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Sandalwood Fire

Coordinates: 33°59′41″N 117°03′47″W / 33.994661°N 117.063106°W / 33.994661; -117.063106
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Sandalwood Fire
Date(s)
  • October 10, 2019 (2019-10-10)
  • October 14, 2019 (2019-10-14)
LocationRiverside County, California
Coordinates33°59′41″N 117°03′47″W / 33.994661°N 117.063106°W / 33.994661; -117.063106
Statistics[1]
Burned area1,011 acres (409 ha)
Impacts
Deaths2
Non-fatal injuries3
Structures destroyed74 structures destroyed, 16 damaged
Map
Sandalwood Fire is located in southern California
Sandalwood Fire
Location in Southern California
Location of Sandalwood Fire

The Sandalwood Fire was a wildfire that burned in the city of Calimesa in Riverside County, California. The fire started on October 10, 2019 in the afternoon, killing two people[2] and destroying 74 structures.[3]

The fire, named after a street near where the fire started, ignited when a garbage truck dumped its smoldering load next to a canyon of dry scrub.[4]

Progression

[edit]

Reported during a Santa Ana wind event that was anticipated for the area at around 1:58 pm Thursday, October 10, the Sandalwood fire broke out along Calimesa Boulevard and Sandalwood Drive immediately raced into nearby brush burning in a southwesterly direction due to the strong winds.[5] Within the first hour of the fire, the conflagration was already heavily impacting the Villa Calimesa mobile home park where most of the damage from the fire would occur. The fire continued to spread rapidly as was reportedly over by 4 pm that afternoon and also threatening the nearby railway, power grid, and a second mobile home park in the area.[5] Throughout the day, the fire would destroy most of the Villa Calimesa mobile home park and ultimately cause the death of two civilians in the area.

In all, 6 air tankers and 8 helicopters assisted in the firefighting operation.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Sandalwood Fire". CAL FIRE. Retrieved October 11, 2019.
  2. ^ "Second Person Now Confirmed Dead In Sandalwood Fire". CBSN Los Angeles. October 12, 2019. Retrieved October 12, 2019.
  3. ^ Asmelash, Leah. "Rapidly spreading wildfire destroys mobile homes in Calimesa, California". CNN. Retrieved 2019-10-11.
  4. ^ Gerber, Marisa (2019-10-18). "After a trash truck dumped a fiery load, dozens of mobile homes burned and an 89-year-old woman died". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-10-22.
  5. ^ a b Valdez, Jonah; Hagen, Ryan (10 October 2019). "74 structures destroyed by 500-acre Sandalwood fire in Calimesa". The Sun. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Sandalwood Fire in Calimesa 100 Percent Contained, 1,011 Acres Burned". KCAL9. October 14, 2019. Retrieved February 2, 2022.