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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

A-Rock17,758 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
A-Rock17,758 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown14,471 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown8,504 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Yorba7,884 ac
1990
Tejon7,800 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Steamboat6,102 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Steamboat6,102 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hopland Vmp5,837 ac
1990 · perimeter dated March 27, 1990
Carbon Canyon4,978 ac
1990 · perimeter dated June 27, 1990
Carbon Canyon Fire4,978 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Mattole4,876 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Day4,659 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Paint4,425 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bedford3,991 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bald3,940 ac
1990 · perimeter dated August 9, 1990
Kirch3,746 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Recer3,373 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Morrettis3,314 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Kings3,069 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cozy Dell2,975 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Kanaka2,901 ac
1990 · perimeter dated August 8, 1990
Kanaka2,899 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Avalanche12,787 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Avalanche2,787 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Paint2,761 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rainbow2,758 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Matilija2,641 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cottonwood2,449 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Grapevine2,379 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Case2,063 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Savage1,942 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Eagle1,922 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Long Gulch1,768 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Tweedy1,692 ac
1990 · perimeter dated February 23, 1990
Unknown1,563 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Walker1,496 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Crowder Mt.1,482 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Island1,453 ac
1990 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bear1,444 ac
1990 · 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.