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List of California wildfires

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List of California wildfires

This is a partial and incomplete list of wildfires in the US state of California. California has dry, windy, and often hot weather conditions from spring through late autumn that can produce moderate to severe wildfires. Pre-1800, when the area was much more forested and the ecology much more resilient, 4.4-11.9 million acres (1.8-4.8 million hectares) of forest and shrubland burned annually.[2] California land area totals 99,813,760 or roughly 100 million acres, so since 2000, the area that burned annually has ranged between 90,000 acres, or 0.09%, and 1,590,000 acres, or 1.59% of the total land of California.[3] During the 2020 wildfire season alone, over 8,100 fires contributed to the burning of nearly 4.5 million acres of land.

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About 75% of California's 20 most destructive wildfires—measured in terms of structures burned—have occurred since 2015.[1]
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Santa Ana winds in California expand fires and spread smoke over hundreds of miles, as in this October 2007 satellite image.
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The Rim Fire consumed more than 250,000 acres (100,000 ha) of forest near Yosemite National Park, in 2013.

Causes

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Climate change in California has lengthened the fire season and made it more extreme from the middle of the 20th century.[4][5]

Since the early 2010s, wildfires in California have grown more dangerous because of the accumulation of wood fuel in forests, higher population, and aging and often poorly maintained electricity transmission and distribution lines, particularly in areas serviced by Pacific Gas and Electric.[6][7][8] United States taxpayers pay about US$3 billion a year to fight wildfires, and big fires can lead to billions of dollars in property losses.[9] At times, these wildfires are fanned or made worse by strong, dry winds, known as Diablo winds when they occur in the northern part of the state and Santa Ana winds when they occur in the south. However, from a historical perspective, it has been estimated that prior to 1850, about 4.5 million acres (17,000 km2) burned yearly, in fires that lasted for months, with wildfire activity peaking roughly every 30 years, when up to 11.8 million acres (47,753 km3) of land burned.[10][11] The much larger wildfire seasons in the past can be attributed to the policy of Native Californians regularly setting controlled burns and allowing natural fires to run their course, which prevented devastating wildfires from overrunning the state.[10] There are conservation issues that aren't allowing as many controlled burns necessary to lessen the damage for when a wildfire starts.[12]

Effects

More than 350,000 people in California live in towns sited completely within zones deemed to be at very high risk of fire. In total, more than 2.7 million people live in "very high fire hazard severity zones", which also include areas at lesser risk.[13]

On lands under CAL FIRE's jurisdictional protection (i.e. not federal or local responsibility areas), the majority of wildfire ignitions since 1980 have been caused by humans. The four most common ignition sources for wildfires on CAL FIRE-protected lands are, in order: equipment use, powerlines, arson, and lightning.[14]

A 2023 study found that these wildfires are affecting the California ecosystem and disrupting the habitats.[15][16] It found that in the 2020 and 2021 fire seasons 58% of the area affected by wildfires occurred in those two seasons since 2012.[15][16] These two fires destroyed 30% of the habitat of 50 species as well as 100 species that had 10% of their habitats burn. 5-14% of the species' habitats burned at a "high severity."[15][16]

Statistics

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Area burned per year

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Remains of houses destroyed in the Oakland firestorm of 1991
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Satellite image from October, 2003 including Cedar Fire, one of the largest wildfires in California history

Starting in 2001, the National Interagency Fire Center began keeping more accurate records on the total fire acreage burned in each state.[17]

More information Year, Fires ...
Year Fires Acres Hectares Ref
20007,622295,026119,393[18]
20019,458329,126133,193[19]
20028,328969,890392,500[20][21]
20039,1161,020,460412,970[22][23][24]
20048,415264,988107,237[25][26]
20057,162222,53890,058[27][28]
20068,202736,022297,858[29][30]
20079,0931,520,362615,269[18][31]
20086,2551,593,690644,940[18]
20099,159422,147170,837[32][33]
20106,554109,52944,325[34]
20117,989168,54568,208[35][36]
20127,950869,599351,914[37]
20139,907601,635243,473[38][39]
20147,865625,540253,150[40][41]
20158,745893,362361,531[42]
20166,986669,534270,951[43][44]
20179,5601,548,429626,627[45][46]
20188,5271,975,086799,289[47][48]
20197,860259,823105,147[49]
20209,6394,397,8091,779,730[50]
20218,8352,568,9481,039,616[51]
20227,490362,455146,680[52]
20237,127324,917131,489[53]
20248,0241,050,012424,925[54]
2025
2000-23 Mean8,243974,894394,526
2000-23 Median8,265647,537262,049
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    Largest wildfires

