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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

Unknown2,193 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Root #21,873 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Herbert1,867 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Gay1,843 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lightning #20 (Webber)1,764 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Center1,740 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Reche1,733 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Flat1,730 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Spruce (Assist)1,710 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Joerger Series1,676 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rey1,638 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Quinlan1,486 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Poppy1,466 ac
1981 · perimeter dated August 7, 1981
Poppy Fire1,466 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hunter1,398 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Roney1,397 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 1, 1981
Davis1,376 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dexter1,350 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cojo-Jalam1,338 ac
1981 · perimeter dated August 24, 1981
Nellie Dent1,318 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Cottenwood1,279 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Springs1,267 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Branquinho1,224 ac
1981 · perimeter dated August 29, 1981
Unknown1,180 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Gonzales Dump1,156 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Micheal1,154 ac
1981
King1,127 ac
1981 · perimeter dated September 15, 1981
Unknown1,124 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unnamed Fire1,124 ac
1981
Culp1,113 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rock Creek1,084 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Friant1,079 ac
1981 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dry Falls41,756 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Turner31,447 ac
1980 · perimeter dated November 16, 1980
Indian28,940 ac
1980 · perimeter dated November 24, 1980
Panorama23,626 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Owl18,332 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hill Canyon11,975 ac
1980 · perimeter dated October 28, 1980
Fairview10,957 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Thunder10,009 ac
1980 · 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.