# 2001 California wildfires

"none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]]
According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) statistics, 9,317 wildfires burned a total of 377,340 acres (152,700 hectares) in the US state of California in 2001.
The largest wildfire of the year in California was the Observation Fire in Lassen County, which burned 67,700 acres, and the most destructive was the Poe Fire in Butte County, which burned 133 structures. Cal Fire wildfire suppression costs for fires that burned within the agency's jurisdiction amounted to US$109 million. Damages for the same amounted to $87.3 million, with a total of 389 structures lost. At least two fatalities occurred, both of them on the Bell Fire in San Diego County.

## Narrative

An unusually warm, dry, and windy May prompted Cal Fire to declare May 22 the beginning of fire season throughout the state, the point in the year at which the agency hires seasonal staff to be at the ready round-the-clock in California forest districts. The pattern continued through June, with fires active weeks in advance of the 'usual' beginning of fire season.
The National Interagency Fire Center declared that the country had reached National Preparedness Level 5 (the point at which incidents across the country had the "potential to exhaust all agency fire resources") on August 15, 2001, with the bulk of the fires in California Oregon, and Nevada.
Cal Fire firefighting aircraft were temporarily grounded on September 11 by the ground stop order issued nationwide by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in response to the deadly September 11 attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania. The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) eventually instructed firefighting agencies to apply for exemptions as needed, and the restriction (which began at about 10:00 a.m.) was lifted after about three hours, when the FAA granted Cal Fire's request for exemption. The restriction affected aircraft on the Poe Fire in Butte County, among others.
All Cal Fire units were declared "off season" by December 3.

## List of wildfires

The following is a list of fires that burned more than 1,000 acres (400 hectares), produced significant structural damage or casualties, or were otherwise notable. It is excerpted from Cal Fire's 2001 list of large (≥ 300 acres) fires, and may not be complete or reflect the most recent information.
| Name | County | Acres | Start date | Containment date | Notes |
| Viejas | San Diego | 10,353 | January 3, 2001 | January 8, 2001 | Caused by smoking; destroyed 16 structures, damaged 13 |
| Jones | Siskiyou | 1,440 | May 9, 2001 | May 14, 2001 | Caused by debris |
| Devil | Lassen | 4,400 | May 27, 2001 | June 1, 2001 | Caused by equipment use |
| 165 | Merced | 1,500 | June 13, 2001 | June 13, 2001 | Cause undetermined |
| Jackson | Amador | 2,240 | June 13, 2001 | June 13, 2001 | Caused by welding; destroyed 15 structures, damaged 1 |
| SNF-562 | Merced | 1,200 | June 13, 2001 | June 13, 2001 | |
| Hemlock | San Bernardino | 1,074 | June 14, 2001 | June 20, 2001 | Caused by an escaped burn |
| Pacheco | Merced | 1,550 | June 16, 2001 | June 17, 2001 | Caused by a vehicle |
| Martis | Nevada | 14,500 | June 17, 2001 | July 1, 2001 | Caused by a campfire |
| Watkins | Riverside | 1,407 | June 23, 2001 | June 24, 2001 | Caused by arson |
| McLaughlin | Inyo | 2,900 | July 2, 2001 | July 5, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Hoover Complex | Mariposa | 8,007 | July 13, 2001 | | Caused by lightning; was allowed to burn in Yosemite National Park for ecological reasons |
| Reche | Riverside | 1,798 | July 22, 2001 | July 23, 2001 | Caused by a vehicle |
| Stream | Lassen | 3,560 | July 26, 2001 | July 26, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Trough | Lake, Glenn, Colusa | 24,970 | August 8, 2001 | August 20, 2001 | Cause undetermined; destroyed 30 structures |
| Cowhead | Modoc | 1,670 | August 8, 2001 | August 9, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Modoc Complex | Modoc | 5,367 | August 8, 2001 | August 8, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Shaffer | Lassen | 1,100 | August 8, 2001 | August 8, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Observation | Lassen | 67,700 | August 9, 2001 | August 12, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Blue Complex | Modoc | 37,950 | August 9, 2001 | August 10, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| (Emigrant) Gap | Nevada, Placer | 2,462 | August 12, 2001 | August 17, 2001 | Caused by human activity |
| Crater | Mono | 5,800 | August 12, 2001 | August 15, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Buzz | Modoc | 2,206 | August 12, 2001 | August 12, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Ponderosa | Placer | 2,780 | August 17, 2001 | August 23, 2001 | Caused by a vehicle |
| Creek | Mariposa, Tuolumne | 11,095 | August 18, 2001 | August 24, 2001 | Caused by arson; destroyed 43 structures |
| Leonard | Calaveras | 5,167 | August 19, 2001 | August 25, 2001 | Caused by equipment use; destroyed 22 structures |
| Highway | Fresno | 4,152 | August 19, 2001 | August 29, 2001 | Caused by arson; destroyed 8 structures |
| North Fork | Madera | 2,930 | August 20, 2001 | | |
| Star | El Dorado | 16,761 | August 25, 2001 | September 22, 2001 | |
| Oregon | Trinity | 1,680 | August 28, 2001 | August 31, 2001 | Cause undetermined; destroyed 33 structures and caused evacuations in the town of Weaverville |
| Hyampon | Trinity | 1,065 | August 31, 2001 | September 5, 2001 | Cause undetermined |
| Darby | Calaveras | 14,280 | September 5, 2001 | September 24, 2001 | Cause undetermined |
| Poe | Butte | 8,333 | September 6, 2001 | September 12, 2001 | Caused by tree into PG&E power lines, destroyed 133 structures in the Yankee Hill area |
| Happy Camp Complex | Siskiyou | 8,500 | September 14, 2001 | October 10, 2001 | Caused by lightning |
| Stables | Los Angeles | 6,544 | October 12, 2001 | October 15, 2001 | |
| Highway 70 | Butte | 1,711 | October 24, 2001 | October 26, 2001 | Caused by arson |
| Bell | San Diego | 1,204 | December 8, 2001 | December 11, 2001 | Cause undetermined; 2 fatalities |