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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

Wheel1,476 ac
1993 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Metz1,359 ac
1993 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Weller1,341 ac
1993 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Summit Valley Bu11,121 ac
1993
Fountain60,290 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cleveland22,519 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Gulch Fire17,419 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Gulch17,419 ac
1992 · perimeter dated August 16, 1992
Mocassin9,459 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rainbow8,358 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Rainbow8,358 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Middle Ridge7,410 ac
1992 · perimeter dated August 31, 1992
Escondido Canyon7,047 ac
1992 · perimeter dated April 5, 1992
Villa6,605 ac
1992 · perimeter dated September 25, 1992
Burton5,915 ac
1992 · perimeter dated September 25, 1992
Barker5,263 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Ruby3,873 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lightening Fire2,928 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lightening2,928 ac
1992
Rainbow2,695 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Seco2,659 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
La Paloma2,517 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown2,458 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Snelling2,424 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Mustang Peak2,292 ac
1992
Italian2,157 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Loveland2,081 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bravo2,024 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Borax1,867 ac
1992
Borax Fire1,867 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Jolon1,618 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Martin1,580 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Day1,540 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hunter Mountain #21,539 ac
1992
Devil1,351 ac
1992 · perimeter dated July 20, 1992
Devil Fire1,351 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hog #21,331 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Broome Ranch1,310 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown1,280 ac
1992 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Timber1,256 ac
1992 · 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.