Pendola Fire
{{Short description|1999 wildfire in Northern California}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox wildfire
|title = Pendola Fire
|image =1999 Pendola Fire.png
|caption = The extent of the Pendola Fire
|alt = Refer to caption
|location = Yuba County, Northern California, United States
|area = {{convert|11725|acre|ha sqmi km2|0}}
|coordinates = {{coord|39.473|-121.085|region:US-CA|display=inline,title}}
|pushpin_map = USA California
|pushpin_map_alt = Refer to caption
|pushpin_map_caption = The general location of the Pendola Fire in Northern California
|date = {{Unbulleted list|{{Start date|16|10}} – |{{End date|1999|10|23}}|({{age in days|1999|10|16|1999|10|23|show unit=full}})}}
|cost=$4.2{{nbsp}}million (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US-GDP|4.2|1999|fmt=c|r=1}}{{nbsp}}million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) in firefighting costs|cause=Tree falling into power line|buildings=72 destroyed, 3 damaged}}
The Pendola Fire was a large wildfire in Northern California's Yuba County in October 1999. The fire burned for one week, spreading to {{convert|11725|acres|ha|abbr=in}} and destroying dozens of buildings. The fire was caused by a tree falling on a power line operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), who ultimately settled with the United States Forest Service and other parties for more than $17.3 million.
Background
California's 1999 wildfire season was one of the worst on record in its time in terms of acres burned and structures destroyed.{{Cite news |date=November 10, 1999 |title=California's tragic fire season finishes litany of destruction |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/oakland-tribune-californias-tragic-fir/160895983/ |access-date=December 14, 2024 |work=Oakland Tribune |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Bay City News Service}} Almost {{convert|750000|acres|ha|abbr=out}} burned statewide between the beginning of the year and the official declaration of fire season's closure in Northern California on November 9. Approximately {{convert|500000|acres|ha|abbr=out}} of the burned acreage was National Forest land, and the remaining area—not quite {{convert|274000|acres|ha|abbr=out}}—was private property or other lands under state firefighting jurisdiction.{{Cite news |date=November 10, 1999 |title='Very tough' fire season comes to a close in state |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-californian-very-tough-fire-seaso/160896465/ |access-date=December 14, 2024 |work=The Californian |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press}}
By October 18, during the Pendola Fire, approximately {{convert|660000|acres|ha|abbr=out}} had burned throughout California.{{Cite news |last=Bailey |first=Eric |last2=McDermott |first2=Terry |date=October 18, 1999 |title=2,500 Flee, 100 Homes Burn in N. California |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-18-mn-23592-story.html |access-date=December 12, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times}} The Pendola Fire burned simultaneously with several other large wildfires in Northern California, including the Big Bar Complex fires in Trinity County and the Jones Fire in Shasta County.{{Cite news |last=Barrows |first=Matthew |last2=Bell |first2=Ted |last3=Montaño |first3=Ralph |date=October 18, 1999 |title=Firefighters stretched to the limit |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-firefighter-stretche/160898762/ |access-date=December 14, 2024 |work=The Sacramento Bee |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-firefighters-stretch/160898762/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-firefighters-stretch/160898939/ A12] |via=Newspapers.com}}
A red flag warning was issued for the area of the Pendola Fire for the weekend of its ignition on account of high winds.{{Cite news |last=Mattson |first=Doug |last2=McDermid |first2=Charles |date=October 18, 1999 |title=Dobbins area homes evacuated |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-dobbins-area-homes-evacuated/160835148/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Union |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-dobbins-area-homes-evacuated/160835148/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-dobbins-area-homes-evacuated/160835524/ A8] |via=Newspapers.com}} At 4:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 16, 1999, the fire lookout at Oregon Peak reported a wind gust of {{convert|50|mph|km/h|abbr=out}}.
