Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 - Size

Size

USFS Regional Forester L.A. Barrett (1935), in reference to the size stated that "Nothing like it occurred in California since the National Forests have been administered. In fact in my 33 years in the Service I have never seen a forest or brush fire to equal it." Since his career included the 1932 Matilija Fire, which was over 220,000 acres (~89,000 ha), we can infer it was much larger than 200,000 acres (810 km2). A thorough study of newspaper accounts suggests it was on the order of 300,000 acres (~125,000 ha) (Keeley and Zedler, in press). Other estimates have claimed a smaller size (Goforth and Minnich 2007).

One of the first reports of the fire was delivered by telegraph. "By Telegraph. Mountain Fires! Fires Near Santa Ana. Los Angeles, Sept. 25. - A special to the Tribune from Santa Ana says the mountains for about twenty miles (32 km) east of that city were on fire last night. The fire originated in Santiago cañon, in a sheepherder’s camp, and as the wind was blowing a perfect gale from off the desert the mountains were soon red with the angry flames. About 50,000 sacks of barley, threshed and unthreshed, on the San Joaquin ranch, invites the flames from the surrounding hilltops" (Riverside DPT 1889).

"The Fires. Reported From Nearly all Sections of the County. Reports from different sections of the county show that last week’s fires were widespread. For two days there were over thirty miles of burning brush on the westside of Santa Rosa Range, and thousands of sheep are supposed to have lost their lives in the conflagration. In the Aliso District, near Encinitas, the fire raged several days, resulting in a heavy loss of crops to the farmers in that section… the most extensive fires for years have been raging on the Santa Margarita ranch. A bridge on the line of the California Southern railway, below Temecula, was burned as the result of forest fires. Fires near Julian burned considerable timber and did other damage" (Daily San Diegan 1889b).

"Fires in Three Counties. During the past three or four days destructive fires have been raging in San Bernardino, Orange and San Diego severely. Mr. Warren Wilson, who arrived from San Diego yesterday, says it is a positive fact that two or three thousand sheep were burned near Santa Ana, while great quantities of grain in the bag, fencing, hay, etc., have been destroyed. So far, no human lives are reported lost. A fatality seems to follow this ill-omened year of 1889. Fire and flood and earthquake shocks have marked this year for their own. It is a year of disasters, widespread destruction of life and property – and, well, a year of horrors" (Daily Courier 1889).