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. [1] 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. [2] During the 2020 wildfire season alone, over 8,100 fires contributed to the burning of nearly 4.5 million acres of land.
Since the early 2010s, wildfires in California are growing 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. [3] [4] [5] 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. [6] 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. [7] [8] 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. [7]
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. [9]
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. [10]
A 2023 study found that these wildfires are affecting the California ecosystem and disrupting the habitats. [11] [12] It found that in the 2020 and 2021 fire seasons 58% of the area affected by wildfires occurred in those two seasons since 2012. [11] [13] 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." [14] [15]
Starting in 2001, the National Interagency Fire Center began keeping more accurate records on the total fire acreage burned in each state. [16]
Year | Fires | Acres | Hectares | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|
2000 | 7,622 | 295,026 | 119,393 | [17] |
2001 | 9,458 | 329,126 | 133,193 | [18] |
2002 | 8,328 | 969,890 | 392,500 | [19] [20] |
2003 | 9,116 | 1,020,460 | 412,970 | [21] [22] [23] |
2004 | 8,415 | 264,988 | 107,237 | [24] [25] |
2005 | 7,162 | 222,538 | 90,058 | [26] [27] |
2006 | 8,202 | 736,022 | 297,858 | [28] [29] |
2007 | 9,093 | 1,520,362 | 615,269 | [17] [30] |
2008 | 6,255 | 1,593,690 | 644,940 | [17] |
2009 | 9,159 | 422,147 | 170,837 | [31] [32] |
2010 | 6,554 | 109,529 | 44,325 | [33] |
2011 | 7,989 | 168,545 | 68,208 | [34] [35] |
2012 | 7,950 | 869,599 | 351,914 | [36] |
2013 | 9,907 | 601,635 | 243,473 | [37] [38] |
2014 | 7,865 | 625,540 | 253,150 | [39] [40] |
2015 | 8,745 | 893,362 | 361,531 | [41] |
2016 | 6,986 | 669,534 | 270,951 | [42] [43] |
2017 | 9,560 | 1,548,429 | 626,627 | [44] [45] |
2018 | 8,527 | 1,975,086 | 799,289 | [46] [47] |
2019 | 7,860 | 259,823 | 105,147 | [48] |
2020 | 9,639 | 4,397,809 | 1,779,730 | [49] |
2021 | 8,835 | 2,568,948 | 1,039,616 | [50] |
2022 | 7,490 | 362,455 | 146,680 | [51] |
2023 | 7,127 | 324,917 | 131,489 | [52] |
2000-23 Mean | 8,243 | 974,894 | 394,526 | |
2000-23 Median | 8,265 | 647,537 | 262,049 |
A 2015 study [53] addressed whether the increase in fire risk in California is attributable to climate change. [54]
The 20 largest wildfires according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. [55]
Name | County | Acres | Hectares | Start date | Structures | Deaths | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | August Complex | Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama, Trinity, Shasta | 1,032,648 | 417,898 | August 2020 | 935 | 1 | |
2. | Dixie | Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama | 963,309 | 389,837 | July 2021 | 1,329 | 1 | Largest single-source wildfire in California history. [56] |
3. | Mendocino Complex | Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, Glenn | 459,123 | 185,800 | July 2018 | 280 | 1 | |
4. | Park | Butte, Tehama | 429,603 | 173,854 | July 2024 | 709 | 0 | Largest caused by arson. |
5. | SCU Lightning Complex | Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, San Joaquin, Merced, Stanislaus | 396,624 | 160,508 | August 2020 | 222 | 0 | |
