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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

Panoche #21,497 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Wilmot1,443 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Eleanor1,441 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Eleanor1,441 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Lloyd-Butler Control1,440 ac
1986 · perimeter dated September 30, 1986
Suey Ranch West1,409 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bear Mtn. #61,288 ac
1986 · perimeter dated October 22, 1986
Colorado #21,286 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Poppy1,162 ac
1986 · perimeter dated August 17, 1986
Poppy Fire1,162 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown1,124 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Deer Valley Ranch1,073 ac
1986 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Peak1,022 ac
1986 · perimeter dated August 20, 1986
Wheeler #2122,687 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Las Pilitas84,271 ac
1985 · perimeter dated July 15, 1985
Gorda-Rat56,158 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Ferndale46,805 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cherry40,642 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cabanzo20,971 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dry Valley15,759 ac
1985 · perimeter dated June 21, 1985
Unknown14,370 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lexington13,128 ac
1985 · perimeter dated July 7, 1985
Onion9,084 ac
1985 · perimeter dated July 6, 1985
Miller8,270 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rich Bar8,264 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Roblar8,136 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Ponoche 26,933 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Decker Fire6,567 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Decker6,567 ac
1985 · perimeter dated October 14, 1985
Los Gatos #26,444 ac
1985 · perimeter dated July 9, 1985
Bald Mt.5,919 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Piuma5,391 ac
1985
Wizard4,830 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Blue Mtn. West4,000 ac
1985 · perimeter dated August 27, 1985
Sherwood Fire3,795 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sherwood3,795 ac
1985 · perimeter dated June 30, 1985
Treloar Complex3,786 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Miller3,622 ac
1985 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Owens3,061 ac
1985 · perimeter dated August 8, 1985
Sugarloaf2,848 ac
1985 · 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.