List of wildfires

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List of wildfires
Glossary of wildfire terms

This is a list of notable wildfires:

Contents

Asia

Indonesia

Forest fires in Indonesia occurred annually. When there is a weather pattern disturbance because of strong El Nino, the number and the distribution of forest fires in Indonesia increased significantly. When there is a weather pattern disturbance because of strong La Nina, the number and the distribution of forest fire in Indonesia decreased. An El Nino is usually followed by La Nina on the following year. The strength of disturbance is determined by Southern oscillation index. Large forest fire in Indonesia because of strong El Nino:

Japan

Australia

See also Bushfires in Australia

Europe

Germany

Greece

Italy and France

Poland

Portugal

Russia and Soviet Union

Spain

Israel

North America

See also: List of fires in Canada
Year Size Name Area Notes
1825 3,000,000 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) Miramichi Fire New Brunswick Killed 160 people.
1846 0,450,000 450,000 acres (180,000 ha) Yachina Fire Oregon
1853 0,320,000 320,000 acres (130,000 ha) Nestucca Fire Oregon
1868 1,000,000 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) Silverton Fire Oregon Worst recorded fire in state's history
1868 0,300,000 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) Coos Fire Oregon
1870 0,964,000 964,000 acres (390,000 ha) [1] Saguenay Fire[2][3] Quebec
1871 1,200,000 1,200,000 acres (490,000 ha) Peshtigo Fire Wisconsin Killed over 1,700 people and has distinction of the conflagration that caused the most deaths by fire in United States history. It was overshadowed by the Great Chicago Fire that occurred on the same day.
1876 0,500,000 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) Bighorn Fire Wyoming
1881 1,000,000 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha) The Great Michigan Fire see also Thumb Fire Michigan Killed 200+ people
1889 0,800,000 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889 California
1894 0,160,000 160,000 acres (65,000 ha) Hinckley Fire Minnesota Killed 418 people and destroyed 12 towns
1903 0,464,000 464,000 acres (188,000 ha) Adirondack Fire New York
1910 3,000,000 3,000,000 acres (1,200,000 ha) Great Fire of 1910 Idaho-
Montana-
Washington		 Killed 86 people
1911 0,500,000 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) Great Porcupine Fire Ontario Killed 73 people
1916 0,500,000 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) Great Matheson Fire Ontario Killed 228 (U.O. 400+) people and destroyed several towns, Cochrane burnt again after just five years.
1918 0,100,000 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) Cloquet Fire Minnesota-
Wisconsin		 Killed between 400 and 500 people
1922 0,415,000 415,000 acres (168,000 ha) Great Fire of 1922 Ontario Killed 43 people and burnt through 18 townships in the Timiskaming District
1933 0,240,000 240,000 acres (97,000 ha) Tillamook Burn Oregon Swept through the same region of Oregon four times
1939 0,190,000 190,000 acres (77,000 ha) Tillamook Burn Oregon Swept through the same region of Oregon four times
1945 0,180,000 180,000 acres (73,000 ha) Tillamook Burn Oregon Swept through the same region of Oregon four times
1947 0,175,000 175,000 acres (71,000 ha) The Great Fires of 1947 Maine A series of fires that lasted ten days; 16 people killed
1948 0,645,000 645,000 acres (261,000 ha) Mississagi/Chapleau fire Ontario
1949 0,004,500 4,500 acres (1,800 ha) Mann Gulch fire Montana Killed 13 firefighters
1950 0,017,000 17,000 acres (6,900 ha) Capitan Gap fire New Mexico
1951 0,038,000 380,000 acres (150,000 ha) Great Forks Fire Washington
1951 0,032,700 32,700 acres (13,200 ha) Tillamook Burn Oregon Swept through the same region of Oregon four times
1953 0,001,300 1,300 acres (530 ha) Rattlesnake Fire California Killed 15 firefighters. Well known textbook case used to train firefighters.
1970 0,175,425 175,425 acres (70,992 ha) Laguna Fire California 382 homes destroyed and 8 people killed; the largest fire in the state's history until the Marble Cone Fire
1977 0,175,425 178,000 acres (72,000 ha) Marble Cone Fire California Lightning caused at end of La Niña drought, burns Ventana Wilderness in Big Sur area; the largest fire in recorded state history until the Cedar Fire
1985 0,093,000 93,000 acres (38,000 ha) Allen Fire North Carolina In 1985, nearly 93,000 acres of forest, wetlands and farmland burned in northeastern North Carolina in one of the biggest fires in modern state history[4]
