List of wildfires
This is a list of notable wildfires.
Asia
China
- 1987 – The Black Dragon Fire burnt a total of of forest along the Amur river, with destroyed on the Chinese side.
Hong Kong
- 1996Pat Sin Leng wildfire, Tai Po, Hong Kong; 5 hikers killed on February 10.
Indonesia
Israel
- 1989 Mount Carmel forest fire
- 1995 Jerusalem forest fire
- The 2010 Mount Carmel forest fire in Israel, Started on 2 December 2010 and burned 41 km2 of forest, killing as many as 44 people, most of them Palestine Prison Service officer cadets, when a bus evacuating them was trapped in flames.
- 22 November 2016 Haifa, Zikhron Ya'akov, Gilon wildfires
Japan
- 27 April 1971 – was lost in a at Kure, western Honshu, Japan. Construction workers were using fire in order to wither weeds when a strong wind moved through the area, fueling the fire; 18 firefighters were killed. The fire lasted for one day.
South Korea
- April 2000, Gangwon-do Gangneung wildfire
- March 2013, Gyeongsangbukdo Pohang wildfire.
- April 2019, Gangwon Province wildfire. The wildfire lasted three days. This massive conflagration burned 1,307 acres of land and destroyed over 2,000 buildings. Around thirty people were injured and the fire resulted in two deaths.
India
- 2019 Bandipur forest fires
- 2016 Uttarakhand forest fires
Arctic
Europe
- July 2000: Fires in Southern Europe consumed forests and buildings in southern France, parts of Iberia, Corsica, and much of Italy including the southern part: caused by the heatwave dominating southern Europe, with 40 to 45 °C temperatures
- 2009 Mediterranean wildfires in France, Greece, Italy, Spain, and Turkey in July 2009
Croatia
- 2007 Croatian coast fires, burning
- Summer 2017: Croatian wildfires, a series of wildfires burning in Istria all the way down to Dalmatia. One wildfire also entered eastern suburbs of Split. The fire also affected islands of Vir, Pag and some other islands.
France
- The 1949 Landes Forest Fire burned 50.000 ha of forest land and killed 82 people.
- The 1983 Forest Fire burned 25.000 ha of forest land and killed 239 people.
Germany
- In the fire on the Lüneburg Heath in Lower Saxony in August 1975, of heathland burned, killing five firefighters.
Greece
- 2000 forest fires in Greece, a series of forest fires affected Greece including Agioi Theodoroi and eastern Corinthia at the beginning of July 2000
- 2005 East Attica Fire in Greece – Forest fires ravaged East Attica on 28 July 2005 from Agia Triada Rafinas to west of Rafina. The fires began at around 11:00 consuming 70 square kilometers of forests, properties and farmlands. The fire spread quickly after a few hours with winds of up to 55 to 70 km/h and spread near the suburban housings of Athens near Rafina causing dense smoke. The fire reached Kallitechnio and the settlements by around 3:30 and devastated homes leaving some people homeless and evacuated people in areas around Agia Triada Rafinas, Agia Kyriaki Rafinas, Kallitechnio, Loutsa, Neos Vourtzas and the Rafina area mostly on the hillside areas. Pine trees were devastated. Firefighters didn't put out the blaze until the winds calmed down around 5:00. It took hundreds of fire trucks, firefighters, planes, 65 firefighting helicopters from all over the surrounding areas and most of Greece to put out the blaze. A stretch of Marathonos Avenue became closed.
- 29 July 2005 – a day after the enormous Attica fire, another series of fires occurred throughout Greece, entirely in Preveza including Monolithi consuming properties and a campground, Ioannina and Xiromeni of Aetolia-Acarnania.
- 2007 Greek forest fires
- 2009 Greek forest fires
- 2012 Chios forest fire
- 2018 Greek wildfires
Poland
- 1992: Kuźnia Raciborska fire in Poland burned 90.62 km² of forest and killed two firefighters on 26 August 1992. A third casualty is often mentioned, but she did not die in the fire; she was involved in a collision with a fire engine that skidded.
- 1992: Puscza nad notecią fire in Poland burned 6 k HA of forest on 10 August 1992. This wildfire damaged 6.k HA of forest in 10 hours.
- 2020:Biebrza national park burned 6 thousand of forest for now, the fire ended about 7-14 days later.
