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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

Lewis Crk8,327 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lewis Crk8,327 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
Dam Fire/Usfs7,848 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Dam/Usfs7,848 ac
1980 · perimeter dated September 2, 1980
Pass7,604 ac
1980 · perimeter dated July 16, 1980
Pass Fire7,604 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lakeland7,011 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Carbon6,955 ac
1980 · perimeter dated November 16, 1980
Carbon Fire6,955 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sunland6,457 ac
1980 · perimeter dated November 16, 1980
Sunland Fire6,457 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown6,212 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unnamed Fire6,212 ac
1980
Stable6,049 ac
1980 · perimeter dated November 15, 1980
Stable Fire6,049 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Collins Valley5,998 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lockwood5,655 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Clover4,998 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Summit4,368 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unknown3,969 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Unnamed Fire3,969 ac
1980 · perimeter dated July 2, 1980
Sycamore3,479 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Otay #63,314 ac
1980 · perimeter dated July 19, 1980
Monroe Fire/Usfs2,898 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Monroe/Usfs2,898 ac
1980 · perimeter dated April 11, 1980
Salvador2,701 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Las Virgenes2,521 ac
1980 · perimeter dated November 24, 1980
Las Virgenes Fire2,521 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Towerhouse2,414 ac
1980 · perimeter dated August 13, 1980
Tower House2,412 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 21, 2021
South Mountain2,395 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Proctor2,300 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Kiowa2,050 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Shirttail2,045 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Pipes2,003 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Lewis Creek1,924 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rodgers1,830 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Del Puerto Canyon1,830 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rockwall1,734 ac
1980 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Prado1,730 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.