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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

Journey1,010 ac
2000 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cojo-Jalama 1 Cb1,005 ac
2000 · perimeter dated October 28, 2000
Megram125,073 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Kirk85,835 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Willow63,508 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Gun Ii60,391 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sixteen37,893 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bucks34,236 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pine30,578 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Jones26,203 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Spanish22,296 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dehaven16,884 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Musty16,757 ac
1999 · perimeter dated August 23, 1999
Onion15,961 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sheep #112,400 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pendola12,324 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Fire #312,113 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Fire #311,952 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dry11,188 ac
1999 · perimeter dated July 23, 1999
Doe Mill10,857 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Leconte8,856 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unnamed Fire8,714 ac
1999 · perimeter dated June 11, 1999
La Jolla7,846 ac
1999 · perimeter dated October 7, 1999
Bridge7,234 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Willow7,048 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Spring6,456 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Inks5,953 ac
1999 · perimeter dated August 23, 1999
Bohemotash5,705 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Jackass5,478 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sugar5,110 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Horton 24,941 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pidgeon4,713 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Laguna 1004,411 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Yellow4,394 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Ranch4,021 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pilot3,995 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown3,625 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Black Gulch3,512 ac
1999 · perimeter dated March 31, 1999
Shannon3,445 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sloan3,441 ac
1999 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019

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.