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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

Winters1,100 ac
1989 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Park1,049 ac
1989 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
49'Er36,343 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Miller34,565 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Piru Fire13,311 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Piru13,311 ac
1988 · perimeter dated September 4, 1988
Texas12,096 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Piru12,071 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown11,380 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unnamed Fire11,380 ac
1988
Hermit8,147 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Fern7,558 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Brushy Mtn.7,106 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 8, 1988
Bridge6,690 ac
1988 · perimeter dated July 21, 1988
Bridge6,374 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cdf 8076,349 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Klamath6,159 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Blue Fire5,964 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Blue5,964 ac
1988 · perimeter dated September 21, 1988
Saddle5,908 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Camp5,815 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Obelisk5,421 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Obelisk5,421 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Unknown5,244 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Stagecoach4,571 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown4,358 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Mason4,050 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Keuhner Fire3,819 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Keuhner3,819 ac
1988 · perimeter dated September 4, 1988
Divide3,812 ac
1988 · perimeter dated October 16, 1988
Divide Fire3,812 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Twisslman3,806 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lightning #97 (Bison)3,784 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Eleconte3,753 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
East Leconte3,753 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lightning93,649 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Letts3,312 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Burney Fire3,264 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Burney3,264 ac
1988 · perimeter dated August 29, 1988
Walker3,148 ac
1988 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021

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.