California Wildfires

About wildfires in California

California is one of the most wildfire-prone regions in the world, with fire season now extending nearly year-round due to climate change. The state's combination of hot, dry summers, Santa Ana and Diablo winds, drought conditions, and extensive wildland-urban interface creates extreme fire risk.

Recent years have brought unprecedented destruction: the 2018 Camp Fire killed 85 people and destroyed the town of Paradise; the 2020 August Complex Fire became the largest in state history at over 1 million acres; and the 2025 Palisades Fire devastated Pacific Palisades in Los Angeles County. CAL FIRE responds to thousands of wildfires annually.

Our real-time tracker monitors every fire hotspot detected by NASA satellites across all 58 California counties, providing critical situational awareness during fire season.