| Cedar Fire | |
|---|---|
| Part of the2003 California wildfires | |
 A dozen simultaneous wildfires in October 2003; the Cedar Fire is the group of large red dots right of center. | |
| Date(s) |
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| Location | San Diego County, California, United States |
| Coordinates | 33°01′00″N116°41′00″W / 33.016667°N 116.683333°W /33.016667; -116.683333 |
| Statistics | |
| Burned area | 273,246 acres (1,106 km2) |
| Impacts | |
| Deaths |
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| Non-fatal injuries | 113 |
| Structures destroyed |
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| Damage | At least $1.331 billion (2003 USD)[1][2] |
| Ignition | |
| Cause | Signal fire |
| Map | |
 Perimeter of Cedar Fire | |
  Location of Cedar Fire in Southern California Show map of San Diego County, California Cedar Fire (southern California) Show map of southern California | |
TheCedar Fire was a massive, highly-destructivewildfire, which burned 273,246 acres (1,106 km2) of land inSan Diego County, California, during October and November 2003.[2][3] The fire's rapid growth was driven by theSanta Ana winds, causing the fire to spread at a rate of 3,600 acres (15 km2) per hour.[2] By the time the fire was fully contained on November 4, it had destroyed 2,820 buildings (including 2,232 homes) and killed 15 people, including one firefighter.[2] Hotspots continued to burn within the Cedar Fire's perimeter until December 5, 2003, when the fire was fully brought under control.[2]
The fire remains one of thelargest wildfires in California history and, as of January 2022,[4] the ninth-largest wildfire in the state's modern history. According toCALFIRE, it is also the sixth-deadliest and fourth-most destructive wildfire in state history, causing just over $1.3 billion in damages.[5][6][1] In November 2018, theCamp Fire (2018) surpassed theTubbs Fire (which had previously surpassed the1991 Oakland Firestorm and the Cedar Fire) to become the single most destructive wildfire in California history, in terms of the number of buildings destroyed.[6] In December 2017, theThomas Fire surpassed the Cedar Fire to become California's largest modern wildfire on record, before theMendocino Complex Fire's Ranch Fire surpassed both fires to become the state's largest wildfire in August 2018.[7]
The Cedar Fire began in theCuyamaca Mountains within theCleveland National Forest. It was first reported at 5:37 p.m.PDT on October 25, 2003, to the south ofRamona in centralSan Diego County. At the time it began, at least eleven other wildfires were actively burning in Southern California. Within ten minutes of the initial report, theU.S. Forest Service had deployed 10 fire engines, two water tenders, two hand crews and two chief officers. Within 30 minutes, 320 firefighters and six fire chiefs were en route.[8] AnASTREA helicopter of theSan Diego County Sheriff's Department that was rescuing a hunter spotted the fire at about the same time as the first phone report was received and called for an air response. Another sheriff's helicopter equipped with aBambi Bucket was dispatched to drop water on the fire. When the helicopter was only minutes away from the fire, a Forest Service fire chief cancelled the water drop because policy required the cutoff of aerial firefighting 30 minutes before sunset, a decision which was later severely criticized by the public, media, and other elected officials.[8]
Between the time the fire started and midnight, the predicted strong easterly Santa Ana winds surfaced and the fire burned approximately 5,319 acres.[9] By 3:00 a.m., 62,000 acres (250 km2) had burned.[10] Overnight, the fast-moving fire killed 12 people living in Wildcat Canyon and Muth Valley in the northern part ofLakeside, who had little or no warning that the fire was approaching. The fire destroyed 39 homes on theBarona Indian Reservation.[11] In only a few hours, the Cedar Fire pushed southwest over 30 miles (48.3 km) and burned over 100,000 acres (400 km2) at rates of up to 6,000 acres (24 km2) per hour.[12] The fire also crossed several large highways, includingInterstate 15, and by noon on October 26, the fire was burning hundreds of homes in theScripps Ranch community ofSan Diego, and was threatening many others.[13]
On October 26, the fire forged intoAlpine,Harbison Canyon, Lake Jennings andCrest, burning hundreds more homes in areas that had been devastated by theLaguna Fire 33 years earlier. By October 28, the strong easterly Santa Ana winds died down and the fire turned east, consuming another 114,000 acres (460 km2). The entire community ofCuyamaca, most of nearbyCuyamaca Rancho State Park, and more than 500 homes surrounding the town ofJulian were destroyed.[14]
On October 29, a group offirefighters attempting to defend a house in Riverwood Estates, nearSanta Ysabel, became entrapped and overrun by the fire. One firefighter died. Another firefighter sustained severe injuries, and two others were hurt.[15] Firefighters finally achieved full containment of the Cedar Fire on November 3, and the Cedar Fire was completely brought under control on December 5.[2]
In the wake of the 2003 firestorm, including the Cedar Fire, California GovernorArnold Schwarzenegger (Gray Davis was still governor) declared astate of emergency and activated theNational Guard to assist in the disaster relief process. PresidentGeorge W. Bush declared Los Angeles, San Bernardino, San Diego and Ventura counties majordisaster areas.[16] Air travel in and around the region was also disrupted due to the effect onair traffic control radar.[17]
San Diego'sQualcomm Stadium was used as an evacuation site, forcing theNFL to move theMonday Night Football game on October 27 between theSan Diego Chargers andMiami Dolphins toSun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona.[18] The decision to move the game to Arizona was made less than 24 hours before the game started, and admission was free.[19]
Investigators determined that the fire was started by Sergio Martinez ofWest Covina, California, a novice hunter who was unprepared for the local back country and had become disorientated after venturing into "thick and tall" brush.[20] Martinez initially told investigators that he had fired a shot from his rifle to draw attention and that "sparks" from the shot had caused the fire.[21]