1986 0,073,000 73,000 acres (30,000 ha) Topsail / Holly Shelter Fire North Carolina Burned 80 percent of the Holly Shelter Game Lands and sent smoke wafting over Wilmington; cost $308,000 to contain[5]
1987 0,175,425 650,000 acres (260,000 ha) Siege of 1987 California-Oregon These fires were started by a large lightning storm in late August. The storm started roughly 1600 new fires, most caused by dry lightning. Firefighting efforts continued into October, before the majority of the fires were controlled.
1988 0,800,000 793,880 acres (321,270 ha) Yellowstone fires of 1988 Wyoming-
Montana		 Never controlled by firefighters; only burned out when a snowstorm hit.
1991 0,001,520 1,520 acres (620 ha) Oakland Hills firestorm California Killed 25 and destroyed 3469 homes and apartments within the cities of Oakland and Berkeley
1994 0,002,115 2,115 acres (856 ha) South Canyon fire Colorado Killed 14 firefighters
1995 0,002,115 7,000 acres (2,800 ha) Long Island Wildfires New York
1998 0,300,000 300,000 acres (120,000 ha) Unnamed Florida 2200 fires, during drought season; burned 150 homes, $390 million timber lost, 80,000 evacuees, $133 million in fire suppression costs
2000 0,048,000 48,000 acres (19,000 ha) Cerro Grande Fire New Mexico Burned about 420 dwellings in Los Alamos, New Mexico, damaged >100 buildings at Los Alamos National Laboratory; $1 billion damage, worst fire in state's recorded history
2001 0,048,000 9,300 acres (3,800 ha) Thirty Mile Fire Washington Killed 4 firefighters
2002 0,150,700 150,700 acres (61,000 ha) McNally Fire California Largest fire in Sequoia NF history.
2002 0,467,066 467,066 acres (189,015 ha) Rodeo-Chediski fire Arizona Threatened, but did not burn the town of Show Low, Arizona
2002 0,137,760 137,760 acres (55,750 ha) Hayman Fire in Pike National Forest Colorado 9 firefighter deaths, 600 structures fires
2002 0,499,570 499,750 acres (202,240 ha) Florence/Sour Biscuit Complex Fire Oregon
2003 0,084,750 84,750 acres (34,300 ha) Aspen Fire Arizona Destroyed large portions of Summerhaven, Arizona
2003 0,061,776 61,776 acres (25,000 ha) Okanagan Mountain Park Fire British Columbia Displaced 45,000 inhabitants, destroyed 239 homes and threatened urbanized sections of Kelowna.
2003 0,091,281 91,281 acres (36,940 ha) Old Fire California 993 homes destroyed, 6 deaths. Simultaneous with the Cedar Fire.
2003 0,280,278 280,278 acres (113,424 ha) Cedar Fire California Largest recorded fire in California history (see 1889 Santiago Canyon fire that may have been larger); burned 2,232 homes and killed 15 in San Diego County. Simultaneous with 15 other fires in Southern California (including the Old Fire) covering 721,791 acres (292,098 ha), killing 24, displacing 120,000 and destroying 3,640 homes. Damage from combined fires estimated at 2 billion USD
2003 0,090,769 90,769 acres (36,733 ha) B&B Complex Fires Oregon Large fire in Central Oregon between Black Butte and Mount Jefferson. The fire closed off a large section of state HWY 20. The fire began as two separate fires. Both started on August 19 and lasted until September 5.
2004 001,305,592 1,305,592 acres (528,354 ha) Taylor Complex Fire Alaska Largest wildfire by acreage of 1997-2007 time period
2005 0,017,000 17,000 acres (6,900 ha) September 2005 California wildfires California
2006 0,040,200 40,200 acres (16,300 ha) Esperanza Fire California 10 buildings destroyed, 5 firefighters killed. The blaze started on October 26 and scorched 40,200 acres (16,300 ha), or more than 60 square miles (160 km2), of forest and brush before being fully contained October 30. It destroyed 34 homes and 20 outbuildings.
2007 0,468,938 468,938 acres (189,772 ha) Sweat Farm Road/Big Turnaround Complex Fire Georgia Largest recorded fire in Georgia history. 26 structures were lost.
2007 0,003,500 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) Angora Fire California 3 injuries.
2007 0,124,584 124,584 acres (50,417 ha) Florida Bugaboo Fire Florida Largest fire on record in Florida.
2007 0,363,052 363,052 acres (146,922 ha) Milford Flat Fire Utah Largest fire on record in Utah.
2007 0,653,100 653,100 acres (264,300 ha) Murphy Complex Fire Idaho - Nevada
2007 0,127,244 240,207 acres (97,208 ha) Zaca Fire California The blaze was started July 4 by sparks from water pipe repair equipment. The fire had a containment cost of $117 million. It was contained on September 2. It is California's second largest recorded fire.
