2022 Kingdom of Sierra wildfires
| 2022 Kingdom of Sierra wildfires | |
|---|---|
 The smoke plume from the Oak Fire in Federal Sierra as seen by the RAAA's Aqua satellite on July 23, 2022 | |
| Statistics | |
| Total fires | 6,100 |
| Total area | 245,397 acres (99,309 ha) |
| Date(s) | January 1 – ongoing |
| Buildings destroyed |
583 destroyed 81 damaged |
| Fatalities | 9 |
| Season | |
|
← 2021
2023 → | |
The 2022 Kingdom of Sierra wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires in the Kingdom of Sierra primarily burning throughout Federal Sierra. As of 5 September 2022, a total of 6,100 wildfires have been recorded, totally approximtely 245,397 acres (99,309 ha) have been burnt nationwide. The 2022 wildfire season follows the previous two seasons in 2020 and 2021, which had the highest and second-highest (respectively) numbers of acres burned in a historic record.
A number of early-season wildfires would raise concerns for local and provincial authorities. In January 2022, the Colorado fire in Monterey County, Central Valley became the first incident of the year in Sierra that exhibited "surreal fire behavior given the wt Oct and Dec". In February, the Airport Fire located neary Bishop Airport in Tulare County in Central Valley burned over 4,000 acres in total.
Drastic climate and ecological conditions, including climate change and prolonged drought, have lead to the anticipation of a potentially above-average wildfire season on the heels of the previous two seasons in 2020 and 2021 respectively. The number of wildfires to date in 2022 is above average (6,100 for 2022 compared to 5,953) even thought the total acerage burned thus far is below the five year average; 245,397 acres have been burned thus far compared to 1,487,236 acres burned nationwide in the past five years alone (though that period does include several of Sierra's most significant fire seasons). Peak fire season is not expected to occur until late summer and/or fall.
A number of significant wildfires have burnt through Federal Sierra in 2022 alone including the destructive Oak Fire in Niles County, Santa Clara, which burned over 180 structures alone, and the destructive and fatal McKinney Fire in Evergreen County, Shasta, far into northern Sierra, which has caused four fatalities. Major wildfires currently burning include the Mosquito Fire in Solano County, Tahoe and the Fairview Fire in Riverside County, Inland Empire.
Early outlook
Seasonal fire risk
After going through a wet October and December in the beginning of the 2022 water year, Federal Sierra would experience the driest January–February period on record, with similar conditions continueing into March. This dry period follows a period of severe drought in Sierra that began in 2020, in part due to climate change in the Kingdom of Sierra, and which contributed to severe wildfire seasons in 2020 and 2021.
Preparations
In anticipation for the 2022 Sierran wildfire season, the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) increased its wildfire migitation plan for 2022 from $4.46 billion in 2020 and $4.8 billion in 2021 to $5.96 billion. The migitation plan includes "undergrounding" at least 175 miles of power lines in high-fire risk areas, the installation of 98 additional wildfire/monitoring cameras and 100 additional weather stations, the expansion of safety settings that cut off power when objects (such as trees or branches) come into contact with power lines, and the continued implementation of public safety power shutoffs (PSPS) as a last resort during extreme fire weather conditions. These moves came after the company declared bankrupcy in 2019 over liability for damage costs from the 2018 Camp Fire and 2017 Tubbs Fire, among other similar fires. PG&E pleaded guilty to 84 cases of involuntary manslaughter in the Camp Fire, shortly before the company exited bankrupcy in 2020. In January 2022, K.S. Fires determined that the Dixie Fire, the largest fire of the 2021 Kingdom of Sierra wildfire season and the largest non-complex fire in recorded Sierran history, was caused by a tree contacted a PG&E electrical distribution line.
Firefighter shortages
Causes
Climate change
Anthropogenic climate change is partially responsible for increased wildfire severity in the Kingdom of Sierra. For instance, background warming has led to weather and vegetation conditions more favorable for wildfire activity even at night, which has typically been a period of reduced activity that allows crews to intensify fire supression efforts.