Portugal
- August 2003 Wildfires, destroying 10% of Portuguese forests and killing 18 people
- 2016 Portugal wildfires
- June 2017 Portugal wildfires and October 2017 Portugal wildfires, catastrophic series of fires that trapped and killed more than 100 people
- 2018 - wildfires near the city of Portimao
Russia
- 1921 Mari wildfires
- August 1935 – Kursha-2 settlement was burned out with 1200 victims.
- 2003 Russian wildfires - more than , primarily Boreal forest, were burned in southern Siberia from 14 March-8 August. Direct carbon emissions were around 400-640 TgC.
- June – August 2010 – Drought and the hottest summer since records began in 1890 caused many devastating forest fires in European Russia.
- April 2015 – A series of wildfires in Southern Siberia killed 26 people and left thousands homeless.
- July- August 2019 Wildfires in Siberia: 27,000 km2 were burning as of August 2, 2019 according to .
Spain
- 17 July 2005 – Guadalajara province, Spain, a 130 km2 forest fire and 11 dead firefighters. The fire brigade unit is not out of post because of this deadly toll. A barbecue sparked deadly blazes.
- September 2016 - the 2016 Benidorm forest fire burnt more than 800 hectares and destroyed at least twenty homes.
- June 2019 - 10,000 acres burning near Tarragona.
- 2019 Canary Islands wildfires
Sweden
- August 2014 Västmanland wildfire – Västmanland province, Sweden, a 191 km2 forest fire with 1 verified death.
- Summer 2018 Sweden wildfires
United Kingdom
- May 2011 – Swinley Forest fire, Berkshire, England. Fire appliances from 12 counties attended over several days due to the large area of the fire. The fire service incident log for the call is over 500 pages long.
- 2018 United Kingdom wildfires e.g. Saddleworth Moor fire
- 2019 United Kingdom wildfires
North America
Canada and the United States
From 2007 to 2017, wildfires burned an average of 6.2 and 6.6 million acres/year in the U.S. and Canada, respectively.† Indicates a currently burning fire
| Year | Size | Name | Area | Notes |
| 1825 | Miramichi Fire | New Brunswick | Killed between 160 and 300 people. | |
| 1845 | The Great Fire | Oregon | ||
| 1853 | The Yaquina Fire | Oregon | ||
| 1868 | The Coos Fire | Oregon | ||
| 1870 | Saguenay Fire | Quebec | ||
| 1871 | Peshtigo Fire | Wisconsin | Killed between 1,200 and 2,500 people and has the distinction of being 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. | |
| 1871 | Great Michigan Fire | Michigan | It was overshadowed by the Great Chicago Fire that occurred on the same day. | |
| 1876 | Bighorn Fire | Wyoming | ||
| 1881 | Thumb Fire | Michigan | Killed 282 people | |
| 1889 | Santiago Canyon Fire | California | ||
| 1894 | Hinckley Fire | Minnesota | Killed 418+ people and destroyed 12 towns | |
| 1898 | South Carolina | |||
| 1902 | Yacolt Burn | Washington and Oregon | 65+ deaths | |
| 1903 | Adirondack Fire | New York | ||
| 1908 | 64,000 acres | 1908 Fernie Fire | British Columbia | Town of Fernie, BC destroyed. 22 casualties reported. Cause: logging slash. |
| 1910 | Great Fire of 1910 | Idaho and Montana | 87 people killed and several towns destroyed across North Idaho and Western Montana. ~2,000 separate blazes burned an area the size of Connecticut in what is believed to be the largest fire in U.S. history. | |
| 1911 | Great Porcupine Fire | Ontario | Killed between 73 and 200 people | |
| 1916 | Great Matheson Fire | Ontario | Killed 223 people according to official figures, and destroyed several towns, Cochrane burnt again after just five years. | |
| 1918 | Cloquet Fire | Minnesota and Wisconsin | Killed 453 people | |
| 1919 | 5,000,000 acres | Great Fire of 1919 | Alberta and Saskatchewan | Spanning from Lac La Biche, AB to almost Prince Albert, SK. Village of Lac La Biche destroyed. 300+ people homeless. An estimated $200,000 in property damage. Cause: drought, high winds, lightning. Forest Fire area burned is an estimation. |
| 1922 | Great Fire of 1922 | Ontario | Killed 43 people and burnt through 18 townships in the Timiskaming District | |
| 1923 | Giant Berkeley Fire | California | Leveled 50 city blocks, destroying 624 buildings | |
| 1932 | Matilija Fire | California | ||
| 1933 | 1933 Griffith Park Fire | California | Killed 29 firefighters and injured more than 150 | |
