As the Park Fire sets records, these are the largest wildfires in California history
The Park Fire burning in Northern California continues to grow, but it still would need to more than double in size to eclipse the state's largest-ever wildfire, the 2020 August Complex Fire.
As of Friday, Cal Fire numbers show the Park Fire has burned 399,437 acres. The jump in size from the previous day meant that it moved from the fifth to the fourth largest recorded wildfire in California history, surpassing the 2020 SCU Lightning Complex incident, which saw 396,624 acres burned.
For comparison, 399,000 acres is about equal to 623 square miles — more than six times the size of California's capital, Sacramento.
Weather forecasts show potentially perilous fire conditions are expected in the Park Fire area through the weekend, and Cal Fire reports that containment is at just 24% as of Friday.
These are the three record-setting blazes ahead of the Park Fire on the list of largest wildfires in California's history.
3. The Mendocino Complex Fire
The Mendocino Complex Fire erupted in July 2018 and went on to burn a total of 459,123 acres in Mendocino, Lake, Colusa and Glenn counties. For a time, it was California's largest-ever wildfire.
Notably, the Mendocino Complex Fire consisted of two wildfires, the River and Ranch incidents, which were combined under one emergency response.
The wildfire burned for more than three months, from July to September 2018, and consumed 280 structures. One firefighter died during the incident, officials said.
Investigators determined that the Ranch Fire was caused accidentally, but the River Fire's source has never been determined.
2. The Dixie Fire
There's a big jump in size between the second- and third-largest wildfires in recorded California history. The 2021 Dixie Fire — which burned parts of Butte, Lassen, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties — grew to a total of 963,309 acres before it was stopped.
The Dixie Fire burned about 1,500 square miles — the equivalent of about three times the land area of the city of Los Angeles.
Like the Park Fire, investigators said the Dixie Fire was a single-source wildfire, blaming a tree that fell onto a Pacific Gas & Electric power distribution line for starting the fire.
In 2024, the California Public Utilities Commission approved a $45 million settlement against PG&E for the utility's role in the Dixie Fire.
1. The August Complex Fire
Made up of several lightning-caused wildfires that started from the same weather system, the 2020 August Complex Fire burned a total of 1,032,648 acres across Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Tehama, Trinity and Shasta counties.
It took firefighters until mid-November of 2020 before the August Complex Fire was fully contained.
While the area where the August Complex Fire burned is remote, Cal Fire reported some 935 structures were destroyed in the incident. One firefighter death was also reported.
