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Dixie Fire
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Dixie Fire
The 2021 Dixie Fire was an enormous wildfire in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties in Northern California. Named after a nearby Dixie Road, the fire began in the Feather River Canyon near Cresta Dam in Butte County on July 13, 2021, and burned 963,309 acres (389,837 ha) before it was declared 100 percent contained on October 25, 2021. It was the largest single source wildfire (as compared to a complex wildfire, with multiple ignition points) in recorded California history, and the second-largest wildfire overall (after the August Complex fire of 2020), The fire damaged or destroyed several communities, including Greenville on August 4, Canyondam on August 5, and Warner Valley on August 12.
The Dixie Fire was the largest and most destructive fire of the 2021 California wildfire season. It was the first fire known to have burned across the crest of the Sierra Nevada (followed by the Caldor Fire later in the season). Smoke from the Dixie Fire caused unhealthy air quality across the Western United States, including states as far east as Utah and Colorado. The Dixie Fire was the most expensive wildfire (measured by cost of the firefighting effort) in United States history, costing $637.4 million to suppress.
A number of factors contributed to the size and intensity of the Dixie Fire. 2021 was the hottest summer ever recorded in California. That year also saw further intensification of what scientists have found to be the most extreme megadrought in at least 1,200 years in the Western/Southwestern United States, amplified by high temperatures, low precipitation, and anthropogenic climate change: during the 2021 water year (the period between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021), Northern California received less than half of its usual precipitation. The Sierra snowpack, measured during its typical peak on April 1, was just 59 percent of the historical average, and runoff just 20 percent of the amount forecast. Reservoirs in the state shrunk, and vegetation dried out to the point where both living and dead conifers were drier than kiln-dried lumber.
Rigorous fire suppression policies in the United States also meant that much of the area burned by the Dixie Fire had little fire history, going back more than 40 years. The resulting overcrowded forests became more vulnerable to drought, as well as bark beetle infestations that were the primary cause of death for more than 163 million trees in California between 2010 and 2019. Bark beetle-affected forests (especially species common in the Sierra Nevada such as the lodgepole pine) are chemically altered, and the dead and dying trees are more flammable and more susceptible to intense crown fires.
The Dixie Fire began on July 13, 2021, beneath a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) 12-kilovolt power distribution line located on the northern side of the Feather River Canyon in a remote area above Highway 70 and Cresta Dam, midway between Paradise and Belden. Transmission lines (also operated by PG&E) further down the canyon were the cause of the devastating and fatal Camp Fire in 2018. At approximately 6:48 a.m. PDT a large Douglas fir, 65 feet (20 m) tall and 16 inches (41 cm) in diameter, fell onto the power line. Why the tree fell is unknown—an arborist with Cal Fire said the tree was weakened after burning in the 2008 Butte Lightning Complex, while another arborist hired by PG&E noted possible root rot. When the tree fell onto the line, two fuses blew but one remained active, keeping the power line energized. The tree, in contact with both the line and the ground, created an electrical fault. Electric arcing slowly ignited fuels on the ground over the following hours.
At 1:30 p.m., a PG&E troubleman (a type of lineworker) came to address the resulting power outage. Access roads were in poor condition, and the troubleman was forced to stop at a bridge undergoing repairs. The troubleman left and returned at approximately 4:30 p.m., arriving at the power lines 10 minutes later. Noticing the two blown fuses, the troubleman was in the process of shutting off the third when he smelled smoke—looking down, he observed a fire approximately 600–800 square feet (56–74 m2) in size, burning among pine needles beneath the powerlines. The troubleman shut off the third fuse, then took a fire extinguisher from his truck and unsuccessfully attempted to put the fire out. He was able to raise his supervisor by radio, who called 911. In the meantime, the troubleman returned to the fire with another fire extinguisher and a McLeod tool, attempting to rake and dig a firebreak.
As the fire became visible from Highway 70 on the opposite side of the Feather River Canyon, it prompted multiple reports to 911. A fire engine strike team leader returning home from the Beckwourth Complex called 911 at roughly 5:12 p.m., reporting a well-established fire about 40 by 40 feet (12 m × 12 m). By 5:15 p.m., the Oroville emergency command center had dispatched a full wildland response, including six fire engines, two bulldozers, two handcrews, two water tenders, two airtankers, and a helicopter. Aircraft were overhead by 5:42 p.m., reporting that the now-named Dixie Fire was two acres (0.81 ha) with a slow rate of spread. Air tankers promptly began to drop fire retardant—more than 7,000 gallons over the course of the evening—and helicopters scooped water from the Feather River below.
By 6:31 p.m., aircraft had completed a line of retardant around the entire perimeter and the fire remained two acres (0.81 ha). Ground personnel, however, faced the same access issues that had plagued the PG&E troubleman, including the damaged bridge and rough dirt roads. At 7:49 p.m. a drone was reported in the vicinity of the fire, and all aircraft were ordered to leave the area. Because it was so late and regulations generally do not permit firefighting aircraft to fly in the dark, air operations were not able to resume that night. The drone's appearance meant about 45 minutes of flying time was lost, which Butte County district attorney Mike Ramsey said played a large role in the fire escaping control. The drone's operator was never identified, despite a multi-agency investigation that involved state and local agencies, the FAA and the FBI. With aircraft no longer able to help, limited ground access, and the fire exposed to nightly up-canyon winds, the Dixie Fire began to grow considerably.