| 1937 | Blackwater Creek Fire | Wyoming | Killed 15 firefighters | |
| 1947 | Great Fires of 1947 | Maine | A series of fires that lasted ten days; 16 people killed. Forest fire destroyed part of Bar Harbor and damaged Acadia National Park. | |
| 1948 | Mississagi/Chapleau fire | Ontario | ||
| 1949 | Mann Gulch fire | Montana | 12 firefighters who parachuted near the fire and 1 forest ranger died after being overtaken by a 200-foot wall of fire at the top of a gulch near Helena, Montana. | |
| 1950 | Chinchaga Fire | British Columbia and Alberta | Largest single North American fire on record. The B.C. portion was just 90,000 ha. | |
| 1953 | Rattlesnake Fire | California | Killed 15 firefighters. Well known textbook case used to train firefighters. | |
| 1956 | Cleveland National Fire | California | Started November 25. Fire destroyed 40,000 acres in Cleveland National Forest and caused 11 deaths. | |
| 1958 | Kech Fire | British Columbia | Largest wildfire in BC history until the 2017 Plateau Fire of 521,012 hectares. | |
| 1961 | Bel Air Fire | California | 484 homes destroyed and ~112 injuries. | |
| 1963 | Black Saturday Fire | New Jersey | 400 buildings destroyed and 7 people killed. | |
| 1970 | Laguna Fire | California | 382 homes destroyed and 8 people killed. | |
| 1977 | Marble Cone Fire | California | Vandenberg Air Force Base, 4 people killed including the base commander, and two fire chiefs. | |
| 1983 | Swiss Fire | British Columbia | Houston, British Columbia, destroyed 7 residences | |
| 1985 | 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 | |
| 1987 | Siege of 1987 | California and 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. | |
| 1988 | Yellowstone fires of 1988 | Wyoming and Montana | Never controlled by firefighters; only burned out when a snowstorm hit. | |
| 1989 | 8,105,000 acres | The Manitoba Fires | Manitoba | 1147 wildfires in central and northern Manitoba in the spring & summer of 1989. 24,500 people evacuated from 32 communities. Over 100 homes destroyed. Worst fire season in province's history. Cause: severe drought, human and natural ignition sources. |
| 1990 | Painted Cave Fire | California | 1 death and 430 buildings burned in this arson fire near Santa Barbara | |
| 1991 | Oakland Hills firestorm | California | Killed 25 and destroyed 3469 homes and apartments within the cities of Oakland and Berkeley | |
| 1993 | Laguna Beach Fire | California | Destroyed 441 homes, burned 14,337 acres causing $528,000,000 in damage. | |
| 1994 | South Canyon Fire | Colorado | Killed 14 firefighters | |
| 1995 | Mount Vision Fire | California | 45 homes destroyed | |
| 1996 | Miller's Reach Fire | Alaska | Most destructive wildfire in Alaska history. 344 structures destroyed. | |
| 1998 | 1998 Florida Wildfires | Florida | 4899 fires, burned 342 homes, $390 million timber lost. | |
| 1998 | 14,800 acres | Silver Creek Fire | British Columbia | Immediately SW of Salmon Arm, BC. Cause was lightning. Approximately 7,000 people evacuated. Over 40 buildings destroyed. It cost over $10,000,000 to extinguish. |
| 1999 | Big Bar Complex Fire | California | Started August 1999 | |
| 2000 | 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, second worst fire in state's recorded history | |
| 2001 | Thirtymile Fire | Washington | Killed 4 firefighters | |
| 2002 | Ponil Complex Fire | New Mexico | also called the Philmont Fire. | |
| 2002 | McNally Fire | California | Largest fire in Sequoia National Forest history. | |
| 2002 | Rodeo–Chediski Fire | Arizona | Threatened, but did not burn the town of Show Low, Arizona | |
| 2002 | Hayman Fire in Pike National Forest | Colorado | The largest wildfire in Colorado's history. Five firefighter deaths, 600 structures fires | |
| 2002 | Florence/Sour Biscuit Complex Fire | Oregon | 150 million dollars to suppress. | |
| 2003 | Aspen Fire | Arizona | Destroyed large portions of Summerhaven, Arizona | |
| 2003 | Okanagan Mountain Park Fire | British Columbia | Displaced 45,000 inhabitants, destroyed 239 homes and threatened urbanized sections of Kelowna. | |
| 2003 | B&B Complex fires | Oregon | Burned along the crest of the Cascade Mountains between Mount Washington and Mount Jefferson including within the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. | |