After gathering branches and other flammable brush together, Martinez intentionally lit a large fire that he quickly lost control of, spreading to the surroundingChaparral brush.[22] The daily high temperature combined with low humidity & low moisture content of the highly flammablechaparral were ideal for a wildfire. At 8 p.m. local time the predicted eveningSanta Ana winds blew hot and dry desert air from the east westward though the rugged terrain fanning the intense flames westward towards the residential areas ofSan Diego.[23][24]
Two local Sheriff deputies searched for Martinez in a helicopter.[25] They found him disoriented and confused,[26] but he apologized for starting the fire while being transported in the helicopter.[25]
Martinez was charged in federal court on October 7, 2004 with setting the wildfire and lying about its cause to investigators.[22] In November 2005, as part of a plea deal a federal judge sentenced Martinez to six months in a work-furlough program and ordered him to complete 960 hours (40 days) of community service.[27] He also was sentenced to five years' probation and to pay $9,000 in restitution.[28] As part of theplea bargain, prosecutors dropped the charge of lying to investigators.[27]
There were a number of controversies associated with the Cedar Fire, resulting in investigations lasting several years. A report, the2003 San Diego County Fire Siege Fire Safety Review,[29] prepared in the wake of the fire and presented to the Governor's Blue Ribbon Fire Commission, criticized the overall response. The report stated that though the fire conditions and severity should have been expected, the responsible agencies were not properly prepared when the fire broke out, and radio communications problems exacerbated the problem. The report stated that "Disorganization, inconsistent or outdated policies among agencies that grounded aircraft or caused other problems, and planning or logistics in disarray also marked the preliminary stages of the difficult, dangerous firefighting."[30] With multiple fires already burning in the state, many local crews were already headed north to fight other fires and could not be recalled to assist with the Cedar Fire.[12]
The turning away of the Sheriff's helicopters by the U.S. Forest Service in the fire's early stages came under severe criticism by the public, media and elected officials, believing that an opportunity to prevent the fire from becoming out of control had been lost. The federal government has an aviation assets "cutoff" policy which stated that "aircraft (planes or helicopters) may not be dispatched so as to arrive at an incident no later than 30 minutes before sunset".[8][22][29][31] The helicopter pilot later claimed he could have made multiple water drops in the time he had before darkness.[8] However, a study conducted by the Forest Service concluded that even if the helicopter had been able to drop multiple loads of water with direct hits on the flames, the impact on the fire would have been minimal.[8]
Cutoff also prevented two air tankers and a helicopter stationed atRamona Airport from being dispatched to the fire, although the tankers likely could not have been used anyway as the pilots had just spent seven hours fighting another fire, andFAA regulations stipulated that they could not continue to fly.[32]
A contributing factor to the initial lack of aviation resources to fight the fire was theCalifornia Department of Forestry's "no divert" policy, which allows incident commanders to dedicate certain resources to a particular fire; the policy applied to both airborne aircraft as well as those on the ground awaiting dispatch. At the time that the Cedar Fire started, there were already 11 other fires burning in the region. Aviation resources in the area were currently being held on the ground under a "no divert" declaration, in order to be available for structures' protection on another fire. However, weather and visibility at the other fire was precluding their use, so the aircraft sat idle, despite the fact that conditions were acceptable for their use on the Cedar Fire.[29]
Both the media and local elected officials were also critical of the lack of use of military aviation assets located nearby atCamp Pendleton andMiramar. TheU.S. Marine Corps operatesCH-46 Sea Knight andCH-53 Sea Stallion helicopters that can carry water-dropping buckets, but existing policies prohibited their use until all other civilian resources were used. Additionally, the military aircraft radios were not compatible with those used by most state and local fire agencies, and the military pilots had not received any training in fire-specific operations, making them a potential safety hazard both to firefighters on the ground and other aircraft over the fire.[29]
Fifteen people, including one firefighter, were killed by the fire.[33] A survivor,Rudy Reyes, was burned over approximately 70% of his body.[34][35] Many of those killed were trapped by the flames which were driven by 60-mile-per-hour (97 km/h) winds outpaced fleeing residents.[13] Of those killed, 13 died in the first 24 hours of the fire. At least 10 people were trapped in their vehicles trying to outrun the flames, some of whom were disfigured to the point that identification was made based on their deceased dog's collars.[36] On October 29, fire overran anengine crew from theNovato Fire District near the town of Julian,[37] killing engineer Steven Rucker. The three other crewmembers sheltered in a house.[38]
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link){{cite news}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Rudy Reyes — burned over 65 percent of his body — can barely move his arms and legs and an operation last week to graft skin from his stomach to his right hand increased his use of painkillers. The 26-year-old barely escaped the blaze, forced to run to safety after his car wouldn't start. The rest of his family was unharmed. ... "He told me to go and said he'd follow. He was more worried about me and my mom getting out in time than he was about himself."
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