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    As of October 2, 2024, the 20 largest wildfires according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have been:[55]

    More information Fire Name (Cause), County ...
    Fire Name (Cause) County Acres (Hectares) Start date Structures Deaths
    1. August Complex (Lightning) Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Tehama, Glenn, Lake, & Colusa 1,032,648 (417,898) August 2020 935 1
    2. Dixie (Powerlines) Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta & Tehama 963,309 (389,837) July 2021 1,311 1
    3. Mendocino Complex (Human Related) Colusa, Lake, Mendocino, & Glenn 459,123 (185,800) July 2018 280 1
    4. Park (Arson) Butte, Plumas, Shasta, & Tehama 429,603 (173,854) July 2024 709 0
    5. SCU Lightning Complex (Lightning) Stanislaus, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, & San Joaquin 396,625 (160,508) August 2020 225 0
    6. Creek (Undetermined) Fresno & Madera 379,895 (153,738) September 2020 858 0
    7. LNU Lightning Complex (Lightning/Arson) Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Lake, & Colusa 363,220 (146,990) August 2020 1,491 6
    8. North Complex (Lightning) Butte, Plumas & Yuba 318,935 (129,068) August 2020 2,352 15
    9. Thomas (Powerlines) Ventura & Santa Barbara 281,893 (114,078) December 2017 1,060 2
    10. Cedar (Human Related) San Diego 273,246 (110,579) October 2003 2,820 15
    11. Rush (Lightning) Lassen 271,911 (110,038) (+43,666 (17,671) in Nevada) August 2012 0 0
    12. Rim (Human Related) Tuolumne 257,314 (104,131) August 2013 112 0
    13. Zaca (Human Related) Santa Barbara 240,207 (97,208) July 2007 1 0
    14. Carr (Human Related) Shasta & Trinity 229,651 (92,936) July 2018 1,614 8
    15. Monument (Lightning) Trinity 223,124 (90,295) August 2021 28 0
    16. Caldor (Bullet) Alpine, Amador, & El Dorado 221,835 (89,773) August 2021 1,311 1
    17. Matilija (Undetermined) Ventura 220,000 (89,000) September 1932 0 0
    18. River Complex (Lightning) Siskiyou & Trinity 199,359 (80,678) July 2021 122 0
    19. Witch (Powerlines) San Diego 197,990 (80,120) October 2007 1,650 2
    20. Klamath Theatre Complex (Lightning) Siskiyou 192,038 (77,715) June 2008 0 2
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    Deadliest wildfires

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    As of January 28, 2025, the 20 deadliest wildfires according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have been:[56]

    More information Fire Name (Cause), County ...
    Fire Name (Cause) County Acres (Hectares) Start date Structures Deaths
    1. Camp (Powerlines) Butte 153,336 (62,053) November 2018 18,804 85
    2. Griffith Park (Unknown) Los Angeles 47 (19) October 1933 0 29
    3. Tunnel (Rekindle) Alameda 1,600 (650) October 1991 2,900 25
    4. Tubbs (Electrical) Napa & Sonoma 36,807 (14,895) October 2017 5,643 22
    5. Eaton (Under Investigation) Los Angeles 14,021 (5,674) January 2025 9,418 17
    6. North Complex (Lightning) Butte, Plumas & Yuba 318,935 (129,068) August 2020 2,352 15
    7. Cedar (Human Related) San Diego 273,246 (110,579) October 2003 2,820 15
    8. Rattlesnake (Arson) Glenn 1,340 (540) July 1953 0 15
    9. Palisades (Under Investigation) Los Angeles 23,448 (9,489) January 2025 6,837 12
    10. Loop (Unknown) Los Angeles 2,028 (821) November 1966 0 12
    11. Hauser Creek (Human Related) San Diego 13,145 (5,320) October 1943 0 11
    12. Inaja (Human Related) San Diego 43,904 (17,767) November 1956 0 11
    13. Iron Alps Complex (Lightning) Trinity 105,855 (42,838) August 2008 10 10
    14. Redwood Valley (Power Lines) Mendocino 36,523 (14,780) October 2017 544 9
    15. Harris (Undeterminded) San Diego 90,440 (36,600) October 2007 548 8
    16. Canyon (Unknown) Los Angeles 22,197 (8,983) August 1968 0 8
    17. Carr (Human Related) Shasta & Trinity 229,651 (92,936) July 2018 1,614 8
    18. LNU Lightning Complex (Lightning/Arson) Napa, Sonoma, Yolo, Stanislaus & Lake 363,220 (146,990) August 2020 1,491 6
    19. Atlas (Power Lines) Napa & Solano 51,624 (20,891) October 2017 781 6
    20. Old (Human Related) San Bernardino 91,281 (36,940) October 2003 1,003 6
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    Most destructive wildfires

