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California Large Wildfire History

Since 1980, 2,299 wildfires of 1,000 acres or more have been mapped in California, 36 of them above 100,000 acres. The largest burned 501,082 ac; together they cover about 26,054,017 ac.

Fires by decade

'80
'90
'00
'10
'20

What starts the fires in California

Every wildfire incident on record has a cause code. Counts are of incidents, not acres — lightning fires are fewer but tend to grow far larger.

By broad cause
Undetermined72%6.0M ac
Unknown18%5.5M ac
Human5%1.6M ac
Natural5%5.0M ac
Specific cause, where recorded
Lightning977
Recreation429
Equipment / vehicle use398
Debris / open burning153
Arson / incendiary100
Firearms36
Natural (other)18
Fireworks5
Railroad1

Source: National Interagency Fire Center, WFIGS incident records (WFIGS incident records, roughly 2014 to present). A specific cause is recorded for only some incidents; “Undetermined” and “Unknown” are the agency's own categories.

Largest in California

Biscuit · 2002501,082 acRanch · 2018410,203 acRanch · 2018410,202 acRanch · 2018410,201 acRush · 2012315,512 acRush · 2012307,083 acThomas · 2017281,791 acThomas · 2017281,790 acCedar · 2003270,686 acRim · 2013256,916 ac

All mapped large fires

Granite Vmp1,194 ac
2001 · perimeter dated October 11, 2001
Hyampom1,188 ac
2001 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hemlock1,075 ac
2001 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Manter79,223 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Storrie56,076 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pechanga11,734 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Harris9,330 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Weinstein8,284 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hunter8,206 ac
2000 · perimeter dated August 30, 2000
Plaskett 25,812 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lazaro Vmp5,499 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 8, 2000
King5,106 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Happy4,908 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Berryessa4,860 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Happy4,798 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Hidden3,961 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Morgan3,316 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown2,786 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Granite2,592 ac
2000 · perimeter dated July 2, 2000
Boneyard Vmp1,914 ac
2000 · perimeter dated October 4, 2000
Concow1,835 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unnamed Fire1,781 ac
2000
North Fork1,736 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bark1,720 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Romero1,707 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Blue Ridge Vmp1,675 ac
2000 · perimeter dated September 27, 2000
Bear Flat/Grapevine Vmp1,569 ac
2000 · perimeter dated October 4, 2000
Unknown1,528 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cabbage1,358 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Barrett1,323 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Goat1,117 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Town1,110 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown1,109 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Ccd Turtle1,077 ac
2000 · perimeter dated July 6, 2000
Calabasas1,074 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Peak1,055 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown1,045 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unnamed Fire1,034 ac
2000
Unknown1,028 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Calabasas1,024 ac
2000 · perimeter dated June 12, 2000

Source: National Interagency Fire Center, Interagency Fire Perimeter History. Only fires with a mapped perimeter of 1,000 acres or more appear; the state is inferred from the responsible unit code. A record of past fires is not a forecast. See About the Data.