List of fires

Not in history has a modern imperial city been so completely destroyed. San Francisco is gone.

Jack London after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire

This article is a list of notable fires.

Town and city fires

Painting of the Cathedral and the Academy building after the Great Fire of Turku, by Gustaf Wilhelm Finnberg, 1827

Main article: List of town and city fires

Building or structure fires

Main articles: List of building or structure fires and List of fires at places of worship

Transportation fires

Main article: List of transportation fires

Mining (including oil and natural gas drilling) fires

See also: Coal seam fire and Oil well fire

This is a partial list of fire due to mining: human-made structures to extract minerals, ores, rock, petroleum, natural gas, etc.

Date	Location	Dead/injured	Details	References
1884 to present	New Straitsville, Ohio		Coal mine fire ignited by striking miners	World's Greatest Mine Fire [2]
31 May 1892	Příbram, now in the Czech Republic,	319/?	Fire in Marine iron mine
7 September 1895	Osceola Township, Houghton County, Michigan	30/?	Osceola copper mine caught fire	[3]
7 April 1911	Colliery, Throop, Pennsylvania,	72/?	Fire at the Prince-Pancoast, leaving 72 dead by suffocation	[4]
1915 to present	Luzerne County, Pennsylvania		Laurel Run mine fire ignited when a carbide lamp set fire to a timber support
1956	Belgium	262/?	Bois du Cazier fire  [ fr ] killed 262 people from 12 nations
1962	Algeria		Devil's Cigarette Lighter fire in a gas field, lasted almost 6 months before doused with explosives
1962 to present	Pennsylvania		Centralia Mine Fire, rendering the town uninhabitable
1967 to present	Kukruse, Estonia		A continuously burning gangue mound at the Kukruse mine
1971 to present	Derweze, Ahal Province, Turkmenistan		Darvaza gas crater fire in a natural gas field
morning of 2 May 1972	Kellogg, Idaho	91/?	Fire broke out in the Sunshine Mine, on the morning of 2 May; 91 workers died from smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisoning
16 September 1986	Kinross, Transvaal, South Africa	177/235	Kinross mining disaster fire in a gold mine owned by the General Mining Union Corporation	[5]
6 July 1988	North Sea	167/?	Piper Alpha oil platform disaster
1991	State of Kuwait		Kuwaiti oil fires following the Gulf War
2010	Gulf of Mexico		Explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon mobile offshore drilling unit
	New Zealand	29/?	Pike River Mine disaster in New Zealand; a series of three explosions in the mine was followed by a fourth which set fire to the coal. 29 miners and contractors perished.
4 December 2015	Caspian Sea	12+18 missing /?	Gunashli Platform No.10 fire broke out on the offshore oil and gas platform in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea; 12 confirmed deaths, 18 missing.

Forest and countryside fires

See also: List of wildfires

Date	Location	Dead/injured	Details	References
8 October 1871	Michigan	>200/?	A series of fires across the state, the most severe of which was the Port Huron fire. The combined Michigan fires killed over 200 people and burned about 1.2 million acres. Occurred on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire and the Peshtigo Fire.	Great Michigan Fire
8 October 1871	Wisconsin	1,500–2,500/?	Deadliest wildfire in world history. Death toll can only be estimated because entire towns with all town records were incinerated. Burned over 1.2 million acres. Occurred on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire and the Great Michigan Fires.	Peshtigo Fire
1910	North Idaho and Western Montana	87/?	The largest Fire in U.S. history burned an area the size of Connecticut (3,000,000 acres [12,000 km2]), killing 87 people, including 78 firefighters	Great Fire of 1910 [6]
1911	Ontario	73–200/?		Great Porcupine Fire
29 July 1916		223/?	Six towns destroyed, two more damaged	Matheson Fire
12 October 1918	Minnesota	453/?		1918 Cloquet Fire
1921		35/?		1921 Mari wildfires
1922	Northern Ontario		Several towns destroyed including 90% of the city of Haileybury, Ontario	Great Fire of 1922
1933	Los Angeles, California,	29/?	Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles, California, killed 29 firefighters on 3 October.	1933 Griffith Park fire
1933	Tillamook Burn, Oregon

