Lessons from the October 2003 wildfires in Southern California.
Abstract
The Southern California fires of late Oct. 2003 burned 742,000 ac and destroyed 3,361 homes and 26 lives. Factors leading up to this event were very different between forests, which comprised about 5% of the area burned, and shrublands. Three lessons are (1) although these fires were massive, they were not unprecedented, and future fires of this magnitude are to be expected; (2) the current fire management policy is not effective at preventing these massive fires; and (3) future developments need to plan for these natural fire events much the same way we currently incorporate engineering solutions to earthquakes and other natural catastrophes.
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The effects of prescribed burning can diminish in severe fire weather conditions.
“These results are consistent with previous research indicating the effects of prescribed burning can diminish within a short period of time (2–6 years) [12], [28], [29] and in severe fire weather conditions [8], [12], [30], which are the conditions when most houses are destroyed [26].”
From Land Management Practices Associated with House Loss in Wildfires (2012) · cites this paper as [8]
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Cites
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The 2003 and 2007 Wildfires in Southern California
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Keeley, J. E., Fotheringham, C. J., & Moritz, M. A.
- Affiliations
- United States Geological Survey (US)
- University of California, Los Angeles (US)
- University of California, Berkeley (US)
- Venue
- Journal of Forestry
- Published
- 2004-10-01
- Volume
- 102
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 26-31
- ISSN
- 0022-1201 (ISSN-L)
- 1938-3746
- OpenAlex
- W2507097001
- Cited by
- 133
- References
- 12
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 7.83
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Forestry (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Forest Management and Policy
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Disaster Management and Resilience
- Keywords
- fire risk, forest fires, shrubland fires, fire prevention, disaster planning
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