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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

Bodfish26,709 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown16,668 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Grimes Fire11,305 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Grimes11,305 ac
1984 · perimeter dated May 7, 1984
Unknown9,461 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dry Valley9,040 ac
1984 · perimeter dated June 21, 1984
Site 300 #37,605 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Flat Top7,218 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Aguanga7,138 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Kern County #277,122 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bidwell6,192 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Squaw Flat6,088 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Saline5,583 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Shell Peak4,057 ac
1984
Rail3,962 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lost Horse3,539 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Shannon3,498 ac
1984 · perimeter dated May 29, 1984
Shannon Fire3,498 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lost Horse3,135 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Bowles3,106 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cow3,087 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Proctor3,032 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bar-O Escape2,929 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lowery2,859 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bear Creek2,789 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Brushy2,634 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 1, 1984
U.S.F.S. #142,503 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Red Rock Lakes2,468 ac
1984 · perimeter dated August 13, 1984
Lytle2,431 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Stoddard#22,302 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Bear Mtn. #32,094 ac
1984 · perimeter dated September 12, 1984
Brushy2,082 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 1, 1984
Unknown1,977 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Coulterville Vmp1,921 ac
1984 · perimeter dated August 27, 1984
Minuteman1,887 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Eagle1,791 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rancho Arroyo/Je1,681 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Usfs #131,619 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Fk 18171,545 ac
1984 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Blue Ridge1,545 ac
1984 · perimeter dated August 21, 1984

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.