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Tenaja Fire

2019 California wildfiresWildfires in Riverside County, California
Tenaja Fire Sept 4 2019 CAL FIRE RCOFD 01
Tenaja Fire Sept 4 2019 CAL FIRE RCOFD 01

The Tenaja Fire was a wildfire in the rural community of La Cresta southwest of Murrieta in Riverside County, California, United States, located 80 miles from Los Angeles. The fire broke out on Wednesday, September 4, 2019 and ballooned to 1,926 acres (8 km2) over the course of two days. The blaze, dubbed the Tenaja fire after igniting along Tenaja Road and Clinton Keith Road in La Cresta, forced the evacuation of over 1,200 people and lead to the closure of multiple school districts in the Murrieta, Perris and Lake Elsinore area due to the poor air quality. The exact cause of the fire remains under investigation although several sources cited the possibility of lightning being the direct cause. Two structures were damaged as a result of the fire and one firefighter suffered minor injuries. The fire was contained on September 14 and had burned 1,926 acres (779 ha).Final Report concluded that wind and SCE power line were the cause: “On Wednesday. September 4, 2019 at approximately 3:57 PM, units from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), the Riverside County Fire Department (RCOD) were dispatched to a reported vegetation fire located in the area of Tenaja Road and Clinton Keith Road, in the unincorporated area of Riverside County known as Murrieta. Units arrived on scene to find a well-established vegetation fire that had consumed several acres and was being driven by a 20-25 MPH wind towards the northeast. Wind shifts were also reported in the early stages of the incident. Due to the first 911 call, the fire was placed into the CAL FIRE system as a lightning caused fire. This was a possible cause at the time due to a thunder storm which had moved across the City of Temecula and into the Murrieta area. CAL FIRE investigators responded to the incident the following day to conduct an origin and cause investigation. CAL FIRE Officer W-4 Greg EWING conducted the origin and cause investigation. After observing fire patterns, the fire's General Origin Area (GOA) was determined to be in the wildland on the northwest side of the Tenaja Road and Clinton Keith intersection The final cause of the fire was determined to have been a direct result of powerline conductor slap. Southern California Edison (SCE) conductors arced when they swung and touched or became close enough to cause an arc due to winds in the area. This arc allowed the hot material to fall to the ground igniting the vegetation downwind. The Tenaja Fire ultimately consumed 1,939 acres of vegetation which was property owned by V-1 Riverside County Region Park and Open Space District and V-2 Department of Fish and Wildlife.”

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Tenaja Fire (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Tenaja Fire
Tenaja Road,

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Wikipedia: Tenaja FireContinue reading on Wikipedia

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Latitude Longitude
N 33.528469 ° E -117.273157 °
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Tenaja Road

Tenaja Road

California, United States
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Tenaja Fire Sept 4 2019 CAL FIRE RCOFD 01
Tenaja Fire Sept 4 2019 CAL FIRE RCOFD 01
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