Progression
The Pendola Fire began at about 4:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 16, north of New Bullards Bar Reservoir in Yuba County.{{Cite news |date=July 31, 2009 |title=PG&E to pay close to $15M in fire settlement |url=https://www.theunion.com/news/local-news/pg-e-to-pay-close-to-15m-in-fire-settlement/article_9c2e914c-c06a-58fd-9f15-a8b327afa65b.html |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=The Union}}{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Brett |date=October 19, 1999 |title=Evacuees go back home; no injuries |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-evacuees-go-back-home-no-inj/160830759/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Union |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-evacuees-go-back-home-no-inj/160830759/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-evacuees-go-back-home-no-inj/160832620/ A8] |via=Newspapers.com}} The fire ignited when high winds blew a {{convert|170|ft|m|abbr=out|adj=on}} ponderosa pine down into a PG&E 12-kilovolt power distribution line on a tract of privately owned land in the community of Camptonville.{{Cite news |last=Russ |first=Hilary |date=July 29, 2009 |title=PG&E, DOJ Reach $14.8M Deal Over Calif. Fire |url=https://www.law360.com/articles/113780/pg-e-doj-reach-14-8m-deal-over-calif-fire |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=Law360}} The fire was originally located near Baker Road and Pendola Extension, for which it was named.
The fire quickly burned southwest, and spotted across New Bullards Bar Reservoir at a narrow section south of Madrone Cove. There it continued to burn in forested areas north of Dobbins, spreading to ~{{convert|2500|acres|ha|abbr=out}} by nighttime. On Sunday, October 17, the fire burned an additional ~{{convert|3000|acres|ha|abbr=out}}.{{Cite news |last=Kraemer |first=Kristin M. |date=Oct 18, 1999 |title=Foothills fire almost tamed blackened 11,000 acres |url=https://www.appeal-democrat.com/foothills-fire-almost-tamed-blackened-11-000-acres/article_74b16084-039e-54ab-8e3b-eba2f2ce2208.html |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Appeal-Democrat}}
By the morning of Monday, October 18, the fire had burned {{convert|5120|acres|ha|abbr=out}} and was 10 percent contained.{{Cite news |last=Hendrix |first=Anastasia |date=October 18, 1999 |title="Parched north state ablaze: Winds ease, aiding weary firefighters" (page A1) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-parched-nort/160836869/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The San Francisco Examiner |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-parched-nort/160836869/ A-1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-parched-nort/160837450/ A-16] |via=Newspapers.com}} At 3:00 p.m., residents of Dobbins, Brownsville, and Challenge were able to return home. The fire continued to grow, more than doubling in acreage, and by 8:00 p.m. that night, the fire had burned about {{convert|11000|acres|ha|abbr=out}} and was 65 percent contained.
More than 2,500 firefighters were mobilized to suppress the fire, which was declared controlled by the U.S. Forest Service on Saturday, October 23.{{Cite news |last=Omarzu |first=Tim |date=October 23, 1999 |title=Pendola blaze under control |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-pendola-blaze-under-control/160834367/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Union |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-pendola-blaze-under-control/160834367/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-pendola-blaze-under-control/160834617/ A11] |via=Newspapers.com}}{{Cite news |last=Nelson |first=Brett |date=December 4, 1999 |title=Family struggles after fire |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-fire-struggles-after-fire-p/160846764/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Union |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-family-struggles-after-fire/160846764/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-family-struggles-after-fire/160846857/ A10] |via=Newspapers.com}}
The fire ultimately burned {{convert|11725|acres|ha|abbr=out}}, {{convert|3866|acres|ha|abbr=out}} of which were National Forest lands. The effects of the fire on Tahoe National Forest land east of Bullards Bar Reservoir were mild, akin to the effects of a prescribed fire. The cost of the firefighting effort came to $4.2 million (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US-GDP|4.2|1999|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). The area burned in the Pendola Fire overlapped with the area burned by the destructive {{convert|5743|acres|ha|abbr=out|adj=on}} Williams Fire in September 1997.
