Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Experts: California Wildfire is Deadliest in Last 100 Years
By admin
Published 7 years ago on
November 15, 2018

Share

Wildfire experts say the Northern California wildfire that has killed at least 56 is the deadliest in a century.

“For the modern era, this is definitely going to go down as the deadliest on record for the U.S.” — Crystal Kolden, a professor at the University of Idaho and expert in fire science

California officials say the fire burning in a rural area far north of San Francisco killed more people than any blaze in the state’s recorded history.

But the U.S. government doesn’t closely track civilian casualties and records from long ago are incomplete.

Stephen Pyne, a regent professor at Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences and author of “Between Two Fires: A Fire History of Contemporary America,” and Crystal Kolden, a professor at the University of Idaho and expert in fire science, said 1918 was the last time more people were killed in a wildfire.

Not Keeping Good Statistics on Civilian Casualties From Wildfires

“For the modern era, this is definitely going to go down as the deadliest on record for the U.S.,” said Kolden, who has studied wildfires for 20 years since she worked as a wildland firefighter for the U.S. Forest Service.

“Fire statistics are not very good because they’re remotely generated. It’s very hard to find out even how many houses burned in a year.”Stephen Pyne, a regent professor at Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences

A century ago, the Cloquet Fire broke out in drought-stricken northern Minnesota and raced through a number of rural communities, destroying thousands of homes and killing an estimated 1,000 people. The fire helped prompt the federal government to start developing firefighting practices and policies.

Pyne, who was a firefighter before he began researching wildfires in 1977, said U.S. government agencies still don’t keep good statistics on civilian casualties from wildfires.

“Fire statistics are not very good because they’re remotely generated,” he said. “It’s very hard to find out even how many houses burned in a year.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Hunger Strike Begins as California Prisons Hand Down Biggest Restrictions Since COVID

DON'T MISS

Sen. Alex Padilla: This Is How an Administration Acts When It’s Afraid

DON'T MISS

Justice Dept. to Cut Two-Thirds of Inspectors Monitoring Gun Sales

DON'T MISS

Landlords Say They’re Struggling. Rents Keep Going Up. What Gives?

DON'T MISS

CA Prison Union Strikes $600 Million Contract With Newsom That Includes Furloughs

DON'T MISS

Bay Area Transit Systems Want More Money. But Their Payrolls Soared as Ridership Declined

DON'T MISS

Trump to Decide on US Action in Israel-Iran Conflict Within 2 Weeks, White House Says

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Farmers Cry Foul Over Proposed Groundwater Fees

DON'T MISS

Canseco, Cheechoo to Sign Autographs When Chukchansi Cuts Ribbon on Top Golf

DON'T MISS

California Man Accused of Planting Cameras in Children’s Dance Studio Bathroom

UP NEXT

CA Prison Union Strikes $600 Million Contract With Newsom That Includes Furloughs

UP NEXT

California Man Accused of Planting Cameras in Children’s Dance Studio Bathroom

UP NEXT

California Men Arrested in Largest Jewelry Heist in US History

UP NEXT

Musk Shares Negative Drug Test Results, Challenges Media Outlets

UP NEXT

‘A Time of Bitter Celebrations’: Joy and Fear as LA Students Graduate Amid ICE Raids

UP NEXT

Hurricane Erick Threatens Mexico’s Pacific Coast, Rapid Strengthening Expected

UP NEXT

Newsom Gave Political Rival a $380K Job. See the Special Interests Who Paid for It

UP NEXT

CalFire’s Arson Arrests Hit 53 Even Before Fire Season Intensifies

UP NEXT

More US Officials Face Threats as Fears Grow Over Political Violence

UP NEXT

Immigration Raids in Los Angeles Hit Small Business Owners: ‘It’s Worse Than COVID’

Visalia Stabbing Sends Man to Hospital, Police Investigating

27 minutes ago

Wall Street Perks Up, Oil Dips After Trump’s Middle East Delay

28 minutes ago

Police, DA Refuse to Release Records on Latina Senator’s DUI Arrest Near Capitol

45 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Upholds Law on Suing Palestinian Authorities Over Attacks

58 minutes ago

Pro-Palestinian Activists Damage Planes at UK Military Base

1 hour ago

Israeli Scientists Scramble to Save Work After Iranian Missile Hits Labs

1 hour ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Versall Johnson Henderson

1 hour ago

Suspected DUI Driver Crashes Into Yard Then Falls Asleep on Patrol Car

1 hour ago

Visalia Police Investigate Assault at Local Bar

2 hours ago

What Are the Nuclear Contamination Risks From Israel’s Attacks on Iran?

2 hours ago

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get a 400% Pay Raise

In what amounts to the biggest reveal of the second season of the Netflix docuseries “America’s Sweethearts,” the Dallas C...

8 minutes ago

8 minutes ago

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Get a 400% Pay Raise

13 minutes ago

Marijuana’s Links to Heart Attack and Stroke Are Becoming Clearer

17 minutes ago

‘Little Lobbyists’ Urge Senators to Oppose Trump’s Bill Cutting Medicaid

27 minutes ago

Visalia Stabbing Sends Man to Hospital, Police Investigating

28 minutes ago

Wall Street Perks Up, Oil Dips After Trump’s Middle East Delay

45 minutes ago

Police, DA Refuse to Release Records on Latina Senator’s DUI Arrest Near Capitol

58 minutes ago

US Supreme Court Upholds Law on Suing Palestinian Authorities Over Attacks

1 hour ago

Pro-Palestinian Activists Damage Planes at UK Military Base

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend