Valley Fire
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The Valley 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 ...
during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 12 in
Lake County, California Lake County is a County (United States), county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 68,163. The county seat is Lakeport, California, Lakepor ...
. It began shortly after 1:00 pm near
Cobb Cobb may refer to: People * Cobb (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Cobb * Cobb Rooney (1900–1973), American professional football running back Places New Zealand * Cobb River * Cobb Reservoir * Cobb Power ...
with multiple reports of a small brush fire near the intersection of High Valley and Bottlerock Roads. It quickly spread and by 6:30 PM PDT, it had burned more than . By Sunday, the thirteenth of September, the fire had reached and had destroyed much of Cobb, Middletown, Whispering Pines, and parts in the south end of Hidden Valley Lake. The fire ultimately spread to , killed four people and destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings, before it was fully contained on October 15, 2015, causing at least $921 million (equivalent to $ billion in ) in insured property damage. At the time, the fire was the third-most destructive fire in California history, based on the total structures burned, but the
Camp Fire (2018) The 2018 Camp Fire in Northern California's Butte County, California, Butte County was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history. The fire began on the morning of Thursday, November 8, 2018, when part of a poorly mainta ...
and the
North Complex fire The North Complex Fire was a massive wildfire complex that burned in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California in the counties of Plumas County, California, Plumas and Butte County, California, Butte. Twenty-one fires were started by l ...
in 2020 exceeded that total.


Progression

The fire quickly spread into Middletown and Hidden Valley, threatening northern
Sonoma County Sonoma County ( ) is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 488,863. Its seat of government and largest city is Santa Rosa. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma ...
around
The Geysers The Geysers is the world's largest geothermal field, containing a complex of 18 geothermal power plants, drawing steam from more than 350 wells, located in the Mayacamas Mountains approximately north of San Francisco, California. Geysers produced ...
, and northern
Napa County Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...
, approaching Pope Valley and Angwin. In the first few hours of the fire, four
CAL FIRE 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 are ...
firefighters from the
Boggs Mountain Boggs Mountain is a mountain the Mayacamas Mountains in Lake County, California. Part of the mountain holds the Boggs Mountain Demonstration State Forest. About 80% of the trees were burned in the September 2015 Valley Fire. Name In the early day ...
helitack Helitack crews are teams of wildland firefighters who are transported by helicopter to wildfires. Helicopters provide rapid transport, enabling helitack crews to quickly respond and assess a wildfire situation. Helitack crews may land near a w ...
crew suffered
second-degree burns A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), solids, ...
while engaging in
initial attack This glossary of wildfire terms is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to wildfires and wildland firefighting. Except where noted, terms have largely been sourced from a 1998 Fireline Handbook transcribed for a Conflict 21 counter ...
on the fire. They were airlifted to the
UC Davis Medical Center UC Davis Medical Center (UCDMC) is part of UC Davis Health and a major academic health center located in Sacramento, California. It is owned and operated by the University of California as part of its University of California, Davis campus. The ...
for treatment, where they were listed in stable condition. On September 12, mandatory evacuation orders were issued for Cobb, Middletown,
Loch Lomond Loch Lomond (; ) is a freshwater Scottish loch which crosses the Highland Boundary Fault (HBF), often considered the boundary between the lowlands of Central Scotland and the Highlands.Tom Weir. ''The Scottish Lochs''. pp. 33-43. Published by ...
,
Harbin Hot Springs Harbin Hot Springs is a hot spring retreat and workshop center situated at Harbin Springs (formerly, Harbin Hot Springs and Harbin's Springs) in Lake County, California, Lake County, Northern California. Operated by Heart Consciousness Church, a 5 ...
, Hidden Valley Lake, the Clearlake Riviera, Riviera West, and Soda Bay communities of unincorporated parts of Kelseyville, Pope Valley and Angwin. Evacuation centers were established in the town of Kelseyville to the northwest and
Calistoga Calistoga may refer to: * Calistoga, California * Calistoga AVA, an American Viticultural Area that partly overlaps the town of Calistoga * Calistoga Water Company, bottled water brand sourced in Calistoga, California * Calistoga, code name for ...
to the southeast. This area is home to at least 10,000 residents. By midnight of the first day, scores of homes and businesses had been destroyed in Middletown, along with at least 50 homes in Cobb as well as the entire Hoberg’s Resort, an historic retreat built in the 1880s. The resort community of
Harbin Hot Springs Harbin Hot Springs is a hot spring retreat and workshop center situated at Harbin Springs (formerly, Harbin Hot Springs and Harbin's Springs) in Lake County, California, Lake County, Northern California. Operated by Heart Consciousness Church, a 5 ...
was also destroyed. On September 13, officials from
Cal Fire 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 are ...
confirmed that more than 1000 homes had been destroyed. On October 15, 2015, the Valley Fire was fully contained, at . The total cost of fighting the Valley Fire was estimated by the
National Interagency Fire Center The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) in Boise, Idaho, is an American physical facility which is the home to the National Interagency Coordination Center (NICC) and the National Multi-Agency Coordination Group (NMAC or MAC). The center w ...
at $56.2 million.


