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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

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

Lilac4,081 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Ponderosa4,016 ac
2017 · perimeter dated December 30, 2017
Ponderosa4,016 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Palmer3,872 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Los Bueyos Vmp3,744 ac
2017 · perimeter dated November 2, 2017
Ponderosa3,739 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 29, 2019
Fork3,373 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Willie3,140 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
February 2018 Prescribed Fire3,091 ac
2017 · perimeter dated February 15, 2018
Hawk2,941 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hawk2,941 ac
2017 · perimeter dated February 3, 2020
Canyon I2,661 ac
2017 · perimeter dated October 1, 2017
Winter2,366 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Indian2,294 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Roadrunner2,285 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Sulpher2,206 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Gate1,952 ac
2017 · perimeter dated May 25, 2018
Gate1,913 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Parkfield1,822 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Creek1,748 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Wright1,731 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
371,657 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Park1,649 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Park1,649 ac
2017 · perimeter dated February 3, 2020
Hill1,646 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Hill1,646 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 29, 2019
Burney1,644 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Thirty Seven1,614 ac
2017 · perimeter dated October 31, 2017
371,613 ac
2017 · perimeter dated October 16, 2017
Island1,594 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Derrick1,562 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Derrick1,562 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 29, 2019
Dutchman1,523 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Highway1,522 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Holcomb1,506 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Rimrock1,492 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Oakwood1,429 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Caldwell1,321 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Garden1,283 ac
2017 · perimeter dated January 2, 2019
Latrobe1,268 ac
2017 · 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.