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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

Midway8,034 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pauba7,101 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Baker6,320 ac
1997 · perimeter dated October 13, 1997
Williams5,838 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Jacks5,747 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lokern Two4,566 ac
1997 · perimeter dated May 19, 1997
Hemlock Fire - July3,947 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Choke3,933 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Choke3,927 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Canyon Ii Fire3,825 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Canyon Ii3,825 ac
1997 · perimeter dated July 1, 1997
State3,667 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cottonwood3,541 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Santa Rosa3,074 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Coffee2,425 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Beach2,295 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
All Acres In Mex1,794 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
American1,631 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Poppet1,457 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Granite1,432 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Grove1,400 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Poso1,394 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Mesa De Colorado Vmp1,389 ac
1997 · perimeter dated June 20, 1997
Azalea1,352 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Mill1,326 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Scotch1,291 ac
1997 · perimeter dated August 14, 1997
Scotch Fire1,291 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Comanche1,246 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Huffer Wf1,203 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Huffer Wf1,203 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Tower1,185 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Margarita1,164 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Haloween1,129 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Huffer Pnf1,090 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Huffer Pnf1,090 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Del Dios1,073 ac
1997 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Mile1,059 ac
1997
Unnamed Fire1,056 ac
1997 · perimeter dated June 1, 1997
Highway 58106,970 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Fork83,057 ac
1996 · 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.