What took Place: The fire of September 9, 2020 produced damage of monumental, catastrophic proportions. The fire started as three separate fires. The Beachie Creek, Lionshead, and P-515 fires were ignited by lightning on August 16, 2020. These three fires gradually grew in size, before explosively spreading in early September during a heatwave, fanned by powerful east winds. Soon after, the Beachie Creek and Lionshead Fires merged along with the P-515 fire. The fire destroyed over 1,500 structures in the Santiam Canyon, which included massive destruction to the city of Detroit, becoming one of the most destructive wildfires in the history of Oregon.