2007 0,127,244 500,000 acres (200,000 ha) California wildfires of October 2007 California A series of wildfires that killed 9 people and injured 85 (including 61 firefighters). Burned at least 1,500 homes from the Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border. Aggravated by Santa Ana winds that reached up to 85 mph (140 km/h). The largest fire, the Witch (Creek), was located in San Diego county.
2008 0,127,244 13,709 acres (5,548 ha) Trigo Fire New Mexico Burned from 15 April to 22 May. 59 homes were destroyed. The fire had a containment cost of $11 million.
2008 41,534 acres (16,808 ha) Evans Road Wildfire Eastern North Carolina Peat fire started on June 1 by lighting strike during North Carolina's drought - the worst on record. 450 firefighters battled it. 71 high capacity pumps move billions of gallons of water. It burned for three months[6].
2008 1,557,293 acres (630,214 ha) Summer 2008 California wildfires California In Northern California, the fires were mostly started by lightning. In Santa Barbara (Southern California), the Gap fire endagered homes and lives. The Basin Complex and Gap fire were the highest priority fires in the state at this time. Caused unhealthy air quality in large parts of California for several weeks. Near Yosemite the Telegraph Fire was started by target shooters. During all fires many homes were lost.
2009 157,220 acres (63,620 ha) Station Fire California As of 9:51am PDT September 6, 2009; The Station Wildfire has burned 157,220 acres (636.2 km2), and is currently the 10th largest in state history. As of current, there are 4,735 personnel assisting in the firefighting efforts, the cause is still under investigation and is currently 51% contained [7][8].
2009 24,406 acres (9,877 ha) West Kelowna Wildfires British Columbia On July 18, 2009, 3 wildfires started within hours of each other in and around the city of West Kelowna, which burned out of control until August 20th. (Terrace Mountain Fire, 9277 hectares) (Glenrosa Fire 400 hectares) (Rose Valley Fire, 200 hectares) 25000 people were evacuated and 4 homes were burned during the first day of the Glenrosa Fire.
2010 1,040 acres (420 ha) Coffee Pot Fire Utah Sparked by lightning on July 17 2010 fire was allowed to burn freely with no suppression for forest restoration.[9]
2010 4,300 acres (1,700 ha) Herriman "Machine Gun" Wildfire Utah National Guard artillery training sparked a small fire that was initially thought to be contained. Later in the day hot and dry winds stirred up a remaining hot spot causing fire to break out. 250 homes were evacuated but no deaths resulted from the fire. Because the fire was sparked in the face of a Red flag warning, the Guard assumed responsibility for the fire.[10]
2011 0,450,000 538,049 acres (217,741 ha) Wallow Fire Arizona & New Mexico The worst fire in Arizona state history
2011 0,450,000 34,000 acres (14,000 ha) Bastrop County Complex fire Texas The worst fire in Texas state history,destroyed over 1500 homes
2011 0,450,000 1,748,636 acres (707,648 ha) Richardson Backcountry Fire Alberta Started early in the spring of 2011, as of October 2011 the fire was over 700,000 Ha in size and still burning.

South America

See also

List of historic fires

References

  1. ^ [1](French)
  2. ^ Historica Minutes: Saguenay Fire
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ McGrath, Gareth (June 16, 2008). "Big blaze in Holly Shelter inevitable, officials say". Wilmington Star News. http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080616/ARTICLE/125217698. Retrieved 08/02/2011. 
  5. ^ McGrath, Gareth (June 16, 2008). "Big blaze in Holly Shelter inevitable, officials say". Wilmington Star News. http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080616/ARTICLE/125217698. Retrieved 08/02/2011. 
  6. ^ [NC Forestry Division Newsdesk 2008 http://www.dfr.state.nc.us/news_pubs/newsdesk_2008.htm]
  7. ^ http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1856
  8. ^ ["Station fire, among state's top 10, moves toward Littlerock, Juniper Hills" http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/station-fire-now-10th-largest-in-state-moves-toward-littlerock-juniper-hills.html], LA Times Now blog, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 6, 2009
  9. ^ http://www.utahfireinfo.gov/fire_information/mantiLaSal/coffeePot924.pdf
  10. ^ http://www.fox59.com/kstu-fire-burns-in-herriman,0,1752272.story