The Laguna Fire, also known as the Kitchen Creek Fire or the Boulder Oaks Fire, was a 175,425-acre (70,992 ha) wildfire that burned from September 22 to October 4, 1970, in the Laguna Mountains and East County region of San Diego County in Southern California. It was one of many wildfires in a massive conflagration that spanned across the state from September 22 to October 4, 1970. At the time, it was the second-largest fire in the recorded history of California after the 1932 Matilija Fire.
The 2007 Moonlight Fire was a large wildfire that burned near Westwood in Lassen County, California. The fire, which started on September 3, scorched 64,997 acres before being declared contained on September 19. Approximately 2,300 firefighters were involved in fighting the fire. Strong winds pushed smoke to the Sacramento Valley, Bay Area, Nevada and Idaho. In Plumas County, 500 homes were threatened by the Moonlight Fire; 100 residences were evacuated near Greenville in the North Arm area of Indian Valley, as the wild fire was still raging in the Plumas National Forest.
The 2009 California wildfires were a series of 9,159 wildfires that were active in the US state of California, during the year 2009. The fires burned more than 422,147 acres of land from early February through late November, due to Red Flag conditions, destroying hundreds of structures, injuring 134 people, and killing four. The wildfires also caused at least US$134.48 million in damage. Although the fires burned many different regions of California in August, the month was especially notable for several very large fires which burned in Southern California, despite being outside of the normal fire season for that region.
California's 2012 wildfire season saw 7,950 wildfires burn a total of 869,599 acres (3,519.14 km2); these included the massive Rush Fire, which was the tenth-largest wildfire recorded in California in modern times, and the Ponderosa Fire, which destroyed 133 structures. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection incurred fire suppression costs of US$310 million between July 2012 and June 2013, in addition to wildfire damages of $28.2 million.
The 2003 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that burned throughout the state of California during the year 2003. In total, 9,116 fires burned 1,020,460 acres (4,129.7 km2). In October, a major wildfire outbreak in Southern California burned more than 750,000 acres, destroyed thousands of homes, and killed two dozen people. Many of the victims were killed in their cars while trying to flee.
The 2019 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the U.S. state of California as part of the 2019 wildfire season. By the end of the year, according to Cal Fire and the US Forest Service, 7,860 fires were recorded, totaling an estimated of 259,823 acres of burned land. These fires caused 22 injuries, 3 fatalities, and damaged or destroyed 732 structures. The 2019 California fire season was less active than that of the two previous years, which set records for acreage, destructiveness, and deaths.
The SCU Lightning Complex fires were wildfires that burned in the Diablo Range in California in August and September 2020 as part of the 2020 California wildfire season. The fire complex consisted of fires in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Merced, and Stanislaus counties. The name is derived from the three-letter designation given to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection division responsible for the Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, and parts of San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, and the complex consisted of several distinct fires occurring in this region.
The SQF Complex fire—also called the SQF Lightning Complex—was a wildfire complex that burned in Tulare County in Central California in 2020. Comprising the Castle and Shotgun fires, it affected Sequoia National Forest and adjacent areas. Both fires began on August 19, 2020, and burned a combined total of 175,019 acres before the complex as a whole was declared 100 percent contained on January 6, 2021. In the course of the fires, 232 structures were destroyed. There were no fatalities.
The Caldor Fire was a large wildfire that burned 221,835 acres in the Eldorado National Forest and other areas of the Sierra Nevada in El Dorado, Amador, and Alpine County, California, in the United States during the 2021 California wildfire season. The fire was first reported on Saturday, August 14, 2021, and was fully contained on Thursday, October 21, 2021. The Caldor Fire destroyed 1,005 structures and damaged 81 more, primarily in the US Highway 50 corridor and in the community of Grizzly Flats, 2/3 of which was destroyed by the fire.
The Fawn Fire was a destructive wildfire in Shasta County, California, near Redding, in September–October 2021. Caused by a suspected act of arson on September 22, the fire began in mountains to the northeast of Redding and was driven by high winds the following day south and west into wildland-urban interface (WUI) neighborhoods. The fire ultimately destroyed 185 structures and damaged 26. At least three firefighters were injured. The Fawn Fire cost more than $25 million to suppress and burned 8,578 acres before being fully contained on October 2. A Palo Alto woman was arrested the day of its ignition and charged with starting the fire. As of 2024, legal proceedings remained ongoing.
