2020 Western United States wildfire season
Wildfires in the United States in 2020 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Western United States experienced a series of major wildfires in 2020. Severe August thunderstorms ignited numerous wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington, followed in early September by additional ignitions across the West Coast. Fanned by strong, gusty winds and fueled by hot, dry terrains, many of the fires exploded and coalesced into record-breaking megafires,[7] burning more than 10.2 million acres (41,000 square kilometres) of land,[2][3] mobilizing tens of thousands of firefighters, razing over ten thousand buildings,[3] and killing at least 37 people.[8][9] The fires caused over $19.884 billion (2020 USD) in damages,[2][3] including $16.5 billion in property damage and $3.384 billion in fire suppression costs.[2][3] Climate change and poor forest management practices contributed to the severity of the wildfires.[10]
2020 Western United States wildfire season | |
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Date(s) | July 24, 2020 (2020-07-24) – December 31, 2020 (2020-12-31) |
Location | Western United States |
Statistics[1] | |
Total fires | 100+[citation needed] |
Total area | 10,200,000 acres (4,100,000 ha)[2][3] |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 47 direct (32 in California, 11 in Oregon, 1 in Washington, 1 in Arizona, 2 in Colorado)[4][5] 1,200 to 3,000 indirect (caused by the adverse effects of smoke inhalation)[6] |
Non-fatal injuries | Unknown |
Structures destroyed | 13,887[3] |
Damage | >$19.884 billion (2020 USD)[2][3] |