Effects

The remains of one woman killed in the fire in Anderson Springs were found on September 13. On September 17, remains of two bodies were found in Anderson Springs and Hidden Valley Lake. On September 23, Lake County deputies found human remains that belonged to a missing Cobb resident. It was confirmed to be the fourth fatality resulting from the fire. The fire destroyed 1,955 structures, including 1,322 homes, 27 apartment buildings and 73 businesses. An additional 93 buildings were damaged. The California Department of Insurance estimated the insured losses from the Valley Fire at approximately $700 million. Insurance company Aon Benfield Inc. estimated that damages were at least $1.5 billion, including $925 million in insured losses and $575 million in damage to infrastructure and other federal/state government property.


Aftermath

The Mendocino County Health and Human Services Agency, in coordination with the American Red Cross, opened a shelter on September 13 at the Redwood Empire Fairgrounds in Ukiah to offer medical and mental health assistance, and meals to evacuees. It closed on September 18. Multiple people were arrested for
looting Looting is the act of stealing, or the taking of goods by force, typically in the midst of a military, political, or other social crisis, such as war, natural disasters (where law and civil enforcement are temporarily ineffective), or rioting. ...
or attempting to loot from evacuated or abandoned homes as a result of the fire. On September 14, a man posing as a
California Highway Patrol The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is the principal state police agency for the U.S. state of California. The CHP has primary jurisdiction, including patrol and Criminal investigation, investigations, over all California Controlled-access highw ...
officer was arrested in Whispering Pines on suspicion of removing an artifact of archaeological interest. On September 17, three people were arrested by Lake County Sheriff's Deputies for attempting to loot from homes in Hidden Valley Lake. They were allegedly in possession of burglary tools and an unregistered firearm. On September 18, the
California National Guard The California National Guard (Cal Guard) is part of the National Guard (United States), National Guard of the United States, a dual federal–state military reserve force in the state of California. It has three components: the California Army ...
came to Lake County to assist the county's law enforcement with the task of protecting evacuated communities from looters and trespassers. About 50 National Guard military police teams were set to arrive on September 19. In November 2015, a concert with country musicians
Diamond Rio Diamond Rio is an American country music band from Nashville, Tennessee. The band consists of Marty Roe (lead vocals, guitar), Jimmy Olander (lead guitar, banjo), Dan Truman (keyboards), Dana Williams (bass guitar, vocals), Micah Schweinsberg ( ...
and
Joe Diffie Joe Logan Diffie (December 28, 1958 – March 29, 2020) was an American country music singer and songwriter. After working as a demo (music), demo singer in the mid 1980s, he signed with Epic Records' Nashville division in 1990. Between then and ...
, and Ukiah country singer-songwriter McKenna Faith was held at the SOMO Village Event Center in
Rohnert Park Rohnert Park is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located approximately north of San Francisco. The population at the 2020 United States census was 44,390. It is an early planned city and is the sister city of Hashimoto in ...
to raise money for Valley Fire victims. A Cal Fire investigation pointed to faulty wiring of a hot tub installation as the cause of the fire.


References


External links


Valley Fire
, incident information provided by CAL FIRE

Valley Incident Damage Inspection Report created 1/5/2016 archived at web.archive.org {{2015 wildfires 2015 California wildfires Wildfires in Lake County, California Wildfires in Sonoma County, California Wildfires in Napa County, California