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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

7 Mile2,822 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Wasioja2,812 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Horse2,764 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Castle Com2,693 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Castle Co2,693 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Chalolo #12,679 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lightning #142,647 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Coleville2,582 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rock2,527 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Borel2,524 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dalton 32,379 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Overlook2,231 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bigfoot Vmp2,146 ac
1996 · perimeter dated September 25, 1996
Sage Flat2,127 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pg&E #82,107 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rincon1,984 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pechanga1,912 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Oil1,896 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Philadelphia1,835 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Deer Park1,820 ac
1996
Bichota1,573 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Banos1,563 ac
1996 · perimeter dated October 19, 1996
Columbia Hill1,518 ac
1996 · perimeter dated October 20, 1996
Columbia Hill1,517 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Palermo1,515 ac
1996 · perimeter dated October 20, 1996
Reservoir1,466 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dorst1,460 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Dorst1,460 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dixie Fire1,403 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dixie1,403 ac
1996 · perimeter dated August 16, 1996
Cuyama1,400 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Gorge1,383 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sheep1,377 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Double1,301 ac
1996 · perimeter dated August 29, 1996
Goose1,296 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Westfield1,291 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Panoche1,277 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Kitching1,256 ac
1996 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Summit Valley 4 Bu11,236 ac
1996
Summit Valley 3 Bu21,211 ac
1996

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.