6. | Creek | Fresno, Madera | 379,895 | 153,738 | September 2020 | 856 | 0 | |
7. | LNU Lightning Complex | Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo | 363,220 | 146,990 | August 2020 | 1,491 | 6 | |
8. | North Complex | Plumas, Butte | 318,935 | 129,068 | August 2020 | 2,352 | 15 | |
9. | Santiago Canyon | Orange, Riverside, San Diego | 300,000 | 120,000 | September 1889 | 0 | 0 | The fire dates before 1932, when reliable fire records began. |
10. | Thomas | Ventura, Santa Barbara | 281,893 | 114,078 | December 2017 | 1,063 | 23 | Fatalities (2 direct, 21 indirect) attributed to the fire include 1 firefighter and 1 civilian directly, 22 deaths in later mudslides, with 1 never recovered. [57] |
11. | Cedar | San Diego | 273,246 | 110,579 | October 2003 | 2,820 | 15 | |
12. | Rush | Lassen | 271,911 | 110,038 | August 2012 | 0 | 0 | This fire burned an additional 43,666 acres (17,671.0 ha) in Nevada, for a total of 315,577 acres (127,709.5 ha). [58] [59] |
13. | Rim | Tuolumne | 257,314 | 104,131 | August 2013 | 112 | 0 | |
14. | Zaca | Santa Barbara | 240,207 | 97,208 | July 2007 | 1 | 0 | |
15. | Carr | Shasta, Trinity | 229,651 | 92,936 | July 2018 | 1,614 | 8 | |
16. | Monument | Trinity | 223,124 | 90,295 | July 2021 | 50 | 0 | |
17. | Caldor | El Dorado, Amador, Alpine | 221,835 | 89,773 | August 2021 | 1,003 | 1 | |
18. | Matilija | Ventura | 220,000 | 89,000 | September 1932 | 0 | 0 | |
19. | River Complex | Siskiyou, Trinity | 199,343 | 80,671 | July 2021 | 122 | 0 | |
20. | Witch | San Diego | 197,990 | 80,120 | October 2007 | 1,650 | 2 |
The 20 deadliest wildfires according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. [60]
Name | County | Acres | Hectares | Start date | Structures | Deaths | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Camp [61] [62] [63] | Butte | 153,336 | 62,050 | November 2018 | 18,804 | 85 | Caused by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. |
2. | Griffith Park | Los Angeles | 47 | 19 | October 1933 | 0 | 29 | Deaths were RFC workers fighting the fire |
3. | Tunnel | Alameda | 1,600 | 650 | October 1991 | 2,900 | 25 | |
4. | Thomas | Ventura, Santa Barbara | 281,893 | 114,078 | December 2017 | 1,063 | 23 | Fatalities (2 direct, 21 indirect) attributed to the fire include 1 firefighter and 1 civilian directly, 22 deaths in later mudslides, with 1 never recovered. [57] |
5. | Tubbs | Napa, Sonoma | 36,807 | 14,895 | October 2017 | 5,643 | 22 | |
6. | North Complex | Plumas, Butte | 318,935 | 129,068 | August 2020 | 2,352 | 16 | 14 of the dead were residents of Berry Creek, with the remaining two being residents of the neighboring town of Feather Falls. Both towns were nearly entirely destroyed. [64] |
7. | Cedar | San Diego | 273,246 | 110,579 | October 2003 | 2,820 | 15 | |
8. | Rattlesnake | Glenn | 1,340 | 540 | July 1953 | 0 | 15 | All deaths were firefighters trying to outrun the fire |
9. | Loop | Los Angeles | 2,028 | 821 | November 1966 | 0 | 12 | All deaths were members of the El Cariso Hotshots |
10 | Hauser Creek | San Diego | 13,145 | 5,320 | October 1943 | 0 | 11 | |
11. | Inaja | San Diego | 43,904 | 17,767 | November 1956 | 0 | 11 | |
12. | Iron Alps Complex | Trinity | 105,855 | 42,838 | August 2008 | 10 | 10 | |
13. | Redwood Valley | Mendocino | 36,523 | 14,780 | October 2017 | 544 | 9 | |
14. | Harris | San Diego | 90,440 | 36,600 | October 2007 | 548 | 8 | |
15. | Canyon | Los Angeles | 22,197 | 8,983 | August 1968 | 0 | 8 | |