Effects
The Pendola Fire destroyed 72 buildings, comprising 13 homes, two commercial buildings, and 57 other structures. Forty-four vehicles were also destroyed, per Forest Service statistics reported by The Union. One additional home and two other structures were damaged. A member of Nevada County's Fire Safe Council said that all of the burned homes had no brush clearance.{{Cite news |last=Omarzu |first=Tim |date=November 10, 1999 |title=New worker promotes fire-safety efforts |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-new-worker-promotes-fire-safe/160838884/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Union |via=Newspapers.com}}
On October 18 the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District issued an advisory warning at-risk people to stay indoors because of the impacts to air quality from the Pendola Fire's smoke.{{Cite news |last=Todorov |first=Kerana |date=October 19, 1999 |title=Thick haze can cause trouble for ill, elderly |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-thick-haze-can-cause-trouble/160832878/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Union |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-thick-haze-can-cause-trouble/160832878/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-thick-haze-can-cause-trouble/160833469/ A8] |via=Newspapers.com}}
In December 1999 the Tahoe National Forest proposed salvage logging operations in the approximately {{convert|2600|acres|ha|abbr=out|adj=on}} portion of the forest that had burned in the Pendola Fire.{{Cite news |last=Omarzu |first=Tim |date=December 20, 1999 |title=TNF proposes harvest of dead timber |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-union-tnf-proposes-harvest-of-dead/160847237/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Union |via=Newspapers.com}} Timber companies eventually extracted 18.5 million board-feet of timber from the area, paying over $2 million (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US-GDP|2|2002|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) for the right to do so. Approximately $235,000 of the taxed money went towards reforestation.{{Cite news |last=Mohan |first=Geoffrey |date=August 23, 2002 |title=Bush's Forest Safety Plan Kindles a Debate |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-bushs-forest-saf/160847575/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-bushs-forest-saf/160847575/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-bushs-forest-saf/160847799/ A22] |via=Newspapers.com}}
Litigation and settlements
After the fire, the Forest Service alleged that PG&E or its contractors should have inspected the power line and removed the ponderosa pine that fell and caused the Pendola Fire before it did so.
PG&E was sued by multiple parties in Yuba County Superior Court for their role in the Pendola Fire. Property owners filed lawsuits in October 2001 and October 2002, and timber company CHY Co. filed a suit for $4.6 million in damages in October 2002 after {{convert|2000|acres|ha|abbr=out}} of their land burned in the fire.{{Cite news |last=Harold |first=Kruger |date=October 18, 2002 |title=PG&E sued for Pendola Fire: 11,725-acre blaze destroyed 13 homes |url=https://www.appeal-democrat.com/pg-e-sued-for-pendola-fire-11-725-acre-blaze-destroyed-13-homes/article_9663228b-9f24-594d-93a9-d0b66cd5f627.html |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=Appeal-Democrat}}{{Cite news |last=Kruger |first=Harold |date=April 4, 2005 |title=PG&E settles Pendola case |url=https://www.appeal-democrat.com/pg-e-settles-pendola-case/article_356cd4b1-6c40-5b89-b746-c7196decb5a5.html |access-date=December 6, 2024 |work=Appeal-Democrat}} PG&E settled with one of the groups of property owners for $800,000, and settled with CHY Co. in 2005 for $1.8 million (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US-GDP|1.8|2005|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).
In 2009, PG&E settled with the Forest Service for $14.75 million (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US-GDP|14.75|2009|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}), including more than $10 million in "compensation for natural resources damage".{{Cite news |last=Boxall |first=Bettina |date=August 7, 2009 |title=Utility pays U.S. a $14.75-million wildfire settlement |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times-utility-pays-us/160849444/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=Los Angeles Times |via=Newspapers.com}} There was no litigation; the settlement was reached through mediation. The settlement with PG&E was the second-largest ever for a wildfire case in the United States, after the federal government obtained a settlement with Union Pacific Railroad Company in 2008 for $102 million (equivalent to about ${{Inflation|US-GDP|102|2008|r=1|fmt=c}} million in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}) over the Storrie Fire in 2000.{{Cite news |last=Lundstrom |first=Marjie |date=July 29, 2009 |title=PG&E to pay millions in 1999 blaze |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-pge-to-pay-millions/160848233/ |access-date=December 13, 2024 |work=The Sacramento Bee |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-pge-to-pay-millions/160848233/ B1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sacramento-bee-pge-to-pay-millions/160849005/ B5] |via=Newspapers.com}}
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{California wildfires}}
Category:Wildfires in Yuba County, California