The Soberanes Fire was a large
wildfire
A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...
that burned from July to October 2016 in the
Santa Lucia Mountains
The Santa Lucia Range (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Mountains is a rugged mountain range in coastal Central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than fro ...
of
Monterey County, California
Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county (United States), county located on the Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 439,035. The count ...
. It destroyed 57 homes and killed a bulldozer operator, and cost about $260 million to suppress, making it at the time the most expensive wildfire to fight in United States history.
At the fire's peak, over 5,000 personnel were assigned to the blaze. The fire was the result of an illegal campfire in
Garrapata State Park. By the time it was finally extinguished, the fire had burned along the
Big Sur
Big Sur () is a rugged and mountainous section of the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Carmel Highlands and San Simeon, where the Santa Lucia Range, Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from th ...
coast in the
Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...
,
Ventana Wilderness
The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the V ...
, and adjacent private and public land in Monterey County,
[ ranking it 18th on the list of the largest California wildfires in terms of acreage burned.
]
The fire
The fire was first reported by hikers in Garrapata State Park at 8:48 a.m. on Friday July 22, 2016,[ and was later determined to have started from an unattended illegal campfire.] By Saturday morning, the fire had grown to and forced the evacuation of about 300 homes in the community along Palo Colorado Canyon.
By the morning of Sunday, July 24, the fire had grown to over , with 5% of the fire perimeter contained. Officials said that Toro Park would be closed so that firefighters could use the area as a base camp. Evacuation warnings were also issued for all of Carmel Highlands.
On Tuesday, July 26, acting California governor Tom Torlakson declared a state of emergency
A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
in Monterey County due to the fire.
By Saturday, July 30, the fire had spread south and east into the Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...
.
Almost a month later, on August 26, the fire had grown to over and was only 60% contained.[ The majority of the fire by then was within the Los Padres National Forest and the ]Ventana Wilderness
The Ventana Wilderness of Los Padres National Forest is a federally designated wilderness area located in the Santa Lucia Range along the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. This wilderness was established in 1969 when the V ...
, and unified command of the fire suppression work was transferred from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, colloquially known as CAL FIRE, is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various area ...
to the United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 United States National Forest, national forests and 20 United States Natio ...
's Alaska Interagency Incident Management Team.
By September 18, the fire had increased in size to . Containment was still only at 61%, and 1,921 firefighters were at work. Some evacuation orders on the northern perimeter had been lifted, and crews were working on burnout operations to establish a containment line on the northeast side of the fire, near Chews Ridge. Heavy smoke resulted from the burnouts.[ the costs to fight the fire exceeded $200 million, making it the most expensive fire suppression effort in United States history at the time.]
By October 9, the fire had burned and was 99% contained. Incident management personnel expected to attain full containment by October 15. Fire personnel had been reduced to 704 workers, with many engaged in fire suppression repair efforts. On October 28, three months after the wildfire had started, fire management personnel reported that the fire was 100% contained, and that remaining smoldering hotspots would be put out by rains expected shortly afterward. By that time, restoration crews had completed suppression repair work on of the fire line.[
]
Damage, deaths and injuries
The fire destroyed 57 homes and 11 outbuildings in the Garrapata Canyon and Palo Colorado Canyon areas during the first three weeks.[ Robert Baird, supervisor of the Los Padres National Forest, estimated that firefighters saved US$6.8 billion worth of real estate.
The fire burned and possibly killed the largest ]Pacific madrone
''Arbutus menziesii'', or Pacific madrone (commonly madrone or madrona in the United States and arbutus in Canada), is a species of broadleaf evergreen tree in the family Ericaceae. It has waxy foliage, a contorted growth habit, and flaky bark ...
tree in the United States, within the Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve. The tree was tall and more than in circumference. The madrone was listed on the American Forests
American Forests is a 501(c)(3) non-profit conservation organization, established in 1875, and dedicated to protecting and restoring healthy forest ecosystems. The current headquarters are in Washington, D.C.
Activities
The mission of America ...
National Big Tree list in 2003, a register of the biggest trees by species in the United States.
The California Department of Parks and Recreation announced on September 28, 2016, that Garrapata State Park east of Highway 1, where the fire started, would remain closed through the winter.
Legal actions
On Tuesday, July 26, at 11:00 PM, Robert Oliver Reagan, an on-call bulldozer
A bulldozer or dozer (also called a crawler) is a large tractor equipped with a metal #Blade, blade at the front for pushing material (soil, sand, snow, rubble, or rock) during construction work. It travels most commonly on continuous tracks, ...
operator contracted by Czirban Concrete Construction to CalFire, was killed when his bulldozer rolled over, pinning him, while he was maneuvering around a fire truck on a steep slope in the Palo Colorado Canyon area.
In March 2017, Reagan's widow filed a wrongful death
Wrongful death is a type of legal claim or cause of action against a person who can be held liable for a death. The claim is brought in a civil action, usually by close relatives, as authorized by statute. In wrongful death cases, survivors are ...
suit against the state of California for her husband's death while fighting the fire. They later dropped the suit due to a law that gives the state immunity from wrongful death lawsuits.
In April 2017, Czirban Concrete Construction, the contractor by whom Reagan was employed, was fined $20,000 for failing to report the fatality, failing to require seat belt
A seat belt, also known as a safety belt or spelled seatbelt, is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduce ...
s on the equipment, failing to warn employees of the applicable hazards, and other offenses. Ian Czirban, the head of the company, was also charged by Monterey County prosecutors with six felonies
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that ...
for tax evasion
Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...
and insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any intentional act committed to deceive or mislead an insurance company during the application or claims process, or the wrongful denial of a legitimate claim by an insurance company. It occurs when a claimant knowingly attem ...
, and a misdemeanor
A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than admi ...
charge for failing to maintain workers' compensation
Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...
insurance. Czirban disputed the fines and charges, saying that he was not Reagan's employer and did not own the equipment at issue. He entered a plea of "not guilty" on May 11, 2017. In October 2019, Czirban was found guilty of two counts of willfully failing to file a payroll tax return, one count of not having a workers' compensation insurance policy, and one count of filing a false document. He was convicted and sentenced to 300 days of home confinement and three years of felony probation for violating state labor laws.
Another company, Industrial Defense Development, was fined $6,000 for injuries that another firefighter sustained when the water truck he was driving rolled over an embankment.
Cause
On August 2, 2016, officials announced that their investigation found that the fire had been caused by an unattended illegal campfire. While no suspect was identified, Monterey County District Attorney
In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...
Dean Flippo said that, if an arrest were made, the culprit could be charged with negligence and manslaughter.
See also
*2016 California wildfires
In 2016, a total of 7,349 fires had burned an area in California, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
Climatologists had predicted an extreme version of El Niño, known as a ''Super El Niño'', to occur ...
*Wildfire suppression
Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the available fuel, the local atmospheric conditions, the features of the terrain, and the size of the wildfir ...
*Aerial firefighting
Aerial firefighting, also known as waterbombing, is the use of aircraft and other aerial resources to Wildfire suppression, combat wildfires. The types of aircraft used include fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. Smokejumpers and rappellers ar ...
References
External links
*
*
* Satellite photos of the Soberanes Fire.
*
{{California wildfires by size
2016 California wildfires
August 2016 in the United States
Big Sur
July 2016 in the United States
October 2016 in the United States
Monterey Ranger District, Los Padres National Forest
Santa Lucia Range
September 2016 in the United States
Wildfires in Monterey County, California