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    As of January 28, 2025, the 20 most destructive wildfires according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection have been:[57]

    More information Fire Name (Cause), County ...
    Fire Name (Cause) County Acres (Hectares) Start date Structures Deaths
    1. Camp (Power Lines) Butte 153,336 (62,053) November 2018 18,804 85
    2. Eaton (Under Investigation) Los Angeles 14,021 (5,674) January 2025 9,418 17
    3. Palisades (Under Investigation) Los Angeles 23,707 (9,594) January 2025 6,837 12
    4. Tubbs (Electrical) Napa & Sonoma 36,807 (14,895) October 2017 5,646 22
    5. Tunnel (Rekindle) Alameda 1,600 (650) October 1991 2,900 25
    6. Cedar (Human Related) San Diego 273,246 (110,579) October 2003 2,820 15
    7. North Complex (Lightning) Butte, Plumas, & Yuba 318,935 (129,068) August 2020 2,352 15
    8. Valley (Electrical) Lake, Napa & Sonoma 76,067 (30,783) September 2015 1,955 4
    9. Witch (Powerlines) San Diego 197,990 (80,120) October 2007 1,650 2
    10. Woolsey (Electrical) Ventura 96,949 (39,234) November 2018 1,643 3
    11. Carr (Human Related) Shasta & Trinity 229,651 (92,936) July 2018 1,614 8
    12. Glass (Undetermined) Napa & Sonoma 67,484 (27,310) September 2020 1,520 0
    13. LNU Lightning Complex (Lightning/Arson) Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Lake, & Colusa 363,220 (146,990) August 2020 1,491 6
    14. CZU Lightning Complex (Lightning) Santa Cruz & San Mateo 86,509 (35,009) August 2020 1,490 1
    15. Nuns (Powerline) Sonoma 54,382 (22,008) October 2017 1,355 3
    16. Dixie (Powerline) Butte, Plumas, Lassen, & Tehama 963,309 (389,837) July 2021 1,311 1
    17. Thomas (Powerline) Ventura & Santa Barbara 281,893 (114,078) December 2017 1,063 23
    18. Caldor (Bullet) Alpine, Amador, & El Dorado 221,835 (89,773) August 2021 1,003 1
    19. Old (Human Related) San Bernardino 91,281 (36,940) October 2003 1,003 6
    20. Jones (Undetermined) Shasta 26,200 (10,600) October 1999 954 1
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    Areas of repeated ignition

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    The summer 2008 wildfires were widespread and deadly, with at least 3,596 wildfires of various origins burning throughout Northern and Central California, for around four months

    In some parts of California, fires recur with some regularity. In Oakland, for example, fires of various size and ignition occurred in 1923, 1931, 1933, 1937, 1946, 1955, 1960, 1961, 1968, 1970, 1980, 1990, 1991, 1995, 2002, and 2008.[58][59] Orange County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, and Los Angeles County are other examples. Orange and San Bernardino counties share a border that runs north to south through the Chino Hills State Park, with the park's landscape ranging from large green coastal sage scrub, grassland, and woodland, to areas of brown sparsely dense vegetation made drier by droughts or hot summers. The valley's grass and barren land can become easily susceptible to dry spells and drought, therefore making it a prime spot for brush fires and conflagrations, many of which have occurred since 1914. Hills and canyons have seen brush or wildfires in 1914, the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and into today.[60]

    On occasion, lightning strikes from thunderstorms may also spark wildfires in areas that have seen past ignition. Examples of this are the 1999 Megram Fire, the 2008 California wildfires,[citation needed] as well as the LNU and SCU Lightning Complex fires (both in 2020).

    See also

    References

    External links

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