16. | Carr | Shasta, Trinity | 229,651 | 92,936 | July 2018 | 1,614 | 8 | |
17. | LNU Lightning Complex | Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo | 363,220 | 146,990 | August 2020 | 1,491 | 6 | |
18. | Atlas | Napa, Solano | 51,624 | 20,891 | October 2017 | 781 | 6 | |
19. | Old | San Bernardino | 91,281 | 36,940 | October 2003 | 1,003 | 6 | |
20. | Decker | Riverside | 1,425 | 577 | August 1959 | 1 | 6 |
The 20 most destructive wildfires according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. [65]
Name | County | Acres | Hectares | Start date | Structures | Deaths | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Camp [61] [62] [63] | Butte | 153,336 | 62,050 | November 2018 | 18,804 | 86 | Town of Paradise destroyed [66] |
2. | Tubbs | Napa, Sonoma | 36,807 | 14,895 | October 2017 | 5,643 | 22 | |
3. | Tunnel | Alameda | 1,600 | 650 | October 1991 | 2,900 | 25 | |
4. | Cedar | San Diego | 273,246 | 110,579 | October 2003 | 2,820 | 15 | |
5. | North Complex | Plumas, Butte | 318,935 | 129,068 | August 2020 | 2,352 | 15 | Towns of Berry Creek and Feather Falls mostly destroyed [67] [68] |
6. | Valley | Lake, Napa, Sonoma | 76,067 | 30,783 | September 2015 | 1,955 | 4 | |
7. | Witch | San Diego | 197,990 | 80,120 | October 2007 | 1,650 | 2 | |
8. | Woolsey | Ventura, Los Angeles | 96,949 | 39,234 | November 2018 | 1,643 | 3 | |
9. | Carr | Shasta, Trinity | 229,651 | 92,936 | July 2018 | 1,614 | 8 | |
10. | Glass | Napa, Sonoma | 67,484 | 27,310 | September 2020 | 1,520 | 0 | |
11. | LNU Lightning Complex | Colusa, Lake, Napa, Sonoma, Solano, Yolo | 363,220 | 146,990 | August 2020 | 1,491 | 6 | |
12. | CZU Lightning Complex | Santa Cruz, San Mateo | 86,509 | 35,009 | August 2020 | 1,490 | 1 | |
13. | Nuns | Sonoma | 54,382 | 22,008 | October 2017 | 1,355 | 3 | |
14. | Dixie | Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta, Tehama | 963,309 | 389,837 | July 2021 | 1,329 | 1 | Town of Greenville mostly destroyed |
15. | Thomas | Ventura, Santa Barbara | 281,893 | 114,078 | December 2017 | 1,063 | 23 | 2 direct, 22 indirect deaths were caused by the Montecito mudslides |
16. | Caldor | El Dorado, Amador, Alpine | 221,835 | 89,773 | August 2021 | 1,003 | 1 | Town of Grizzly Flats mostly destroyed |
17. | Old | San Bernardino | 91,281 | 36,940 | October 2003 | 1,003 | 6 | |
18. | Butte | Amador, Calaveras | 70,868 | 28,679 | September 2015 | 965 | 2 | |
19. | Jones | Shasta | 26,200 | 10,600 | October 1999 | 954 | 1 | |
20. | August Complex | Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama, Trinity, Shasta | 1,032,649 | 417,898 | August 2020 | 935 | 1 |
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. [69] [70] 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. [71]
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).
The 2010 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that were active in the state of California during the year 2010. During the year, a total of 6,554 wildfires burned 109,529 acres (443.25 km2) of land.
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.
The Happy Camp Complex Fire was a massive wildfire that broke out on August 12, 2014, at 1:00 AM PDT, as a result of a lightning strikes in the Klamath National Forest in Northern California. The fire, which would eventually consume 134,056 acres (543 km2) of land, was the largest fire of the 2014 California wildfire season and as of 2018, ranks 20th on the list of largest fires in state history.
