The Cedar Fire was a massive, highly-destructive wildfire, which burned 273,246 acres (1,106 km2) of land in San Diego County, California, during October and November 2003. The fire's rapid growth was driven by the Santa Ana winds, causing the fire to spread at a rate of 3,600 acres (15 km2) per hour. By the time the fire was fully contained on November 4, it had destroyed 2,820 buildings and killed 15 people, including one firefighter. Hotspots continued to burn within the Cedar Fire's perimeter until December 5, 2003, when the fire was fully brought under control.
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection is the fire department of the California Natural Resources Agency in the U.S. state of California. It is responsible for fire protection in various areas under state responsibility totaling 31 million acres, as well as the administration of the state's private and public forests. In addition, the department provides varied emergency services in 36 of the state's 58 counties via contracts with local governments. The department's current director is Joe Tyler, who was appointed March 4, 2022, by Governor of California Gavin Newsom.
9,159 wildfires were active in the US state of California during 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.
9,907 wildfires burned at least 601,625 acres (2,434.69 km2) of land in the state of California during 2013. The wildfires injured at least 125 people and killed at least 1. They also caused over $218.15 million in damage. These included several large, notable wildfires, including the Rim Fire, which became California's 3rd largest wildfire.
By the end of 2015 a total of 8,745 wildfires were recorded across the state of California, burning 893,362 acres (3,615 km2). Approximately 3,159 structures were damaged or destroyed by wildfires, and at least 7 fatalities were recorded.
In 2012, 7,950 wildfires burned a total of 869,599 acres (3,519.14 km2) in the US state of California; 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 Butte Fire was a rapidly moving wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 9 in Amador County, California. The fire burned 70,868 acres (287 km2).
The Soberanes Fire was a large wildfire that burned from July to October 2016 in the Santa Lucia Mountains of Monterey County, California. It destroyed 57 homes and killed a bulldozer operator, and cost about $260 million to suppress, making it at the time the most expensive wildfire to fight in United States history. At the fire's peak, over 5,000 personnel were assigned to the blaze. The fire was the result of an illegal campfire in Garrapata State Park. By the time it was finally extinguished, the fire had burned 132,127 acres (53,470 ha) along the Big Sur coast in the Los Padres National Forest, Ventana Wilderness, and adjacent private and public land in Monterey County, ranking it 18th on the list of the largest California wildfires in terms of acreage burned.
During 2003, 9,116 wildfires burned 1,020,460 acres (4,129.7 km2) across the US state of California. 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.
In terms of property damage, 2017 was the most destructive wildfire season on record in California at the time, surpassed by only the 2018 season and the 2020 season, with a total of 9,560 fires burning 1,548,429 acres (6,266.27 km2) of land, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, including five of the 20 most destructive wildland-urban interface fires in the state's history. Throughout 2017, the fires destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 structures in the state, a higher tally than the previous nine years combined. State data showed that the large wildfires killed 47 people – 45 civilians and 2 firefighters – almost higher than the previous 10 years combined. The total property damage and total amount of burned land were both surpassed by the 2018 California wildfires.
The Ponderosa Fire was a wildland fire near Forbestown in Butte County, California in the United States. The fire started on August 29, 2017. The cause is still under investigation. The fire was 100% contained on September 23, after it had burned 4,016 acres (16 km2).
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 2021 Dixie Fire was an enormous wildfire in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties in Northern California. Named after a nearby Dixie Road, the fire began in the Feather River Canyon near Cresta Dam in Butte County on July 13, 2021, and burned 963,309 acres (389,837 ha) before it was declared 100 percent contained on October 25, 2021. It was the largest single source wildfire in recorded California history, and the second-largest wildfire overall, The fire damaged or destroyed several communities, including Greenville on August 4, Canyondam on August 5, and Warner Valley on August 12.
The Fawn Fire was a destructive wildfire in Northern California's Shasta County, near Redding, in late September and early October 2021. The fire, which was caused by an alleged act of arson, ignited on September 22 in mountains to the northeast of Redding. High winds the following day drove the fire south and west into neighborhoods in the wildland-urban interface, where it destroyed 185 buildings and damaged 26 more. 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 woman was arrested the day of the Fawn Fire's ignition and charged with starting the fire. As of 2024, legal proceedings remained ongoing.
The Mosquito Fire was California's largest wildfire in 2022. The fire began on September 6, burned 76,788 acres in Placer and El Dorado counties in September and October, and was pronounced fully contained on October 22. It affected the Tahoe and Eldorado National Forests and destroyed 78 structures in the rural communities of Michigan Bluff, Foresthill, and Volcanoville. The fire suppression effort cost more than $180 million, and at its peak involved more than 3,700 firefighters. The precise cause of the fire is not known, but the possible role of Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) equipment is the subject of multiple civil lawsuits and a Forest Service investigation. The Mosquito Fire was one of 7,477 wildfires in California in 2022, which burned a combined 331,358 acres (134,096 ha).
According to California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection statistics, 7,622 wildfires burned a total of 295,026 acres in the US state of California in 2000. Cal Fire wildfire suppression costs for fires that burned within the agency's jurisdiction amounted to $109 million. Damages for the same amounted to $87.3 million, with a total of 389 structures lost. The largest wildfires of the year in California were the Manter and Storrie fires, which burned 74,000 and 55,000 acres in Tulare and Plumas counties respectively.
The 2001 Poe Fire was a destructive wildfire in Butte County, Northern California. After igniting on September 6, the fire burned 8,333 acres and destroyed at least 133 structures in the Big Bend and Yankee Hill areas north of Oroville before it was fully contained on September 12, 2001. The fire was the most destructive incident of California's 2001 wildfire season.
The Rocky Fire was a large wildfire in Lake, Colusa, and Yolo counties in Northern California in 2015. The fire burned 69,438 acres between its ignition on July 29 and its full containment on August 14. Caused by a malfunctioning water heater being used for illegal cannabis cultivation, the fire destroyed 96 structures and was the fifth largest fire of the 2015 fire season in California.
The Park Fire was an extremely large wildfire in Northern California's Butte and Tehama counties. It ignited on July 24, 2024 in an alleged act of arson in the city of Chico's Bidwell Park in Butte County. Defying initial fire suppression efforts, the Park Fire grew rapidly over the following days, burning into the Ishi Wilderness and the Lassen National Forest. Thousands of people in foothill communities evacuated, Lassen Volcanic National Park closed to the public, and hundreds of buildings were destroyed. The fire burned a total of 429,603 acres before being fully contained on September 26, 2024. Fire suppression operations cost $351 million.
