30 p.m. At least five calls to 911 about the smoke were routed to the
California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is the principal state police agency for the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary jurisdiction, including patrol and Criminal investigation, investigations, over all California Controlled-access highw ...
field office in Truckee, where two dispatchers dismissed the reports and told callers they were seeing smoke from a
controlled burn A controlled burn or prescribed burn (Rx burn) is the practice of intentionally setting a fire to change the assemblage of vegetation and decaying material in a landscape. The purpose could be for forest management, ecological restoration, ...
. There were no such burns scheduled that day, or during the week prior, because of how dry conditions were. The dispatchers' dismissals caused an estimated seven to nine-minute delay in the response time. Meanwhile, the fire, which had originated in a thicket of fir and pine trees, rapidly became a crown fire. It was then driven northeast down Angora Creek by the strong winds. Many neighborhoods were evacuated immediately, giving only very short warning to residents, sometimes as short as 5 minutes. After an hour of burning, soot began to fall from the sky around the Tahoe Keys area. People flocked to head towards the source, but the firefighters blockaded the road near the high school. A day after the fire started, the state of California declared it a state of emergency, opening up state funds. On June 26 at about 3:00 p.m., the fire breached containment lines on its northern perimeter south of Highway 89. The renewed fire activity threatened several hundred homes and forced a rapid round of re-evacuations. The Angora Fire was declared 100 percent contained on Monday, July 2, 2007. Per the U.S. Forest Service, the final cost of the firefighting effort reached $13.5 million (roughly equivalent to $ million in ).


Cause

Within several days, Forest Service fire investigators determined that a campfire in the Seneca Pond recreation area had been the point of ignition for the Angora Fire. The fire did not appear to have been set with malicious intent; investigators found no traces of accelerant. However, campfires were prohibited in the Seneca Pond area year-round, making the original fire illegal in any case. At the time, investigators had no suspects. In 2009—two years after the Angora Fire—investigators with the El Dorado County district attorney's office reported that they continued to follow up on leads and that the case remained a high priority, while reiterating that the likely cause remained leftover embers from a campfire.


Effects

The Angora Fire destroyed 254 homes and 75 other structures (such as commercial buildings or outbuildings) for a total toll of 329 buildings. The El Dorado County Sheriff's Office initially estimated the cost of structural damage (i.e. not including damage to infrastructure) from the Angora Fire at $141 million. California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner later gave a total damages estimate of more than $150 million. The maximum number of people under evacuation orders reached approximately 3,500. The fire caused no fatalities. Three firefighters sustained minor injuries. The delay in the response to the fire caused by the CHP dispatchers' dismissals of early smoke reports led to the reassignment of said dispatchers and responses by multiple local and state officials. The
governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...
,
Arnold Schwarzenegger Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, businessman, former politician, and former professional bodybuilder, known for his roles in high-profile action films. Governorship of Arnold Schwarzenegger, ...
, expressed concerns about the blunder. The mayor of South Lake Tahoe and at least one
California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...
member argued for changes to the 911 system to route calls directly to county first responders.


Environmental impacts

Because the fire occurred in the watershed of Lake Tahoe, one of the primary concerns once the fire was out was the potential impact of the ash and debris on the Lake Tahoe hydrological system. Of major concern was the potentially hazardous debris from the 256 structures that were burned in the fire. To address this, the Governor issued Executive Orde
S-09-07
which initiated a major debris removal project to remove the structural debris as quickly and safely as possible from the 250+ private properties affected by the fire. The debris removal was operationally conducted by the California Integrated Waste Management Board on behalf of
El Dorado County El Dorado County (; ''El Dorado'', Spanish language, Spanish for "The Golden ne), officially the County of El Dorado, is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, ...
. Debris removal activities commenced on July 12, 2007, and was completed by the end of August. Work continues on erosion control measures and removal of potentially hazardous trees. No significant long-term ecological damage is believed to have occurred. Sierra Pacific Industries removed the burned trees in the fire footprint for lumber via salvage logging. By 2017, of the Angora Fire burn area had been replanted and of stream channels had been repaired.


References


External links


Inciweb for Angora FireCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protection for Angora FireFirefighter Blog CoverageOngoing coverage and photo gallery
''Sacramento Bee''

KOLOTV.com, Reno, Nevada
Google Earth Tour of fire damage showing destroyed homesMap of Angora Fire and origin at Seneca Pond
- SFGate.com, June 28, 2007 {{2007 California wildfires Lake Tahoe 2007 California wildfires Wildfires in El Dorado County, California