The 1992 Fountain Fire was a large and destructive wildfire in Shasta County, California. After igniting on August 20 in an act of probable but unattributed arson the fire was driven by strong winds, outpacing firefighters for two days while exhibiting extreme behavior such as long-range spot fires, crown fire runs, and pyrocumulonimbus clouds that generated dry lightning. The fire consumed 63,960 acres (25,880 ha) and destroyed hundreds of homes, primarily in the communities of Round Mountain and Montgomery Creek along the State Route 299 corridor. In 1992 the Fountain Fire was the third most destructive wildfire in California's recorded history, though it no longer features among the top 20 most destructive California wildfires. At a suppression cost of more than $22 million, it was also for a time the most expensive fire to contain in state history.
The 49er Fire was a destructive wildfire in 1988 in California's Nevada County and Yuba County. The fire was ignited on September 11 when a man accidentally set brush on fire by burning toilet paper near Highway 49. Driven by severe drought conditions and strong, dry winds, firefighting crews were hard-pressed to stop the fire's advance until winds calmed and humidity levels recovered. The fire burned 33,700 acres throughout the foothills of the Sierra Nevada, impinging on the communities of Lake Wildwood, Rough and Ready, and Smartsville before officials declared it fully contained on September 16.
The 1999 Jones Fire was a destructive wildfire in the U.S. state of California's Shasta County. The fire ignited on October 16, and was contained on October 19, 1999. It burned 26,200 acres (10,600 ha), destroyed 954 structures, and resulted in one fatality, becoming the then-second most destructive wildfire ever recorded in California, behind only the Oakland firestorm of 1991. As of 2023 it remains one of the 20 most destructive wildfires in the history of the state. The cause of the fire was never determined.
The 2001 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned throughout the U.S. state of California during 2001. According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection statistics, 9,317 fires burned a total of 377,340 acres.
The Storrie Fire was a sizeable wildfire in Northern California's Plumas County and the second-largest of California's 2000 wildfire season. The fire began on August 17, 2000, and was fully contained by September 9; it burned 55,261 acres in total and resulted in minimal property damage or casualties. The cost of containing the Storrie Fire amounted to $22 million.
The Copper Fire was a wildfire in Los Angeles County, Southern California, in June 2002. After igniting on June 5 near the city of Santa Clarita, the fire burned for a week and consumed 23,407 acres, damaging wildlife habitat and historic structures in the Angeles National Forest before it was fully contained on June 12. The fire destroyed more than two dozen buildings and resulted in at least eight firefighter injuries. The federal government later sued two contractors whose negligence it argued had sparked the fire during construction work, resulting in a jury award in its favor of more than $36 million.
The Harlow Fire was a large wildfire in Central California's Mariposa and Madera counties in mid-July, 1961. The fire ignited on July 10 and burned rapidly, covering 43,329 acres before it was fully surrounded by containment lines on July 13 and fully controlled on July 15. During those six days the Harlow Fire destroyed 106 buildings, devastating the rural communities of Ahwahnee and Nipinnawasee in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the west of Yosemite National Park and the Sierra National Forest. Two residents of Ahwahnee were killed while fleeing the fire in their car.
The Wolf Fire was a large wildfire in Southern California's Ventura County, north of the city of Ojai, in June of 2002. The fire was ignited on June 1 by the careless use of firearms for target shooting in dry grass and burned 21,645 acres, destroying six structures before it was completely contained on June 14. The cost of containing the fire came to $15 million. No fatalities or serious injuries occurred, but the fire impacted large parts of the Sespe Wilderness and the Los Padres National Forest, causing road and campground closures while threatening Native American cultural sites and wildlife habitat.
The Curve Fire was a destructive wildfire in the Angeles National Forest in Los Angeles County, California, in September of 2002. The fire, which ignited on September 1 from candles associated with a Santería ritual, grew to 20,857 acres before it was declared fully contained on September 5. The Curve Fire destroyed 73 structures, forced the temporary closure of several highways over the Labor Day weekend, and caused multiple injuries.