• 1936 – Kursha-2, 1200 killed
• 1936 – Bandon, Oregon, Bandon's entire commercial district was destroyed, total loss stated at the time was US$3 million, with 11 fatalities.
• 1937 – Blackwater Fire of 1937 in Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming, killed 15 firefighters on 21 August.
• 1939 – Black Friday bushfires in Australia. 71 people killed.
• 1949 – 1949 Landes forest fire, 256,000 acres (1,040 km²) lost, 82 people killed.
• 1949 – Mann Gulch fire
• 1953 – Rattlesnake Fire, set by an arsonist named Stan Pattan, in Mendocino National Forest near Willows, California, killed 15 firefighters on 9 July.
• 1963 – Paraná forest fire, 20,000 square kilometres destroyed, killing at least 110, with 5,000 houses burned in September.
• 1966 – Serra de Sintra forest fire, outskirt of Lisbon, Portugal, 26.6 square kilometres (6,600 acres) destroyed, killing 26.
• 1967 – 1967 Tasmanian fires in Tasmania, Australia, 62 killed and over 900 injured.
• 1971 –Kure forest fire, Kure, western Honshū, Japan, 18 firefighters killed on 27 April.
• 1975 – Fire on the Lüneburg Heath in north Germany, 80 square kilometres destroyed, 7 fatalities including 5 firefighters killed on 1p August.
• 1983 – Ash Wednesday bushfires killed 75 people and injured more than 2600 others in South Australia and Victoria.
• 1987 – 1987 Black Dragon fire in People's Republic of China, burned for a month
• 1988 – Yellowstone fires of 1988 largest, most expensive wildfire in the history of the National Park Service, at the world's first national park.
• 1991 – Oakland firestorm of 1991, Oakland, California, U.S., killed 25 people and injured 150 others.
• 1994 – Isabela Island forest fire, Galápagos Island, Ecuador, 12 km² lost in April.
• 1994 – South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain near Glenwood Springs, Colorado kills fourteen firefighters on 6 July.
• 2002 – Biscuit Fire, the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Oregon
• 2003 – Canberra bushfires, Australian Capital Territory, 4 killed and 435 injured
• 2003 – Cedar Fire, destroyed over 550 homes and many acres of land, Southern California
• 2003 – 2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire, British Columbia
• 2005 – Eyre Peninsula bushfire, South Australia, 9 killed, at least 113 injured and 79 houses destroyed
• 2006 – Pilliga forest fire burned out 740 km² on just its first day
• 2007 – October 2007 California wildfires
• 2008 – Summer 2008 California wildfires, second costliest in US history to extinguish.
• 2009 – Black Saturday bushfires In February, at the end of the early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave, bushfires swept through the Australian state of Victoria killing 180 people, injuring around 500, destroying at least 2029 homes.
• 2010 – 2010 Russian wildfires, 2000 buildings, 8000 km² destroyed, 54 killed. ^[7]
• 2010 – 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire in Israel led to 44 fatalities.
• 2011 –Fires across parts of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, during the Easter holidays, destroying many parks and forests.
• 2011 – Summer fire outbreak across Texas claimed almost 4 million acres in over 21,000 fires. Approximately 7,000 homes were lost and approximately 50,000 homes in direct danger were saved by fire departments across the state.
• 2011 –Two wildfires burn in Bastrop, Texas; 2 people killed, 34,000 acres burned, over 1000 houses and other structures destroyed
• 2011 –Swinley Forest, UK, 12 fire services attended from various counties to extinguish this forest fire in Berkshire. ^{[8] [9]}
• 2015 – Sampson Flat bushfires, Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, destroyed 12,500 hectares (31,000 acres) of native forest, farmland, vineyards and 27 houses, with no human fatalities
• 2016 –A series of wildfires raged across mainland Portugal and the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira.
• 2017 –Between 30 and 40 gorse fires raged across the country [Ireland] between late April and early May. Cloosh Valley saw the worst of these fires with 1,500 hectares (5.8 sq mi) of forest damaged. ^[10]
• 2017 –A series of wildfires, burn across Pedrógão Grande and Nodeirinho in Portugal, killing at least 66 people and injuring at least 204 others.
• 2017 –Fires consumed hundreds of thousands of acres of Oregon's Deschutes National Forest, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and the Willamette National Forest during August and September, causing evacuations and road closures. Fires included the Chetco Bar Fire and the Eagle Creek Fire, which also spread into Skamania County, Washington, United States. ^{[11] [12] [13]}
• 2018 – Camp Fire in California. Began November 8, 2018; caused 85 deaths and destroyed 18,804 structures. ^{[14] [15]}
• 2018 – Woolsey Fire in California, which broke out on the same day as the Camp Fire. Resulted in three deaths and the destruction of 1,643 structures, ^[16] among them, the homes of notable celebrities.
• 2019 – 2019 Nelson fires – Two wildfires, 20 kilometres apart in Nelson and Tasman District, New Zealand, started on 5 February 2019. The Pigeon Valley fire was described as the country's largest since 1955 and New Zealand's largest aerial firefight on record with 22 helicopters involved. ^[17]
• 2019 – Gospers Mountain bushfire – Starting on 29 October 2019, this rapidly became the largest single-ignition fire from lightning strike Australia has ever seen, reaching over 512,000 hectares (1,980 sq mi) with a perimeter of 1,503 kilometres (934 mi), the Gospers Mountain Fire has officially been set to contained on 13 January 2020, at 12:00. ^[18]
• 2020 – Cagua fire – On 23 January 2020, a fire was started in the Agrícola del Lago reed bed in Cagua, Aragua state, Venezuela. Eleven people were confirmed to have died as a result of the fire, all but two being minors. ^{[19] [20] [21] [22]}
• 2025 – Eaton Fire in Los Angeles area, California –Began January 7, 2025; destroyed 5,000 structures and caused 6 deaths. ^{[23] [24]}
• 2025 – Palisades Fire in Los Angeles area, California –Began January 7, 2025; caused 5 deaths and more than 12,000 structures damaged or destroyed, more than 150,000 people evacuated. ^{[25] [24] [26]}

