Fire Severity and Evacuation Zones in San Diego County
A review of historical fires in San Diego and shelters to go to in the case of a wildfire breakout in San Diego County
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Introduction
San Diego County is no stranger to wildfires, having fires dating all the way back to the late 1800s. Wildfires are a common sight in the news, especially during peak fire season from July to November. In 2020 alone, 9,917 fires burned 4,397,809 acres in the San Diego area. That acreage added up to about 4% of all the area burned in California. With that being said, it is imperative that people are well-informed on fire severity zones in San Diego and where to go in the event there is a wildfire that requires them to evacuate their homes.
History/Historical Fires
The map shows all the point locations of fires in the United States since 2014. While the map does show all fires outside of wildfires, the number of wildfires is significantly larger. One thing to note from this map is that the starting location for many wildfires tends to be more inland in the shrubby and more wild areas. These areas are harder to get to in order to contain the fires and offer much more fuel to fires than other areas in San Diego County.
Map of all fires ever recorded in San Diego County and the United States
The four largest fires to occur in San Diego County are the Cedar Fire, Witch Creek Fire, Laguna Fire, and Harris Fire. All of these originated in high-severity zones and burned during the peak fire seasons in San Diego. Information on each fire can be viewed below.
Harris Fire
The Harris Fire began on October 21, 2007, and burned 90,440 acres before being contained in early November of the same year. The fire was the deadliest of the 2007 fires killing 8 people and ultimately harming 21 others as well as 40 firefighters. The fire burned 253 homes and 293 other buildings.
Laguna Fire
In September of 1970, San Diego experienced the largest fire in its history (at the time, the third largest today) from the Laguna Fire. The fire burned 175,425 acres, destroying 382 structures and killing 5 people.
Witch Creek Fire
The Witch Creek Fire became the second largest fire in San Diego history when it burned 197,990 acres, destroyed 1,125 homes and 506 buildings, and ultimately killed 2 civilians and injured 2 more as well as 55 firefighters. It burned from October to November 2007.
Cedar Fire
From October to November 2003, San Diego experienced the largest fire in its history, known as the Cedar Fire. The Cedar Fire was located in East San Diego County and burned 273,246 acres, destroyed 2,820 buildings, and killed 15 people.
Severity Zones
Fire Severity Zones SD County
When comparing the fire severity map to a map of the three largest fires in San Diego county, we can see that the fires are typically located in the high severity zones, as shown in the figure below. While not noted in the map of the fires from the University City Fire Safe Council, the starting points of the three fires were all located in high-severity zones, and then spread outward, usually burning in other risk zones as there is more fuel for the fires in those areas.
Fire severity zones in SD vs Largest historical fires in SD
Evacuation Zones
Evacuation zones are located all over and typically vary depending on where the fire is located. Shelters tend to be places that can contain large amounts of people, such as: schools, community centers, community parks, etc. Common evacuation centers and zones tend to be more coastal (in San Diego County) and away from the inland cities. The farther west you go, the more urban and developed the land is, leaving less fuel for the fires to burn. People are encouraged to bring food and water to evacuation zones because it is unknown how long people will have to stay there depending on how large the fire is and how long it takes to be contained. Three days' worth of supplies is encouraged for people who have to evacuate their homes.
Emergency Shelters SD County
Fire Stations SD County
Conclusion
San Diego County is severely prone to wildfires. Fires oftentimes leave unprepared families stranded and without a place to go. That is why it is important to have an idea of the severity zones and some of the evacuation centers that are local to you in case of a fire breakout near your home. Keeping a few evacuation options available in different areas is the best thing you can do since fire breakouts cannot be predicted and can happen from anywhere, so having all your options in one area could all be affected by the same fire, ultimately leaving you stranded. Most counties will also offer a fire checklist for families to use as a guide in the emergency of a fire breakout near their homes. The checklist usually includes home protection tips, evacuation routes, evacuation locations, and guides for personal belongings.
Credits
Emergency Shelter
Historical Fires
Evacuation Plans
Map Layer Data
National Interagency Fire Center , Office of the State Fire Marshal , ArcGIS LivingAtlas