Creek Fire update: After four months, California’s largest single fire is 100% contained

With a positive shift in weather conditions, the Creek Fire that burned nearly 380,000 acres around Big Creek, Huntington Lake, Shaver Lake, and Mammoth Pool was declared 100% contained on Christmas Eve by fire officials with the Sierra National Forest.

The Creek Fire, which started in the early evening on Sept. 4 near Big Creek, is the fourth largest wildfire and largest single source wildfire in California history.

The August Complex Fire that started in Mendocino County in August is the largest wildfire, with 1,032,649 acres burned. The Mendocino Complex Fire in July 2018 is second with 459,123 acres burned, and the SCU Lightning Complex Fire is third with 396,624 acres burned.

The Creek Fire consumed 379,895 acres, destroyed 856 structures, and damaged another 71. The cause of the wildfire remains under investigation.

Hazards remain in areas burned by the wildfire with falling trees and large limbs along roadways, trails, and recreational areas, and a closure order will remain in effect through Jan. 6.

The Creek Fire started as just a thin column of smoke visible around Big Creek late on a Friday afternoon, but it grew rapidly, and at one point, two Type 1 incident management teams were working to suppress the wildfire.

In the first 24 hours, it had burned more than 36,000 acres and jumped the San Joaquin River, leading to evacuation orders in Fresno and Madera counties.

Creek Fire in ‘a class by itself’

Three days in, the aggressive, rapidly-spreading Creek fire was described as an unprecedented disaster and in a class by itself.

“Over the past number of years, we certainly had our share of challenges on this forest, haven’t we?” Sierra National Forest spokesman Dean Gould said, on Sept. 7. “All those incidents were remarkable in their own right. The Creek Fire is certainly starting out to be the most aggressive of any of those. This one is in a class by itself. At least it has been the last couple of days.”

In just one week, the wildfire had burned through 175,893 acres, and 361 structures, including 60 homes and 277 commercial and residential mixed-use buildings, were destroyed by the fire.

After two weeks, it had consumed 248,256 acres. There were nearly 3,000 fire personnel working to suppress the wildfire, pushed by high winds and an abundance of fuels from dead trees and brush.

An estimate on full containment was pushed back several times, most recently to Dec. 31.