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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

Quaking4,812 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Case4,510 ac
1987 · perimeter dated September 10, 1987
Case4,510 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Red Mountain4,454 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Fish4,341 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Paper4,339 ac
1987 · perimeter dated September 1, 1987
Kelsey4,192 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Ripstein4,089 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lightning #120 (Crank)4,076 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bedford 24,070 ac
1987 · perimeter dated February 3, 1987
Frog3,839 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Frog3,839 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Slu-08643,552 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Friendly3,466 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sycamore Canyon3,344 ac
1987 · perimeter dated April 1, 1987
State 15873,276 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Jessie3,239 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Blake3,179 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Wallow3,054 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
China2,915 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Grade2,748 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bear Mtn. #102,192 ac
1987 · perimeter dated October 15, 1987
Santa Rosa Preserve2,042 ac
1987 · perimeter dated April 1, 1987
Lauder2,040 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Stateca 172,011 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lost Bear1,999 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lost Bear1,999 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Palmer1,972 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bearcat1,932 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Jeep1,867 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Jarrel1,814 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown1,734 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Merced Falls1,723 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cougar #21,603 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lazyman1,497 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Assist #791,493 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Chawanakee1,487 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Nunez1,479 ac
1987 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bar-4-L Boysen Ri1,472 ac
1987
Nielon1,468 ac
1987 · 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.