2021 wildfire in Northern California
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 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.
Background.
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.
Progression.
Ignition.
The Dixie Fire began on July 13, 2021, beneath a Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&amp;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&amp;E) further down the canyon were the cause of the devastating and fatal Camp Fire in 2018. At approximately 6:48a.m. PDT a large Douglas fir, tall and 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&amp;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 1:30p.m., a PG&amp;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 4:30p.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 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 5:12p.m., reporting a well-established fire about . By 5:15p.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 5:42p.m., reporting that the now-named Dixie Fire was 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 6:31p.m., aircraft had completed a line of retardant around the entire perimeter and the fire remained . Ground personnel, however, faced the same access issues that had plagued the PG&amp;E troubleman, including the damaged bridge and rough dirt roads. At 7:49p.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.
July.
By 8:00a.m. the following morning, July 14, the fire had burned , and by the end of the day it had grown still further to with no containment despite the efforts of more than 150 firefighting personnel.
Over the next few days the fire progressed rapidly northeast along the Feather River canyon, forcing the closure of Highway 70, the Union Pacific Railroad’s Feather River Route, and nearby areas of the Plumas National Forest and Lassen National Forest. By July 19 it had burned ; over the next two days, the fire more than doubled in size to , driven by high winds. As of July 21, the fire was 15 percent contained, with nearly 4,000 firefighters and numerous aircraft assigned to the incident.
By July 23, flames had traveled north almost to Highway 89 and Lake Almanor, after jumping over Butte Valley Reservoir. On the east flank, the fire was advancing toward Bucks Lake and Indian Valley, and on the west, it was burning toward Butte Meadows. It had grown to with 18 percent containment. Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency for Plumas, Butte, Lassen and Alpine counties due to the Dixie, Fly and Tamarack Fires. By then, the Dixie Fire had become the largest wildfire of the year in California.
On July 24 the fire expanded rapidly east, burning through Paxton and then Indian Falls, destroying around a dozen structures. Firefighters successfully kept the fire north of Bucks Lake, while flames approached the Indian Valley communities of Crescent Mills, Greenville and Taylorsville on the east. Later that night it merged with the smaller Fly Fire, which had started the previous day north of Quincy and burned over . The Dixie Fire grew to with 19 percent containment.
On July 30 the fire was at , becoming the 11th largest wildfire in California history, having grown in a single day. However, much of the growth was due to islands of unburned vegetation within the fire perimeter, as well as back burning operations to protect homes in Butte Meadows and Jonesville. Firefighters also contained the eastward spread of the fire with back burning from Mount Hough down to Quincy.
August.
At the start of August, the fire was most active on the north flank, having split into two main branches, with one burning up the western shore of Lake Almanor, and the other burning northeast toward Indian Valley. Fire activity was greatly decreased along the south side from Bucks Lake to Quincy, as well as the west side around Butte Meadows. Beginning on August 3, after several days of calmer weather, a major wind event drove the fire up the west shore of Lake Almanor, threatening Chester and other nearby communities. Firefighting efforts were concentrated on protecting the town, while the fire front continued sweeping north into Lassen County, the Lassen National Forest and the eastern side of Lassen Volcanic National Park.
On the evening of August 4, the northeast flank of the fire jumped containment lines at Indian Valley and burned through the town of Greenville. An estimated 75 percent of structures in Greenville were destroyed, including much of the downtown and numerous nearby homes. The firestorm was compared to "a huge tornado" and took less than half an hour to destroy the town before leaping to the other side of Indian Valley and continuing northeast towards Mountain Meadows Reservoir. The whole Dixie Fire grew to over , an increase of in two days, and was 35 percent contained. It became the sixth-largest wildfire in California history, surpassing the North Complex Fire that had burned nearby in 2020.
On August 5, the fire burned much of Canyondam as it approached the eastern shore of Lake Almanor. By the morning of August 8, the fire had grown to , surpassing the 2018 Mendocino Complex Fire to become the second largest fire in the state's history, with containment falling to 21 percent. Starting on August 13 increased winds pushed flames primarily to the east. The northern section of the fire expanded around the north side of Lake Almanor, heading east and south and threatening Westwood. The fire's eastern section, having burned past Indian Valley, continued to race east towards Antelope Lake. It became the first fire to ever cross from the west side of the Sierra Nevada to the valley floor on the east side.
In the evening of August 16, winds of up to 30 mph (48 kmh) drove embers from the Dixie Fire over the Diamond Mountains and into the Honey Lake Valley. A number of spot fires ignited south of Janesville and crossed Highway 395, destroying several homes. This put areas south of Johnstonville under mandatory evacuation warning, including the town of Janesville. Continued southwest winds threatened to push the fire towards Susanville. In Lassen National Park, the area burned within the park had doubled to , and firefighters were building line to protect Manzanita Lake and Old Station areas.
On August 18, the Dixie Fire merged with the Morgan Fire, which had been started by lightning August 12, near the south entrance of Lassen National Park. In addition to burning north into the park, the Morgan Fire had threatened the communities of Mineral and Mill Creek just to the south. The Morgan and Dixie fires were joined by a backfire set in order to reduce fuels adjacent to the two towns. By the end of the day, the Dixie Fire had grown to over , an increase of more than since August 15, with containment at 33 percent.
By August 22, the Dixie Fire approached Milford but crews were able to protect the structures and containment rose to 37 percent, the highest since the fire began. Growth of the fire slowed overnight due to increased humidity but overall weather conditions remained challenging.
Associated arson.
In late July and early August 2021, U.S. Forest Service investigators investigated a spree of wildland arson set by former university professor Gary Stephen Maynard in the vicinity of the Dixie Fire. Investigators connected Maynard to at least five fires, all of which were stopped at or less and which did no serious damage. The Moon, Ranch, and Conard fires were set behind crews battling the Dixie Fire. Prosecutors seeking to prevent Maynard's release while awaiting trial argued