The 2015 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the state of California. By the end of 2015 a total of 8,745 fires were recorded, burning 893,362 acres (3,615 km2) across the state. Approximately 3,159 structures were damaged or destroyed by wildfires, and at least 7 fatalities were recorded.
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 2011 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that were active in the state of California during the year 2011. In total, there were 7,989 fires that burned 168,545 acres (682.08 km2) of land.
The 2006 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that were active in the state of California during the year 2006. In total, there were 8,202 fires that burned 736,022 acres (2,978.58 km2) of land.
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 Valley Fire was a wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 12 in Lake County, California. It began shortly after 1:00 pm near Cobb with multiple reports of a small brush fire near the intersection of High Valley and Bottlerock Roads. It quickly spread and by 6:30 PM PDT, it had burned more than 10,000 acres (40 km2). By Sunday, the thirteenth of September, the fire had reached 50,000 acres (202 km2) and had destroyed much of Cobb, Middletown, Whispering Pines, and parts in the south end of Hidden Valley Lake. The fire ultimately spread to 76,067 acres (308 km2), killed four people and destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings, before it was fully contained on October 15, 2015, causing at least $921 million in insured property damage. At the time, the fire was the third-most destructive fire in California history, based on the total structures burned, but the Camp Fire (2018) and the North Complex fire in 2020, exceeded that total.
The 2005 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that were active in the state of California during the year 2005. In total, 7,162 fires burned 222,538 acres (900.58 km2) of land.
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.
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.
Wildfires can happen in many places in the United States, especially during droughts, but are most common in the Western United States and Florida. They may be triggered naturally, most commonly by lightning, or by human activity like unextinguished smoking materials, faulty electrical equipment, overheating automobiles, or arson.
The 2002 California wildfires were a series of wildfires that were active in the state of California during the year 2002. In total, there were 8,328 fires that burned 969,890 acres (3,925.0 km2) of land.
The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season in California history. It was also the largest on record at the time, now third after the 2020 and 2021 California wildfire seasons. In 2018, there were a total of 103 confirmed fatalities, 24,226 structures damaged or destroyed, and 8,527 fires burning 1,975,086 acres (799,289 ha), about 2% of the state's 100 million acres of land. Through the end of August 2018, Cal Fire alone spent $432 million on operations. The catastrophic Camp Fire alone killed at least 85 people, destroyed 18,804 buildings and caused $16.5 billion in property damage, while overall the fires resulted in at least $26.347 billion in property damage and firefighting costs, including $25.4 billion in property damage and $947 million in fire suppression costs.
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 2021 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the U.S. state of California. By the end of 2021 a total of 8,835 fires were recorded, burning 2,568,948 acres (1,039,616 ha) across the state. Approximately 3,629 structures were damaged or destroyed by the wildfires, and at least seven firefighters and two civilians were injured.
The 2022 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires throughout the U.S. state of California. By the end of the year, a total of 7,667 fires had been recorded, totaling approximately 363,939 acres across the state. Wildfires killed nine people in California in 2022, destroyed 772 structures, and damaged another 104. The 2022 season followed the 2020 and 2021 California wildfire seasons, which had the highest and second-highest (respectively) numbers of acres burned in the historical record, with a sharp drop in acreage burned.
area burned annually in California varied from 1,814,614 to 4,838,293 ha (excluding the desert region in Southeastern California) during the prehistoric period. With the land area of California equaling 40,396,822 ha (CCDB, 2003), this results in 4.5–12.0% of the state's lands burning annually
Before the Gold Rush in 1849, large parts of California burned every few decades. Lightning fires burned for months, and native tribes burned the land, clearing out dead vegetation. ... Stephens, the UC fire scientist, estimates that before the Gold Rush, roughly 4.5 million acres a year in California burned. By the 1950s and 1960s, that was down to about 250,000 acres a year.
Like Naing, most of the North Complex's 15 other victims, who ranged in age from 16 to 79, lived in Berry Creek, which was nearly leveled by the flames. Two victims hailed from nearby Feather Falls.