| 2003 | Old Fire | California | 993 homes destroyed, 6 deaths. Simultaneous with the Cedar Fire. | |
| 2003 | Cedar Fire | California | Third largest recorded fire in modern California history; burned 2,232 homes and killed 15 in San Diego County. | |
| 2004 | Taylor Complex Fire | Alaska | Largest wildfire by acreage of 1997–2007 time period | |
| 2006 | Esperanza Fire | California | Arson-caused wildfire that killed 5 firefighters and destroyed 34 homes and 20 outbuildings. | |
| 2006 | Day Fire | California | 1 residence burned, no casualties. | |
| 2007 | Sweat Farm Road/Big Turnaround Complex Fire | Georgia | Largest recorded fire in Georgia history. 26 structures were lost. | |
| 2007 | Florida Bugaboo Fire | Florida | Largest fire on record in Florida. | |
| 2007 | Warren Grove Fire | New Jersey | Forest fire in the New Jersey Pine Barrens caused by a flare form an F-16 jet. Destroyed 4 homes, damaged 53 homes, injured 2. | |
| 2007 | Milford Flat Fire | Utah | Largest fire on record in Utah. | |
| 2007 | Murphy Complex Fire | Idaho and Nevada | ||
| 2007 | Zaca Fire | California | Started July 2007. Second largest California fire at the time after the Cedar fire of 2003. | |
| 2007 | October 2007 California wildfires | California | A series of wildfires that killed 9 people and injured 85. Burned at least 1,500 homes from the Santa Barbara County to the U.S.–Mexico border. | |
| 2008 | Evans Road Wildfire | North Carolina | Peat fire started on 1 June by lightning strike during North Carolina's drought – the worst on record. | |
| 2008 | 2008 California wildfires | California | In Northern California, the fires were mostly started by lightning. In Santa Barbara, the Gap fire endangered homes and lives. The Basin Complex and Gap fire were the highest priority fires in the state at this time. | |
| 2009 | Highway 31 Fire | South Carolina | Brush fire in Myrtle Beach, the most destructive fire in terms of loss in state history. Destroyed 76 homes and damaged 97. | |
| 2009 | Brittany Triangle Fire | British Columbia | Also known as the Lava Canyon fire this was the largest fire in BC in 2009. Started 31 July by lightning this fire made news when it threatened a wild horse population. | |
| 2010 | Binta Lake Fire | British Columbia | BC's largest blaze of 2010, resulted in evacuation orders and alerts. Burned 70,000 acres in a 12-hour period. | |
| 2011 | Wallow Fire | Arizona and New Mexico | The largest fire in Arizona state history. In one 24-hour burn period, it consumed 77769 acres of forest land. | |
| 2011 | Bastrop County Complex Fire | Texas | The worst fire in Texas state history, destroyed over 1500 homes | |
| 2011 | Richardson Backcountry Fire | Alberta | The largest Canadian fire since 1950. | |
| 2011 | Las Conchas Fire | New Mexico | Second largest fire in New Mexico state history. 63 homes lost. Threatened Los Alamos National Laboratory. | |
| 2011 | Slave Lake Wildfire | Alberta | Burned through Slave Lake, Alberta, Canada and its surrounding area from 14 May 2011 through 16 May 2011. The fire destroyed roughly one-third of Slave Lake and cost $1.8 billion. | |
| 2012 | Whitewater–Baldy complex Fire | New Mexico | Largest wildfire in New Mexico state history. Began in the Gila Wilderness as two separate fires that converged, both started by lightning. Destroyed 12 homes in Willow Creek, NM. | |
| 2012 | Little Bear Fire | New Mexico | Most destructive wildfire in New Mexico state history. Began in the Lincoln National Forest and was started by lightning. | |
| 2012 | High Park Fire | Colorado | Started by lightning, it is the second largest wildfire in Colorado state history by size. | |
| 2012 | Waldo Canyon Fire | Colorado | Rampart Range and West Colorado Springs with 346 homes destroyed primarily in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood, it is the second most destructive fire in state history. Two fatalities reported. | |
| 2012 | Ash Creek Fire | Montana | ||
| 2012 | Long Draw Fire and Miller Homestead Fire | Oregon | Oregon's largest fire in 150 years. | |
| 2012 | Mustang Complex Wildfire | Idaho | ||
| 2012 | Rush Fire | California and Nevada | ||
