CA.gov Translate Settings Incidents About Us Careers Programs Grants Resources Stats & Events Search Skip to Navigation Home Zoom in Zoom out Toggle Layers Esri, USGS | Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, EPA Powered by Esri 2020 Incident Archive A summary of all 2020 incidents, including those managed by CAL FIRE and other partner agencies. 4,257,863 Acres Estimated Acres Burned 9,917 Incidents Number of Incidents 33 Fatalities Confirmed Loss of Life 10,488 Structures Structures Damaged or Destroyed 2020 Incidents Name Start Date Counties Acres Containment Sanderson Fire 12/13/2020 Riverside 1,933 100% Cornell Fire 12/7/2020 Ventura 174 100% Thomas Fire 12/3/2020 Lassen 24 100% Cerritos Fire 12/3/2020 Riverside 200 100% Bond Fire 12/2/2020 Orange 6,686 100% Willow Fire 12/2/2020 San Diego Airport Fire 12/1/2020 Riverside 1,087 100% 257 Fire 11/17/2020 49 100% San Dimas Fire 11/6/2020 Los Angeles 131 100% Cypress Fire 11/1/2020 Riverside and San Bernardino 150 100% 1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526 2020 Fire Season The 2020 California wildfire season was characterized by a record-setting year of wildfires that burned across the state of California as measured during the modern era of wildfire management and record keeping. As of the end of the year, nearly 10,000 fires had burned over 4.2 million acres, more than 4% of the state's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in California's modern history. California's August Complex fire has been described as the first "gigafire" as the area burned exceeded 1 million acres. The fire crossed seven counties and has been described as being larger than the state of Rhode Island. On August 19, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom reported that the state was battling 367 known fires, many sparked by intense thunderstorms on August 16–17. In early September 2020, a combination of a record-breaking heat wave, and Diablo and Santa Ana winds sparked more fires and explosively grew the active fires, with the August Complex more than doubling the Mendocino Complex's size to become California's largest recorded wildfire. Search our Incident Database Search by Incident Name, Year, County or Keyword Search Annual Fire Season Pages ACTIVE 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014 2013 Back to Top Accessibility Web Accessibility Cert (PDF) Conditions of Use Privacy Policy Site Map Copyright ©2021 State of California