See also

• List of fires by locations
  • List of fires in Canada
  • List of fires in China
  • List of fires in Kyoto
• List of accidents and disasters by death toll
• List of the largest artificial non-nuclear explosions

References

1. London, Jack (May 5, 1906). "The Story of an Eyewitness by Jack London". Collier's, the National Weekly. The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. Retrieved August 29, 2006.
2. "New Straitsville Mine Fire". Ohio History Central. Retrieved September 15, 2023.
3. Newett, George A. (1896). State of Michigan: Mines and Mineral Statistics (PDF) (Report). State of Michigan. p. 90. Retrieved May 7, 2012.
4. "History". Welcome to the Borough of Throop: "A Great Place to Live". Throop, Pennsylvania: Borough of Throop. Retrieved 15 March 2014.
5. Evander, Robert Ricci (September 18, 1986). "Mine disaster toll rises to 177". Glasgow Herald. p. 4.
6. "Forest fire, the largest in U.S. history, left stories of awe, tragedy". Spokesman.com. 2010-08-15. Retrieved 2018-07-27.
7. "Lenta.ru: Natural fires of the Summer 2010". Lenta.RU. Archived from the original on 15 November 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
8. "Incidents". Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service.
9. "BBC News – Swinley Forest fire 'largest in Berkshire's history'". BBC News. 5 May 2011. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
10. "'Frightening' Galway blaze among 30 wildfires raging across Ireland". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2017-05-09.
11. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) USDA Forest Service website.
12. DOF Archived 2017-09-07 at the Wayback Machine Dept. of Forestry Blog: "ODF Daily Fire Update - Monday, September 4, 2017."
13. KGW News Archived 2017-09-06 at the Wayback Machine "With Oregon on fire, where should you go, or avoid, this Labor Day Weekend?" 31 August 2017.
14. California, State of (December 6, 2018). "Camp Fire Incident Information". www.fire.ca.gov. Archived from the original on December 7, 2018. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
15. Moleski, Vincent (February 17, 2019). "Camp Fire death count drops to 85 while missing list drops to 2 following arrest". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
16. "Woolsey Fire Incident Update". Los Angeles County Fire Department . Archived from the original on November 12, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
17. "Nelson bush fire: Helicopter crashes fighting fires in Tasman district". Stuff.co.nz . 17 February 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2019.
18. "Live: NSW Now: Gospers Mountain fire contained after burning through 512,000 hectares". www.abc.net.au. 2020-01-12. Retrieved 2020-06-09.
19. "La Fiscalía venezolana eleva a los 11 muertos en un incendio, 9 de ellos menores". EFE (in Spanish). 24 January 2020.
20. "Al menos 10 muertos, 7 de ellos menores de edad, en un incendio en Venezuela". La Voz de Galicia (in Spanish). 24 January 2020.
21. "Al menos 10 muertos, 7 de ellos niños, en un incendio en Venezuela". 20 Minutos (in Spanish). 24 January 2020.
22. "Incendio en Venezuela deja 11 personas muertas, incluidos 9 niños" (in Spanish). France 24. 24 January 2020.
23. "Eaton Fire: Incident Update on 01/10/2025 at 4:01 PM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
24. Tanyos, Faris; Baldwin, Sarah Lynch; Freiman, Jordan; Dakss, Brian; Breen, Kerry (2025-01-10). "Deadly Southern California fires destroy thousands of homes, decimate Los Angeles area". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
25. "Palisades Fire: Incident Update on 01/10/2025 at 6:47 PM | CAL FIRE". www.fire.ca.gov. Retrieved 2025-01-11.
26. II, Rong-Gong Lin; Haggerty, Noah; Sheets, Connor; Vives, Ruben; Wick, Julia; Fry, Hannah; Toohey, Grace; Goldberg, Noah; Ellis, Rebecca (2025-01-11). "Palisades fire flare-up forces more evacuations as L.A. reels from staggering losses". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2025-01-11.

Further reading

• "Deadly drink fanned the flames of 1875". Irish Examiner. 2014-11-04. Retrieved 2020-06-09. Irish Examiner article on 1875 fire