when did the california wildfires of 2017 start
2017 California wildfires In October 2017, 250 wildfires ignited across Northern California, burning over 245,000 acres (990Â km2), and causing more than $9.4 billion dollars (2017) in insured property losses, becoming the costliest group of wildfires on record.[6][2][7] It will take at least several months, and likely years to fully recover from the devastating wildfires that ripped through Northern California in October, which destroyed at least 8,900 structures and killed 44 people, according to Sonoma County officials.[8] In addition, the Northern California fires hospitalized or injured at least 192 other people.[9][10]
Thomas Fire On December 4, 2017, the Thomas Fire was reported at 6:26 p.m. PST,[36] to the north of Santa Paula, near Steckel Park and Thomas Aquinas College,[3][24] after which the fire is named.[37] That night, the small brush fire exploded in size and raced through the rugged mountain terrain that lies west of Santa Paula, between Ventura and Ojai.[19][38] Officials blamed strong Santa Ana winds that gusted up to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) for the sudden expansion.[28][39] Soon after the fire had started, a second blaze was ignited nearly 30 minutes later, about 4 miles (6.4 km) to the north in Upper Ojai at the top of Koenigstein Road.[40] According to eyewitnesses, this second fire was sparked by an explosion in the power line over the area. The second fire was rapidly expanded by the strong Santa Ana winds, and soon merged into the Thomas Fire later that night.[40]