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.
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 California, with the Ranch Fire being California's single-largest recorded wildfire at the time until the August Complex fire in 2020. 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 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 for wildfires in California. Over the course of the year, 8,648 fires burned 4,304,379 acres (1,741,920 ha), more than four percent of the state's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history. However, it is 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 2020 Loyalton Fire was a large wildfire in Lassen, Plumas and Sierra counties in California and Washoe County in Nevada. After it was ignited by lightning on August 14, 2020, the fire burned 47,029 acres (19,032 ha) in the Tahoe National Forest and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest before it was fully contained on August 26. The Loyalton Fire was notable for generating three fire tornadoes on August 15, necessitating first-of-their-kind warnings by the National Weather Service.
The LNU Lightning Complex fires were a large complex of wildfires that burned during the 2020 California wildfire season across much of the Wine Country area of Northern California – Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, and Yolo Counties, from August 17 to October 2, 2020. The complex was composed of numerous lightning-sparked fires, most of which were small. While they ignited separately from each other, the Hennessey Fire eventually grew to merge with the Gamble, Green, Markley, Spanish, and Morgan fires, scorching 192,000 acres (777 km2) by itself, for a total burn area of 363,220 acres (1,470 km2) in the complex. The fire, which burned in the hills surrounding several large cities, such as Fairfield, Napa, and Vacaville, destroyed 1,491 structures and damaged a further 232. In all, six people were killed and another five injured. The LNU Lightning Complex is the seventh-largest wildfire in the recorded history of California.
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 August 2020 California lightning wildfires were a series of 650 wildfires that ignited across Northern California in mid-August 2020, due to a siege of dry lightning from rare, massive summer thunderstorms, which were caused by an unusual combination of very hot, dry air at the surface, dry fuels, and advection of moisture from the remains of Tropical Storm Fausto northward into the Bay Area. These fires burned between 1,500,000 acres (6,100 km2) to 2,100,000 acres (8,500 km2) within a 2–3 week period. The August 2020 lightning fires included three enormous wildfires: the SCU Lightning Complex, the August Complex, and the LNU Lightning Complex. On September 10, 2020, the August Complex set a record for the single-largest wildfire in the modern history of California, reaching a total area burned of 471,185 acres (1,907 km2). On September 11, the August Complex merged with the Elkhorn Fire, another massive wildfire of 255,039 acres (1,032 km2), turning the August Complex into a monster wildfire of 746,607 acres (3,021 km2).
The CZU Lightning Complex fires were wildfires that burned in Northern California starting in August 2020. The fire complex consisted of fires in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, including fires that had previously been separately tracked as the Warnella and Waddell fires. The firefighting effort was primarily administered by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
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 2023 California wildfire season was a series of significant wildfires that burned in the U.S. state of California during the calendar year. According to statistics published by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, a total of 7,127 fires burned a total of 324,917 acres. This was below the state's five-year average of 1,722,059 acres (696,893 ha) burned during the same period. The 2023 fire season followed the 2022 season, during which the number of fires and the resulting burned acreage were both below average. Four fatalities were reported during the 2023 fire season.
The 2024 California wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of California. As of December 13, 2024, a total of 7,934 wildfires have burned a cumulative 1,049,452 acres (424,698 ha). Year-to-date, the number of wildfires and the number of acres burned are higher than the five-year average. Wildfires have destroyed 1,680 structures and killed one person in the state in 2024. This season has had the most burned acres since the the 2021 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 a massive 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.
The Nixon Fire was a sizable wildfire that burned in Riverside county in Southern California. It ignited on July 29, 2024, in the census-designated place of Aguanga in Riverside County. As of August 7, 2024, it has burned 5,222 acres and is 100 percent contained.
The 2024 Wildcat Fire was a relatively large wildfire that burned in the Tonto National Forest, located in the U.S. state of Arizona. The fire burned 14,402 acres of land before being declared contained on June 3. It was the second-largest wildfire of the 2024 Arizona wildfire season, only behind the Freeman Fire.
The Six Rivers (SRF) Lightning Complex fires were a series of related wildfires that burned in the Six Rivers National Forest in California from August to November 2022 as part of the 2022 California wildfire season. The fire complex consisted of 12 fires located in Humboldt and Trinity counties.
The 2024 Kern County wildfires are a series of active major and non-major wildfires burning in Kern County, California. The fires began in the month of April and remain active. So far, in the year 2024, California saw one of its worse fire seasons in California compared to recent years. Due to the high amount of precipitation that had fallen the previous winter, there was an overabundance of dry fuels that make it easier for large fires to start. High winds were also present during the summer when fire season is mostly active in the state. This led to the wildfires in Kern County to be destructive and costly.
The 2024 SQF Lightning Complex was a large wildfire complex that started on July 13, 2024, in the Domeland Wilderness, northeast of Kernville in Tulare County, California. The fires burned a total of 33,026 acres before reaching full containment on September 17. The complex consisted of the Trout, Packsaddle, Acorn, and Long fires, all caused by a lightning storm in July.
