In the summer of 2013, there were several major wildfires in Colorado in the United States. During June and July, record high temperatures and dry conditions fueled the fires all across the state. By July 24, 570 structures had been destroyed and 2 people died. Below is a list of the major fires of the year.
The Eagle Creek Fire was a destructive wildfire in the Columbia River Gorge, largely in the U.S. state of Oregon, with smaller spot-fires in Washington. The fire was started on September 2, 2017, by a 15-year-old boy igniting fireworks during a burn ban. The fire burned 50,000 acres, and burned for three months, before being declared completely contained. As late as May 29, 2018, it was still found smoldering in some areas.
The Uno Peak Fire was a wildfire on the slopes of Lake Chelan, approximately 15 miles from Manson, Washington in the United States. The human caused fire was started on August 30, 2017. The fire burned a total of 8,726 acres (35 km2).
The Boxcar Fire was a wildfire one mile southeast of Maupin, Oregon in the United States. The fire started on June 21, 2018 due to a lightning strike and subsequently burned 100,207 acres (406 km2) due to dry, windy conditions in Central Oregon. The fire was one of 70 wildfires started in Oregon due to lightning strikes over a two-day period. The Boxcar Fire was the largest out of three major fires burning in the region, which included the Jack Knife Fire and South Junction Fire. The fire was contained in late June.
The Mendocino Complex Fire was a large complex of wildfires that burned in northern California for more than three months in 2018. It consisted of two wildfires, the River Fire and Ranch Fire, which burned in Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, and Glenn Counties in the U.S. State of California, with the Ranch Fire being California's single-largest recorded wildfire at the time until the Dixie Fire in 2021. The Ranch Fire burned eight miles northeast of Ukiah, and the River Fire burned six miles north of Hopland, to the south of the larger Ranch Fire. First reported on July 27, 2018, both fires burned a combined total of 459,123 acres (1,858 km2), before they were collectively 100% contained on September 18, though hotspots persisted until the complex was fully brought under control on January 4, 2019. The Ranch Fire alone burned 410,203 acres (1,660 km2), making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time until the August Complex fire that occurred in 2020. The Ranch Fire also surpassed the size of the 315,577-acre Rush Fire, which burned across California and Nevada, as well as the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889, which was previously believed to have been California's all-time largest wildfire.
The Delta Fire was a wildfire that burned near Lakehead, California, in the Shasta National Forest. The fire burned 63,311 acres (256 km2) and destroyed 20 structures, before it was 100% contained on October 7, 2018. The fire burned into the western flank of the nearby Hirz Fire on September 10, and also burned only a couple of miles away from the enormous Carr Fire, the seventh-most destructive fire in Californian history.
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 2020 California wildfire season, part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season, was a record-setting year of wildfires in California. By the end of the year, 9,917 fires had burned 4,397,809 acres (1,779,730 ha), more than 4% of the state's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history, though roughly equivalent to the pre-1800 levels which averaged around 4.4 million acres yearly and up to 12 million in peak years. California's August Complex fire has been described as the first "gigafire", burning over 1 million acres across seven counties, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island. The fires destroyed over 10,000 structures and cost over $12.079 billion in damages, including over $10 billion in property damage and $2.079 billion in fire suppression costs. The intensity of the fire season has been attributed to a combination of more than a century of poor forest management and higher temperatures resulting from climate change.
The North Complex Fire was a massive wildfire complex that burned in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California in the counties of Plumas and Butte. 21 fires were started by lightning on August 17, 2020; by September 5, all the individual fires had been put out with the exception of the Claremont and Bear Fires, which merged on that date, and the Sheep Fire, which was then designated a separate incident. On September 8, strong winds caused the Bear/Claremont Fire to explode in size, rapidly spreading to the southwest. On September 8, 2020, the towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls were immediately evacuated at 3:15 PM PDT with no prior warning, By September 9, 2020, the towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls had been leveled, with few homes left standing. The fire threatened the city of Oroville, before its westward spread was stopped. The fire killed 16 people and injured more than 100. Among the 16 fatalities was a 16-year-old boy. The complex burned an estimated 318,935 acres (129,068 ha), and was 100% contained on December 3. The fire was managed by the U.S. Forest Service in conjunction with Cal Fire, with the primary incident base in Quincy. The North Complex Fire was the sixth-largest in California's modern history, and the deadliest fire in the 2020 California wildfire season.
