List of fires

This article is a list of notable fires.

Town and city fires

Building or structure fires

Transportation fires

Mining fires

This is a list of fires caused by mining: human-made structures to extract minerals, ores, rocks, petroleum, natural gas, etc. This list includes oil and gas drilling fires. +DateLocationDead/injuredDetailsReferences1884 to presentNew Straitsville, OhioCoal mine fire ignited by striking minersWorld's Greatest Mine Fire31 May 1892Příbram, now in the Czech Republic319 killed, injured unknown.Marie iron mine disaster7 September 1895Osceola Township, Houghton County, Michigan30 killed, injured unknown.Osceola copper mine caught fire7 April 1911Colliery, Throop, Pennsylvania72 killed, injured unknown.Fire at the Prince-Pancoast, leaving 72 dead by suffocation1915 to presentLuzerne County, PennsylvaniaLaurel Run mine fire ignited when a carbide lamp set fire to a timber support1956Belgium262 killed, injured unknown.Marcinelle mining disaster killed 262 people from 12 nations1962AlgeriaDevil's Cigarette Lighter fire in a gas field, lasted almost 6 months before doused with explosives1962 to presentPennsylvaniaCentralia Mine Fire, rendering the town uninhabitable1967 to presentKukruse, EstoniaA continuously burning gangue mound at the Kukruse mine1971 to presentDerweze, Ahal Province, TurkmenistanDarvaza gas crater fire in a natural gas fieldmorning of 2 May 1972Kellogg, Idaho91 killed, injured unknown.Fire broke out in the Sunshine Mine, on the morning of 2 May; 91 workers died from smoke inhalation or carbon monoxide poisoning16 September 1986Kinross, Transvaal, South Africa177 killed, 235 injured.Kinross mining disaster fire in a gold mine owned by the General Mining Union Corporation 6 July 1988North Sea167 killed, injured unknown.Piper Alpha oil platform disaster1991State of KuwaitKuwaiti oil fires following the Gulf War2010Gulf of Mexico11 killed, 17 injured.Explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon Mobile offshore drilling unitNew Zealand29 killed, injured unknown.Pike River Mine disaster in New Zealand; a series of three explosions in the mine was followed by a fourth which set fire to the coal. 29 miners and contractors perished.4 December 2015Caspian Sea12 killed, 18 missing, injured unknown.Gunashli Platform No.10 fire broke out on the offshore oil and gas platform in the Azerbaijani section of the Caspian Sea; 12 confirmed deaths, 18 missing.

