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California Fire Siege
Introduction

The Contents
Fire Events and Policy includes a synopsis of significant large and damaging wildfires in California since
1923. It describes some key public policy actions establishing the multi-agency firefighting organization in
place during this siege. It places a special emphasis on relevant activities and events that took place from
2004 through 2006.

The Prelude to the Siege describes events that took place during the year prior to the fire siege. It emphasizes
major fires and the development of conditions that increased the magnitude of the October wildfires beyond
what normally would have been expected.
Meteorological Events Timeline and Preparation recounts the six days leading up to the siege detailing
the developing fire weather conditions, and actions taken by state and federal wildland fire agencies and local
fire departments to prepare for the possibility of a major fire event.

The Fires provides a daily chronology written from the perspective of a fire chief working at a regional
scale. Each day is a snapshot of the complex and rapidly changing fire environment, including weather,
fire location and size, firefighting resource commitments, and public safety and evacuation impacts, that
influence regional strategic decisions. The daily chronology follows specific fire activity, detailing the efforts
of firefighters suppressing major fires while continuously responding to new outbreaks. It also describes the
human and environmental impacts of the fires, including evacuations, structures damaged and destroyed,
and damage to critical watershed and natural resources.
The Epilogue describes the continuation of the 2007 fire season into late November, placing it into the fire
season as a whole, making the important point that the fire season did not end when the siege was over.

Fire Siege Coordination highlights examples of strategic regional coordination of several management
systems and technologies.

The Aftermath summarizes the October fire siege, placing it into the context of both the 2007 fire season,
and wildfire history.

The Appendices include summary statistics for the siege, maps and descriptions of the fires by incident, a
brief description of evacuations, a list of some after-action reports, copies of key advisories, proclamations,
and declarations.
Glossary of Terms, and Acknowledgements of those responsible for producing the report.

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