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Dixie Fire
The 2021 Dixie Fire was an enormous wildfire in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties in Northern California. Named after a nearby Dixie Road, the fire began in the Feather River Canyon near Cresta Dam in Butte County on July 13, 2021, and burned 963,309 acres (389,837 ha) before it was declared 100 percent contained on October 25, 2021. It was the largest single source wildfire (as compared to a complex wildfire, with multiple ignition points) in recorded California history, and the second-largest wildfire overall (after the August Complex fire of 2020), The fire damaged or destroyed several communities, including Greenville on August 4, Canyondam on August 5, and Warner Valley on August 12.
The Dixie Fire was the largest and most destructive fire of the 2021 California wildfire season. It was the first fire known to have burned across the crest of the Sierra Nevada (followed by the Caldor Fire later in the season). Smoke from the Dixie Fire caused unhealthy air quality across the Western United States, including states as far east as Utah and Colorado. The Dixie Fire was the most expensive wildfire (measured by cost of the firefighting effort) in United States history, costing $637.4 million to suppress.
A number of factors contributed to the size and intensity of the Dixie Fire. 2021 was the hottest summer ever recorded in California. That year also saw further intensification of what scientists have found to be the most extreme megadrought in at least 1,200 years in the Western/Southwestern United States, amplified by high temperatures, low precipitation, and anthropogenic climate change: during the 2021 water year (the period between October 1, 2020, and September 30, 2021), Northern California received less than half of its usual precipitation. The Sierra snowpack, measured during its typical peak on April 1, was just 59 percent of the historical average, and runoff just 20 percent of the amount forecast. Reservoirs in the state shrunk, and vegetation dried out to the point where both living and dead conifers were drier than kiln-dried lumber.
Rigorous fire suppression policies in the United States also meant that much of the area burned by the Dixie Fire had little fire history, going back more than 40 years. The resulting overcrowded forests became more vulnerable to drought, as well as bark beetle infestations that were the primary cause of death for more than 163 million trees in California between 2010 and 2019. Bark beetle-affected forests (especially species common in the Sierra Nevada such as the lodgepole pine) are chemically altered, and the dead and dying trees are more flammable and more susceptible to intense crown fires.
The Dixie Fire began on July 13, 2021, beneath a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) 12-kilovolt power distribution line located on the northern side of the Feather River Canyon in a remote area above Highway 70 and Cresta Dam, midway between Paradise and Belden. Transmission lines (also operated by PG&E) further down the canyon were the cause of the devastating and fatal Camp Fire in 2018. At approximately 6:48 a.m. PDT a large Douglas fir, 65 feet (20 m) tall and 16 inches (41 cm) in diameter, fell onto the power line. Why the tree fell is unknown—an arborist with Cal Fire said the tree was weakened after burning in the 2008 Butte Lightning Complex, while another arborist hired by PG&E noted possible root rot. When the tree fell onto the line, two fuses blew but one remained active, keeping the power line energized. The tree, in contact with both the line and the ground, created an electrical fault. Electric arcing slowly ignited fuels on the ground over the following hours.
At 1:30 p.m., a PG&E troubleman (a type of lineworker) came to address the resulting power outage. Access roads were in poor condition, and the troubleman was forced to stop at a bridge undergoing repairs. The troubleman left and returned at approximately 4:30 p.m., arriving at the power lines 10 minutes later. Noticing the two blown fuses, the troubleman was in the process of shutting off the third when he smelled smoke—looking down, he observed a fire approximately 600–800 square feet (56–74 m2) in size, burning among pine needles beneath the powerlines. The troubleman shut off the third fuse, then took a fire extinguisher from his truck and unsuccessfully attempted to put the fire out. He was able to raise his supervisor by radio, who called 911. In the meantime, the troubleman returned to the fire with another fire extinguisher and a McLeod tool, attempting to rake and dig a firebreak.
As the fire became visible from Highway 70 on the opposite side of the Feather River Canyon, it prompted multiple reports to 911. A fire engine strike team leader returning home from the Beckwourth Complex called 911 at roughly 5:12 p.m., reporting a well-established fire about 40 by 40 feet (12 m × 12 m). By 5:15 p.m., the Oroville emergency command center had dispatched a full wildland response, including six fire engines, two bulldozers, two handcrews, two water tenders, two airtankers, and a helicopter. Aircraft were overhead by 5:42 p.m., reporting that the now-named Dixie Fire was two acres (0.81 ha) with a slow rate of spread. Air tankers promptly began to drop fire retardant—more than 7,000 gallons over the course of the evening—and helicopters scooped water from the Feather River below.
By 6:31 p.m., aircraft had completed a line of retardant around the entire perimeter and the fire remained two acres (0.81 ha). Ground personnel, however, faced the same access issues that had plagued the PG&E troubleman, including the damaged bridge and rough dirt roads. At 7:49 p.m. a drone was reported in the vicinity of the fire, and all aircraft were ordered to leave the area. Because it was so late and regulations generally do not permit firefighting aircraft to fly in the dark, air operations were not able to resume that night. The drone's appearance meant about 45 minutes of flying time was lost, which Butte County district attorney Mike Ramsey said played a large role in the fire escaping control. The drone's operator was never identified, despite a multi-agency investigation that involved state and local agencies, the FAA and the FBI. With aircraft no longer able to help, limited ground access, and the fire exposed to nightly up-canyon winds, the Dixie Fire began to grow considerably.
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