| 2013 | Black Forest Fire | Colorado | North of Colorado Springs, Large, fast-spreading fire due to dry conditions, high heat and restless winds. Destroyed 509 homes and left 17 homes partially damaged. As of 13 June 2013 it became the most destructive fire in Colorado state history. | |
| 2013 | Yarnell Hill Fire | Arizona | 19 firefighters killed on 30 June 2013. | |
| 2013 | Quebec Fire | Quebec | Over 300 evacuated. | |
| 2013 | Rim Fire | California | Occurred in Yosemite National Park. Biggest wildfire on record in the Sierra Nevada, and fourth largest wildfire in California history. Started 17 August 2013 and was contained on 24 October 2013. | |
| 2014 | Carlton Complex Fire | Washington | Four wildfires merged to become the largest single wildfire in Washington state history. | |
| 2014 | 2014 Northwest Territories fires | Northwest Territories | Said to have been the largest set of wildfires in 30 years in the Northwest Territories. Total cost of firefighting was between C$55 and C$56 million compared to the normal budget C$7.5 million. There were no reported deaths. | |
| 2015 | Okanogan Complex | Washington | The largest wildfire complex in Washington state history. | |
| 2016 | Anderson Creek Fire | Kansas and Oklahoma | Largest wildfire in Kansas history. | |
| 2016 | Fort McMurray Wildfire | Alberta and Saskatchewan | Largest fire evacuation in Alberta history. Over 2,400 homes and buildings destroyed. Costliest disaster in Canadian history. | |
| 2017 | 2017 British Columbia wildfires | British Columbia | The 2017 BC fire season is notable for three reasons; first, for the largest total area burnt in a fire season in recorded history; second, for the largest number of total evacuees in a fire season ; and third, for the largest single fire ever in British Columbia. | |
| 2017 | 2017 Montana wildfires | Montana | Contained thanks to the rain and snow by mid-September. | |
| 2017 | October 2017 Northern California wildfires | California | The October 2017 Northern California wildfires were a large group of forest fires that killed 44 people and destroyed 8,900 structures. | |
| 2017 | Thomas Fire | California | Largest wildfire in modern California history at the time. Spread fast due to strong winds and unusual dry weather in December. | |
| 2018 | 2018 British Columbia wildfires | British Columbia | Initial estimates put 2018 as the largest total burn-area in any British Columbia wildfire season, surpassing the historic 2017 wildfire season. | |
| 2018 | Mendocino Complex Fire | California | 229 structures destroyed, 2 reported deaths | |
| 2018 | Carr Fire | California | 1,604 structures destroyed, 8 reported deaths | |
| 2018 | Woolsey Fire | California | 1,643 structures destroyed, 3 fatalities, 5 injuries | |
| 2018 | Camp Fire | California | 18,804 structures destroyed, 85 confirmed deaths, 2 missing, 17 injured, deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California to date. |
Greenland
Some wildfires occurred in Greenland in August 2017.There was a large wildfire between Sisimiut and Kangerlussuaq from July to August 2019. It was put out by members of Beredskabsstyrelsen, who were flown in.
Oceania
Australia
- Black Thursday bushfires of 1851
- Black Friday bushfires of 1939
- Black Sunday bushfires of 1955
- 1961 Western Australian bushfires
- Black Tuesday bushfires of 1967
- 1974-75 Australian bushfire season
- Ash Wednesday bushfires of 1980 and 1983
- 1994 Eastern seaboard fires
- Black Christmas bushfires 2001–2002
- Canberra bushfires of 2003
- Black Tuesday bushfire of 2005
- Mount Lubra bushfire of 2006
- Black Saturday bushfires of 2009
- 2015 Sampson Flat bushfires of 2015
- 2015 Pinery bushfire of 2015
- 2019–20 Australian bushfire season Black summer bushfire - climate phenomenon Burned a total of 18,636,079 hectares
New Zealand
- Raetihi Forest fire
- 2017 Port Hills fires
- 2019 Nelson fires
South America
Bolivia
- 2002 forest fire in Bolivia
- 2010 Bolivia forest fires
Brazil
- 2019 Brazil wildfires
Chile
- 2005 Torres del Paine fire
- 2011–2012 Torres del Paine fire
- 2014 Valparaíso wildfire
- 2017 Chile wildfires – The worst in Chile's history
Ecuador
- 1985 Isabela Island forest fire, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador, lost in March.