For Release:Nov. 9, 2001
Contact: Jeff Fontana (530) 257-5381

Summer Wildfires Burn 81,012 Acres

Summer wildfires scorched 81,012 acres in northeastern California and extreme northwestern Nevada, according to end-of-season fire statistics released by the Susanville Interagency Fire Center.

The total eclipses last year's fire season, when fires burned 28,783 acres, and the 1999 season, when about 71,000 acres burned on the more than six million acres protected by SIFC agencies.

During the hot, dry fire season just completed, crews responded to 440 fires on lands protected by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection,  and public lands managed by the Lassen National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management.  Lightning accounted for most fires, 254, while 186 blazes were human caused.

There were no homes lost, and no serious firefighter injuries.

The fire season opened dramatically over the Memorial Day weekend, when the Devil Fire, sparked by a target shooter, raged across a seven mile swath, burning more 4,000 acres.  It burned through parts of the Susan River Canyon, near the Bizz Johnson National Recreation Trail, and up to Susanville's boundary, forcing evacuations on the city's west side.  Fire crews from across California were deployed to protect homes, and none were lost.

"The Devil Fire was our season wake up call," said Tom Reed, SIFC co-manager.  "It burned hot and aggressively even though we were just days into the fire season.  The fire showed us that the winter drought had set us up for a tough fire season."

The largest of last summer's fires hit the high desert rangelands managed mostly by the BLM.  Shortly after the Devil Fire, the Antelope Fire burned nearly 300 acres in the north part of Rice Canyon, north of Susanville, and threatened to spread into the Tunnison Mountan Wilderness Study Area.

On the Lassen National Forest, crews had a tough fire fight July 28 with the Hat Fire, a fast-moving, 75-acre timber blaze that threatened homes near Old Station. 

The biggest challenge of the season was the rash of fires sparked by  dry lightning storms during the week of Aug. 6.   Those storms caused  the 67,700-acre Observation Fire near Ravendale; the  1,100-acre Shaffer Fire near Litchfield, and 150-acre Black Fire, 2,063-acre Macey Fire and 708-acre Cowhead Fire, all southeast of Cedarville.

In addition to those fires burning on SIFC protected areas, fire crews contended with the 34,400 acre Blue Fire, on the Modoc National Forest near Blue Lake, and the Fish Fire, which burned more than 20,000-acres of BLM-managed lands straddling the California-Nevada border near Doyle.

"Fuels were extremely dry because of the continuing drought warm temperatures and very low humidity," said Jim Brown, fire management officer for the BLM's northern California region.  "In May, we were seeing 1,000-hour fuels -  logs three inches in diameter -  being completly consumed.  I have rarely seen that in more than 20 years of fire fighting."

A breakdown of the fire activity for the SIFC agencies follows:

- California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection: 97 lightning fires burned 1172 acres; 125 human caused fires burned 4,700 acres.

- Bureau of Land Management: 68 lightning fires, 74,650 acres; 12 human caused, 382 acres.

- Lassen National Forest: 89 lightning fires, 10 acres; 49 human caused, 98 acres.

-SIFC-