Wildfire — East Bay Hills and the Diablo Range, California

2020-09-01 to 2020-09-30 · East Bay Hills and the Diablo Range, California

Event narrative

The SCU Lightning Complex fires continued to burn through September before full containment was reached on the morning of October 1st. The SCU fires became the third largest wildfire in California state history. A total of 396,624 acres burned, 26 structures damaged and 222 were destroyed, and 6 people were injured by the fire that spanned 5 counties https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/2020/8/18/scu-lightning-complex/.

Wider weather episode

Continued periods of gusty offshore winds, dry conditions, and hot to record breaking temperatures allowed the August lightning fires to burn throughout the month of September. Persistent dry conditions across the hills and above normal temperatures made fire fighting efforts difficult with relatively poor humidity recoveries for much of the month.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 918123. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.