The Santiam Fire was a very large wildfire that burned in Marion, Jefferson, Linn, and Clackamas Counties, in northwest Oregon, United States. Having ignited in August of 2020, the 402,274-acre (162,795 ha) fire ravaged multiple communities in northwestern Oregon, before it was fully contained on December 10, 2020. The fire started as three separate fires. The Beachie Creek, Lionshead, and P-515 fires were ignited by lightning on August 16, 2020. The first three fires gradually grew in size, before explosively spreading in early September during a heatwave, fanned by powerful east winds. Early on September 8, the Beachie Creek and Lionshead Fires merged, and the combined fire was labeled the Santiam Fire, before being returned to their original names a couple of days later. The P-515 Fire merged into the Lionshead Fire a few days later. The Santiam Fire destroyed over 1,500 structures, including the cities of Detroit and Gates, with Idanha, Mill City, and Lyons suffering varying amounts of damage, becoming one of the most destructive wildfires in the recorded history of Oregon. The fire killed five people. On September 10–12, 2020, there were fears that the Santiam Fire would merge with the Riverside Fire to the north.
The Western United States experienced a series of major wildfires in 2020. Severe August thunderstorms ignited numerous wildfires across California, Oregon, and Washington, followed in early September by additional ignitions across the West Coast. Fanned by strong, gusty winds and fueled by hot, dry terrains, many of the fires exploded and coalesced into record-breaking megafires, burning more than 10.2 million acres of land, mobilizing tens of thousands of firefighters, razing over ten thousand buildings, and killing at least 37 people. The fires caused over $19.884 billion in damages, including $16.5 billion in property damage and $3.384 billion in fire suppression costs. Climate change and poor forest management practices contributed to the severity of the wildfires.
The 2020 Colorado wildfire season was a series of significant wildfires that burned throughout the U.S. state of Colorado as part of the 2020 Western United States wildfire season. With a total of 665,454 acres (269,300 ha) burned, and the 3 largest fires in state history, it is Colorado's largest wildfire season on record.
The Cameron Peak fire was a wildfire that started near Chambers Lake, Colorado, 25 miles (40 km) east of Walden and 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Red Feather Lakes near Cameron Pass on August 13, 2020, and was declared 100% contained on December 2, 2020. The fire burnt 208,663 acres through the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Larimer and Jackson Counties and Rocky Mountain National Park. At its peak, the fire forced the evacuation of over 6,000 residents in Estes Park, Chambers Lake, Rustic, Glacier View Meadows, Red Feather Lakes, Masonville, Glen Haven, Spring Canyon, various small communities along Highway 14, Stove Prairie Landing Road, as well as the Colorado State University Mountain Campus and had over 1,000 personnel fighting the fire. 469 structures were destroyed by the fire, including 220 outbuildings and 42 primary residences. The fire became the largest wildfire in Colorado history, surpassing the Pine Gulch Fire, which had set the same mark just seven weeks prior.
The 2020 Lassen County wildfire season included seven large wildfires that burned entirely or in part in Lassen County. A total of 203,296 acres (82,271 ha) of land was burned in Lassen County, making it one of the larger clusters of fires in the 2020 California wildfire season.
The 2021 Washington wildfire season officially began in March 2021. By late April, all of Eastern Washington had been classified by the United States Drought Monitor as "abnormally dry" with moderate to severe drought conditions. The state had more than 630 wildfires by the first week of July, on par with the state's record 2015 wildfire season.
The 2021 Arizona wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the state of Arizona, United States. Wildfires across the state burned 524,428 acres (212,228 ha) of land in at least 1,773 fires throughout the state, fueled in part by a drought, hot temperatures, and thunderstorms producing dry lightning. At one point in late June, over 20 active wildfires were burning across the state.
The Bootleg Fire, named after the nearby Bootleg Spring, was a large wildfire that started near Beatty, Oregon, on July 6, 2021. Before being fully contained on 15 August 2021, it had burned 413,765 acres. It is the third-largest fire in the history of Oregon since 1900. At the fire's fastest growth in mid July, it grew at about 1,000 acres (400 ha) per hour, and it became the second largest wildfire in the United States of the 2021 wildfire season.
The 2020 Maricopa County wildfires were a series of major and non-major wildfires that took place in Maricopa County, Arizona, from the month of May to the month of October. In the year 2020, Arizona saw one of its worst fire seasons in the states history. Due to the lack of precipitation needed in Arizona, the state fell into an ongoing drought from late 2020 and 2021. High winds were also present during the summer when fire season is mostly active in the state. These factors led to the wildfires in Maricopa County to be destructive and costly.
The 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was the largest and most destructive wildfire in the history of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Burning 341,471 acres between early April and late June in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the fire was the most significant of the record-breaking 2022 New Mexico wildfire season as well as the largest wildfire of 2022 in the contiguous United States. The fire destroyed at least 903 structures, including several hundred homes, and damaged 85 more, while threatening more than 12,000 other structures in the region.
