User:Penitentes/Iron Alps Complex

The 2008 Iron Alps Complex—also called the Iron/Alps Complex—was a large wildfire complex in northeastern California's Trinity County. The complex comprised [number TK] fires, all of which were ignited by lightning on [date TK] The fires, many of which merged, burned a total of 105855 acres before the complex was declared 100 percent contained on [date TK], with a total firefighting cost of [cost TK].

While the fires burned largely in remote areas of the __ National Forest and only damaged/destroyed [number TK] structures, a helicopter crash in the course of firefighting operations killed ten personnel. After a lengthy investigation and litigation, contractor __ (responsible for maintaining and operating the helicopter) was found to have falsified weight calculations, leading to fines and imprisonment for at least one executive.

The Iron Alps Complex was one of several wildfire complexes in California during the state's 2008 wildfire season, including the even larger Klamath Theater Complex and Basin Complex fires in Siskiyou and Monterey counties respectively.

Background
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Progression
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Effects
The Iron Alps Complex's ten fatalities make it one of the deadliest wildfires in California history, landing at #11 on the list maintained by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).