The Most Devastating Wildfires In US History

Miramichi Fire (1825), Maine

Image Source: CBC

This is the biggest recorded wildfire in the entirety of US history; we know that it managed to burn through more than 3 million acres of US land and ended up claiming more than 150 innocent lives. Although the fire began in Canada, and caused much of it's damage there, it continued in to Maine.

The Great Fire (1845), Oregon

Image Source: The Quartux Journal

This fire from 1845 destroyed the same amount of land that was burned throughout the whole of the 2008 wildfire season (we'll get on to that later). It managed to destroy more than 1.5 million acres of land and actually grew by 20 square blocks in just a day. It continued through in to downtown Portland just years after it became a city.

The Great Michigan Fire (1871), Michigan

Image Source: The Northern Express

This fire actually started as a number of smaller fires, although they merged to form this great fire. Much of Lake Michigan's shoreline was absolutely ruined and 500 people ended up losing their lives; although the fire only burned around 4000 sqm it was life threatening.

The Peshtigo Fire (1871), Wisconsin

Image Source: The Historical Marker

Unbelievably, this fire and the former actually happened on the exact same day, and the Peshtigo fire is often overlooked as the Michigan fire gained more notoriety. It burned more than 1 million acres of land and unfortunately took the lives of 150 local citizens. A horrific sight to see.

The Thumb Fire (1881), Michigan

Image Source: The Historical Marker

Towards the end of the summer of 1871, dry conditions and a long summer drought led to a large wildfire here in the US, burning more than one million acres of land. The flames were so strong they produced enough soot in order for the sun to be blocked out (in part) for much of the east coast.

The Great Hinckley Fire (1884), Minnesota

Image Source: Hinckley Fire Museum

Around the time of 1884, it was common practice for the trees in the area to be stripped of branches before they were chopped down; this meant dry branches littered the forest floor and this helped fuel the fire. More than 250,000 acres of land were burned in less than 5 hours and the fatality count could have hit more than 600.

The Great Fire Of 1898, South And North Carolina

Image Source: Park City Museum

During early 1898,  a number of wildfires simultaneously burned through both North and South Carolina. More than 2 million acres of land were left destroyed as a result of 40mph winds pushing the fire across the states. Although only 14 people are known to have died, it could be much more.

The Yacolt Burn (1902), Washington And Oregon

Fires from around the 1900's are often seen to be much worse as the ways to fight back against the flames weren't as advanced as they are today. This 1902 fire burned through 500,000 acres in 4 days and was made worse as a result of slash being left from sloggers being built in piles around the ignition.

The Great Fire Of 1910, Idaho And Montana

Image Source: Reddit

This wildfire also gained the nickname 'The Big Burn' as it destroyed a huge area of both Montana and Idaho during the summer of 1910. When I say huge, I mean more than 3 million acres of land were destroyed by one single blaze and 85 people ended up losing their lives in one of the worst US wildfires.

Cloquet Fire (1918), Minnesota

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mage Source: Duluth News Tribune

The reason for this wildfire is something really common when it comes to discussing worldwide wildfires from the early 2000's. As a train was steaming through Minnesota, sparks from its wheels caused a fire (assisted by the dry conditions). 250,000 acres of land was destroyed and more than 500 people were killed!

Tillamook Burn (1933), Oregon

Image Source: Cannon Beach History Center & Museum

The Tillamook Burn was a number of fires that raged through Oregon and destroyed 350,000 acres of land, and was only extinguished as a result of rainfall. This fire was moving at around 3000 acres a day and came at a time when the country was already struggling to cope financially as a result of the great depression.

Laguna Fire (1970), California

Image Source: The San Diego Union Tribune

This has also been known as the Kitchen Creek fire, and it burned for nearly around 2 weeks in 1970. At the time it was Cali's 3rd largest wildfire and caused nearly $250m worth of damage to the state. It originally started as a result of downed power lines and resulted in the deaths of 16 civilians.

Yellowstone Fires (1988), Wyoming

Image Source: Yellowstone Insider

This collection of wildfires are the largest that Yellowstone National Park has ever seen, as a bad drought mixed with high winds and hot temperatures caused a fire to spread rapidly. It burned for several months, and little could be done to contain the fire that was covering nearly 40% of the park. Even the Military had to be brought in to help!

Oakland Hills Fire (1991), California

Image Source: The Oaklandside

This wildfire is probably one of the more famous to feature on this list, originating in the Californian Hills. Although it was originally a wind bush fire, it became a firestorm that ended up ripping through residential areas of Cali; it destroyed 3000 residential buildings and killed 25 people.

Florida Firestorm (1998), Florida

Image Source: TC Palm

During 1998, lightning (as the main cause) ended up starting more than a thousand wildfires throughout Florida. A 3 month drought meant that fires were more likely, and eventually around 500,000 acres of land ended up being burned. Luckily, no one lost their lives as a result of these fires.