Forest and countryside fires

DateLocationDead/injuredDetailsReferences8 October 1871MichiganMore than 200 killed, injured unknown.A series of fires across the state, the most severe of which was the Port Huron Fire. The combined Michigan fires killed over 200 people and burned about 1.2 million acres. Occurred on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire and the Peshtigo fire.Great Michigan Fire8 October 1871Wisconsin1,500–2,500 killed, injured unknown.Deadliest wildfire in world history. Death toll can only be estimated because entire towns with all town records were incinerated. Burned over 1.2 million acres. Occurred on the same day as the Great Chicago Fire and the Great Michigan Fire.Peshtigo Fire1910North Idaho and Western Montana87 killed, injured unknown.The largest Fire in U.S. history. It burned an area the size of Connecticut (), killing 87 people, including 78 firefighters.Great Fire of 19101911Ontario73–200 killed, injured unknown.Great Porcupine Fire29 July 1916223 killed, injured unknown.Six towns destroyed, two more damaged.Matheson Fire12 October 1918Minnesota453 killed, injured unknown.1918 Cloquet Fire192135 killed, injured unknown.1921 Mari wildfires1922Northern OntarioSeveral towns destroyed including 90% of the city of Haileybury, Ontario.Great Fire of 19221933Los Angeles, California29 killed, injured unknown.Griffith Park fire in Los Angeles, California, killed 29 firefighters on 3 October.1933 Griffith Park fire1933Tillamook Burn, Oregon1936Kursha-2, Russia1200 killed.1936Bandon, Oregon11 killed.Bandon's entire commercial district was destroyed, total loss stated at the time was $3 million, with 11 fatalities.1937Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming15 killed.Killed 15 firefighters on 21 August.Blackwater Fire of 19371939Victoria, Australia71 killed.Black Friday bushfires1949Landes Forest, France82 killed. lost.1949 Landes forest fire1949Helena National Forest, Montana, U.S.13 killed.Mann Gulch Fire1953Mendocino National Forest near Willows, California15 killed.Set by an arsonist named Stanford Pattan. Killed 15 firefighters on 9 July.Rattlesnake Fire1963Paraná110 killed.20,000 square kilometres destroyed, killing at least 110, with 5,000 houses burned in September.1966Serra de Sintra, outside of Lisbon, Portugal26 killed. destroyed, killing 26.1967Tasmania, Australia62 killed, more than 900 injured.1967 Tasmanian fires 1971Kure, western Honshū, Japan18 killed.18 firefighters killed on 27 April.1975Northern Germany7 killed.80 square kilometres destroyed, 7 fatalities including 5 firefighters killed on 10 August.Fire on the Lüneburg Heath1983South Australia and Victoria75 killed, more than 2600 injured.Killed 75 people and injured more than 2600 others.Ash Wednesday bushfires1987People's Republic of ChinaBurned for a month.1987 Black Dragon fire1988Yellowstone National Park, U.S.Largest, most expensive wildfire in the history of the National Park Service, at the world's first national park.Yellowstone fires of 19881991Oakland, California, U.S.25 killed, 150 injured.Killed 25 people and injured 150 others.Oakland firestorm of 19911994Isabela Island12 km² lost in April.1994Storm King Mountain near Glenwood Springs, Colorado14 killed.Killed fourteen firefighters on 6 July.South Canyon Fire2002OregonThe largest Wildfire in the recorded history of Oregon.Biscuit Fire2003Australian Capital Territory4 killed, 435 injured.Canberra bushfires2003Southern CaliforniaDestroyed over 550 homes and many acres of land.Cedar Fire2003British Columbia2003 Okanagan Mountain Park fire2005South Australia9 killed, at least 113 injured.9 killed, at least 113 injured and 79 houses destroyed.Eyre Peninsula bushfire2006Pilliga forest Burned out 740 km² on just its first day.2007California, U.S.October 2007 California wildfires2008California, U.S.Second costliest in US history to extinguish.Summer 2008 California wildfires2009Victoria, Australia180 killed, roughly 500 injured.In February, at the end of the early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave, bushfires swept through the Australian state of Victoria killing 180 people, injuring around 500, destroying at least 2029 homes.Black Saturday bushfires2010Russia54 killed.2000 buildings, 8000 km² destroyed, 54 killed.2010 Russian wildfires2010Israel44 killed.2010 Mount Carmel forest fire2011Parts of Northern Ireland and the Republic of IrelandDestroyed many parks and forests.2011Texas, U.S.Claimed almost 4 million acres in over 21,000 fires. Approximately 7,000 homes were lost and approximately 50,000 homes in direct danger were saved by fire departments across the state.Summer fire outbreak across Texas2011Bastrop, Texas2 killed.Two wildfires burn in Bastrop, Texas; 2 people killed, 34,000 acres burned, over 1000 houses and other structures destroyed.2011Swinley Forest, UK12 fire services attended from various counties to extinguish this forest fire.2015Mount Lofty Ranges, South AustraliaDestroyed 12,500 hectares (31,000 acres) of native forest, farmland, vineyards and 27 houses, with no human fatalities.Sampson Flat bushfires2016Portugal2016 Portugal Wildfires2017IrelandBetween 30 and 40 gorse fires raged across Ireland between late April and early May. Cloosh Valley saw the worst of these fires with of forest damaged.2017PortugalAt least 66 killed, at least 204 injured.June 2017 Portugal Wildfires2017Oregon's Deschutes National Forest, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and the Willamette National ForestFires consumed hundreds of thousands of acres of Oregon's Deschutes National Forest, Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, and the Willamette National Forest during August and September, causing evacuations and road closures. Fires included the Chetco Bar Fire and the Eagle Creek Fire, which also spread into Skamania County, Washington, United States.United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) USDA Forest Service website.DOF Dept. of Forestry Blog: "ODF Daily Fire Update - Monday, September 4, 2017."KGW News "With Oregon on fire, where should you go, or avoid, this Labor Day Weekend?" 31 August 2017.2018California, U.S.85 killed.Began November 8, 2018; caused 85 deaths and destroyed 18,804 structures.Camp Fire2018California, U.S.3 killed.Broke out on the same day as the Camp Fire. Resulted in three deaths and the destruction of 1,643 structures, among them, the homes of notable celebrities.Woolsey Fire2019Nelson and Tasman District, New ZealandTwo wildfires, 20 kilometres apart in Nelson and Tasman District, New Zealand, started on 5 February 2019. The Pigeon Valley fire was described as New Zealand's largest since 1955 and New Zealand's largest aerial firefight on record with 22 helicopters involved.2019 Nelson fires2019AustraliaStarting on 29 October 2019, this rapidly became the largest single-ignition fire from lightning strike Australia has ever seen, reaching over with a perimeter of .Gospers Mountain bushfire2020Cagua, Aragua state, Venezuela11 killed.On 23 January 2020, a fire was started in the Agrícola del Lago reed bed in Cagua, Aragua state, Venezuela. Eleven people were confirmed to have died as a result of the fire, all but two being minors.Cagua fire2025Los Angeles area, California, U.S.6 killed.Began January 7, 2025; destroyed 5,000 structures and caused 6 deaths.Eaton Fire2025Los Angeles area, California, U.S.5 killed.Began January 7, 2025; caused 5 deaths and more than 12,000 structures damaged or destroyed, more than 150,000 people evacuated.Palisades Fire

List of fires

Bron en licentie