2019 California firecane season

The 2019 California firecane season is an ongoing event in meteorology. 2019 is the first year that the KOAM Weather Center will assign names to firecanes that form or move into its area of responsibility. The center will also issue advisories, however they have stated that firecanes not threatening any populated areas will not have advisories issued on them.

The firecane season has no official bounds, but most firecanes tend to form between late spring and early winter. The scope of this article is limited to the state of California.

As firecanes are ranked by size (in acres) rather than intensity, a firestorm is named once it is judged to have exceeded a size of 1,000 acres. In order to be classified as a firecane, a firestorm must exceed 10,000 acres in size. A firecane is officially classified as a major firecane once it has reached 40,000 acres in size.

'Note: The firecanes in this season are concurrent with real-life wildfires in California. This is also not updated real-time, so advisories may be issued at any time.'

The 2019 firecane season had a very slow start, breaking 2005's record for the latest start to a season. After June, activity began to increase.

Seasonal forecasts
An average season is roughly similar to that of a Pacific typhoon season, with an average of 36 firestorms, 12 firecanes and 4 major firecanes forming in a given year from 2002 to 2018.

During an El Nino, the firecane season can be expected to be less active, while during a La Nina, activity is usually increased.

For more information about the firecane season, go here.

Pre-season outlooks
Ahead of the season, forecasting agencies submitted their forecasts for the 2019 season.

On November 13, 2018, the Douglas Hurricane Center (DHC) forecast a well-below-average season, with 13 named firestorms, 3 firecanes and 1 major firecane.

On December 1, 2018, the KOAM Weather Center forecast a slightly below average firecane season due to the increased likelihood of an El Nino, with 26-32 named firestorms, 6-10 firecanes and 0-2 major firecanes.

Mid-season outlooks
On May 6, 2019, with the possibility of another destructive firecane season increased due to the abundance of dead trees in California, KOAM forecast a roughly near-average season with 34-38 named firestorms, 10-14 firecanes and 2-6 major firecanes.

Timeline
The 2019 firecane season had the latest start since reliable records began in 2002 with the first named storm forming on June 5, breaking 2005's previous record of June 3. However, towards the beginning of June, above-average precipitation that had persisted for the past several months began to diminish, leading to the formation of several firestorms during the month.

Outlooks & Advisories
CALIFORNIA FIRECANE OUTLOOK KOAM WEATHER CENTER 1200 UTC THU 13 JUN 19

CURRENTLY TRACKING -- 1. FIRESTORM BRIANNA (02C) NNW OF GUINDA, YOLO COUNTY...SIZE 2512 ACRES AT 70% CONTAINMENT... 2. FIRESTORM DOROTHY (04C) WNW OF SHANDON, SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY...SIZE 2000 ACRES AT 20% CONTAINMENT... 3. INVEST 94C "JORDAN" S OF INYO NATIONAL FOREST, INYO COUNTY...SIZE 465 ACRES...

WATCHES AND/OR WARNINGS IN EFFECT - FIRESTORM WATCH: CURRENTLY IN EFFECT FOR
 * SHANDON, SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY

FIRESTORM WARNING: THERE ARE NO FIRESTORM WARNINGS IN EFFECT AT THIS TIME.

FIRECANE WATCH: THERE ARE NO FIRECANE WATCHES IN EFFECT AT THIS TIME.

FIRECANE WARNING: THERE ARE NO FIRECANE WARNINGS IN EFFECT AT THIS TIME.

Firestorm Alexis
A fire disturbance was first reported at 10:49 AM PDT on June 5. It was located on Boulder Creek Trail in California Valley within San Luis Obispo County. At this time, it had a size of 5 acres. By noon, the fire had grown to 100 acres, so the KOAM Weather Center classed it as Fire Disturbance 01C. 01C further intensified to a size of 1,127 acres and was given the name Alexis. One building was threatened by the storm. However, Alexis was short-lived, being contained not long afterwards on June 6.

Firestorm Brianna
Brianna originated from a fire disturbance in the Capay Valley near the town of Guinda in Yolo County on June 8. The storm spread rapidly due to high winds and dry weather conditions, intensifying to 1,000 acres within four hours, prompting the KWC to assign it the name Brianna. By the morning of June 10, the storm had grown to 2,200 acres and was 50% contained. On June 11, Brianna grew further to 2,512 acres.

Brianna destroyed seven buildings and caused two non-fatal injuries. Evacuation orders were put in place around the vicinity, but these were lifted by June 10.

Firestorm Carlos
The precursor to Carlos was first reported at 5:44 PM PDT on June 8 northeast of Colusa in Sutter County. By 8:00 PM PDT, the fire had grown to over 900 acres, organizing into Fire Disturbance 03C. On June 10, the storm expanded into the Peace Valley area, growing to a size of 1,300 acres, taking the name Carlos. However, by that evening, the storm was declared fully contained.

Storm naming
Beginning in 2019, the KOAM Weather Center will assign names to firestorms with a size exceeding 1,000 acres that either form or move into the California region. All storms that form will be assigned a number followed by a letter, e.g. 01C. As thousands of fire disturbances below firestorm strength form each year, only those that caused a noteworthy amount of damage are included in the season.

KOAM uses 4 lists that are rotated each year, as well as two auxiliary lists, which rotate each year, that are used should the original naming list be exhausted. If the first auxiliary list selected for this year is exhausted, the second auxiliary list is used. After that, the Greek alphabet is used. Rarely, like in 2008, when a record-breaking 95 firestorms formed, the Hebrew alphabet will also be used.

Below are the main and auxiliary lists selected for 2019.

Main List

Auxiliary List

Season effects
This table summarizes all the systems that developed within or moved into the California region during 2019. The table also provides an overview of a system's size, duration, land areas affected and any deaths or damages associated with the system.

2019 California firecane statistics