Alaskan Fire Season (2004), Alaska

Image Source: Reddit

So this isn't just one wildfire but the entirety of the fire season during the summer of 2004. More than 700 (SEVEN!) some of which started by lightning and more than 400 were human-made fires, ended up burning through more than 6 million acres of the Alaskan land. Unusual temperatures didn't help.

Bugaboo Scrub Fire (2007), Georgia

Image Source: Nara & DVIDS Public Domain

The Bugaboo flame originated in a swamp found in Georgia, later merging with the Sweat Farm Road firein order to create the largest wildfire in Georgia history. Overall, it ended up destorying more than 100,000 acres of land and it took the rainfall from tropical storm Barry to contain it.

Klamath Theatre Fire (2008), California

Image Source: Jefferson Public Radio

The Klamath Theatre fire was one of more than 6000 fires that overwhelmed the state of California in 2008. In fact, it was the largest of the year and it managed to burn more than 200,000 acres of land within the most northern point of California. Fatalities were low, but two firefighters lost their lives.

Basin Complex Fire (2008), California

Image Source: openDemocracy

Another of the 6000 fires to blaze through the state of California in 2008 was the Basin Complex fire. This one came as a result of lightning striking near Big Sur. It ended up ruining much of the Ventana wilderness, blazing through more than 150,000 acres of Californian Land.

Iron Alps Complex Fire (2008), California

Image Source: Los Angeles Times

The Iron Alps Complex fire is the third in this list of the 6000 fires that burned Cali during 2008. It was the most dangerous in terms of the fatalities as 10 people were killed as a result of the fire which burned through around 60,000 acres of land in the space of a few days.

Texas Wildfires (2011), Texas

Image Source: Austin-American-Statesman

During 2011, more than 31,000 wildfires occured throughout the entirety of the state of Texas between April and September. Many of the fires spread as a result of lightning strikes and bad weather, which mixed with high winds. Overall more than 4 million acres of land were ruined and 10 people lost their lives.

The Yarnell Fire (2013), Arizona

Image Source: Reddit

The Yarnell, Arizona fire is one of many US wildfires known to have been ignited as a result of lightning hitting areas of forests. Although in terms of many of the fires on the list it wasn't the largest at 8,000 acres of land, it became infamous with the unfortunate deaths of 19 of the Granite Mountain Hotshots.

The Tubbs Fire (2017), California

Image Source: Reddit

2017 was an awful year for California, more than 200 separate fires that damaged the state that year alone. This one tore through Sonoma and Napa, burning nearly 40,000 acres of land; Santa Rosa City even managed to lose 5% of all its housing stock! Unfortunately, 22 people lost their lives.

Lodgepole Complex Fire (2017), Montana

Image Source: Reddit

The Lodgepole Complex fire was one of many fires that came about a a result of the flash droughts the state of Montana began suffering from during 2017. This was the largest blaze, it ended up burning around 300,000 acres of land and lasted for over a month, destroying homes and other structures.

The Campfire (2018), California

Image Source: NBC News

In early November of 2018 this camp fire was reported to the police and the fire department, little did they know that the fire was going to become one of the deadliest wildfires of all time. Over 100,000 acres of land were destroyed and nearly 100 people lost their lives. It continued spreading for over 2 weeks before it was contained.

Mendocino Complex (2018), California

Image Source: NBC News

The Mendocino Complex fire came about after a group of smaller flames merged together; it all came about as a result of some human error. A single man, hammering metal in to the ground caused a spark that set away a blaze that ultimately resulted in nearly 500,000 acres of land being burned and one person lost their life.

Bay Area Fire (2020), California

Image Source: NBC News

This was one of the largest (group of)wildfires in the history of the US, ripping through California but also other states like Oregon and Washington. More than 1 million acres of land was, at one point, ablaze and 35 people were killed. There were multiple points when a fire the size of Washington DC was constantly burning.

August Complex Fire (2020), California

Image Source: Reddit

This fire came about as 37 separate, smaller wildfires all merged together to form this (mega) wildfire. At the time it was the largest wildfire in California history, but as we know, 2020 was a horrific year for wildfires in Cali. Fortunately, only one person lost their lives in a fire that spanned over one million acres.

The Santiam Fire (2020), Oregon

Image Source: Treehugger

California wasn't the only state to be ravaged by wildfires during the year of 2020, Oregon also suffered horrendous damage as a result of their own. The largest of which was known as the Santiam Fire which ended up changing the entire colour of the skies above Salem to a dark red.

Dixie Fire (2021), California

Image Source: NBC News

In June 2021, following one of the highest heat waves in recent decades, California was smothered in yet another wildfire; the second largest in its history. Northern California had nearly 500,000 acres burned to the ground and more than 15,000 buildings were destroyed. Much of the blame was put on the drought, alongside global warming.