The Springs Fire was a

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 ...

in Ventura County, California in May 2013. Although the fire burned only 15 homes, it threatened 4,000. This threat passed when rain shower from few narrow cold-frontal rainbands moved through the

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

area because of a

low-pressure system In meteorology, a low-pressure area (LPA), low area or low is a region where the atmospheric pressure is lower than that of surrounding locations. It is the opposite of a high-pressure area. Low-pressure areas are commonly associated with inclem ...

off the coast. Some places got more than half an inch of

rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

. The fire started at 6:45 AM on May 2, 2013, in

Camarillo, California Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan and ...

near

U.S. Route 101 U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a major north–south highway that traverses the states of California, Oregon, and Washington on the West Coast of the United States. It is part of the United States Numbered Highway Syst ...

and burned across

Pacific Coast Highway Pacific Coast Highway may refer to: Roads * Pacific Coast Highway or PCH, segments of California State Route 1 * Pacific Coast Highway, parts of New Zealand State Highway 2 and all of New Zealand State Highway 25 and New Zealand State Highway 35. ...

to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five Borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is ...

. Several neighborhoods were evacuated, along with the campus of

California State University Channel Islands California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI, CSU Channel Islands) is a public university in Ventura County, California. Located near the city of Camarillo, it opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system. ...

Effects

The fire burned around of brushland along coastal

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county located in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises ...

and into the

Santa Monica Mountains The Santa Monica Mountains are a coastal mountain range in Southern California, next to the Pacific Ocean. It is part of the Transverse Ranges. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area encompasses this mountain range. Because of its p ...

. Weather conditions made favorable conditions for brush fires. The

Santa Ana Winds The Santa Ana winds, occasionally referred to as the devil winds, are strong, extremely dry katabatic winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California. They originate from cool, dry high-pressure ...

were blowing at , spreading the fire; single-digit

humidity Humidity is the concentration of water vapor present in the air. Water vapor, the gaseous state of water, is generally invisible to the human eye. Humidity indicates the likelihood for precipitation (meteorology), precipitation, dew, or fog t ...

added to the problems. By May 3, the fire was only 20 percent contained; on May 4, higher humidity made firefighters jobs easier; and on May 5 the fire was 60 percent contained. On May 6, 2013, the fire was almost extinguished as rain fell in the area. Scientists are concerned about the impact of the fire on

Dudleya verityi ''Dudleya verityi'' is a rare species of succulent plant known by the common name Verity's liveforever. It is Endemism, endemic to Ventura County, California, where it is known from only three occurrences in the vicinity of Conejo Mountain betwee ...

, a rare species of

succulent plant In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meanin ...

known by the common name Verity's liveforever.

Endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to Ventura County, this species is only found on one edge of the

, where it occurs in

coastal sage scrub Coastal sage scrub, also known as coastal scrub, CSS, or soft chaparral, is a low scrubland plant community of the California coastal sage and chaparral subecoregion, found in coastal California and northwestern coastal Baja California. It is ...

habitat. The dominant plants are

California sagebrush ''Artemisia californica'', also known as California sagebrush, is a species of western North American shrub in the sunflower family. In the western United States, California sagebrush is grown in native plant gardens and as a drought-resistant ...

(''Artemisia californica''),

California buckwheat ''Eriogonum fasciculatum'' is a species of wild buckwheat known by the common names California buckwheat and flat-topped buckwheat. Characterized by small, white and pink flower clusters that give off a cottony effect, this species grows vari ...

(''Eriogonum fasciculatum'') and purple sage (''Salvia leucophylla''). At least two occurrences are within the campus bounds of

California State University, Channel Islands California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI, CSU Channel Islands) is a public university in Ventura County, California. Located near the city of Camarillo, it opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system ...

where faculty and students are tracking sites where the plant exists and studying it. Springs Fire

References

{{2013 California wildfires 2013 California wildfires Wildfires in Ventura County, California Wildfires in California

Effects

See also

References