Bethel Fire

Wildfire in San Luis Obispo County, August 1951

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/1007/bethel-fire-1951

Key facts

Started August 15, 1951
Contained Not recorded
Burned 18,254 acres
3rd largest fire of 1951
Cause Miscellaneous
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Where it burned

County

  1. San Luis Obispo County 18,251 acres

Acres are the land the fire burned in each county and community, and places where it burned less than an acre are not listed. Communities are cities, towns and the unincorporated places the Census Bureau names, so land outside any of them is counted only in its county.

The same land, other fires

Burned before

  1. 1913 Unnamed fire 1,118 acres shared
  2. 1916 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,006 acres shared
  3. 1917 Unnamed fire 4,649 acres in total 904 acres shared
  4. 1920 Unnamed fire 176 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 22 acres shared
  5. 1921 Unnamed fire 63,910 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 5,140 acres shared
  6. 1921 Unnamed fire 11,090 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,805 acres shared
  7. 1924 Unnamed fire 230 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 158 acres shared
  8. 1927 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 284 acres shared
  9. 1930 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 222 acres shared
  10. 1946 Unnamed fire 3,501 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 14 acres shared
  11. 1947 Unnamed fire 163 acres shared
  12. 1950 Pilitas #1 Fire 22,845 acres in total 653 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1961 Friis Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 2,280 acres shared
  2. 1968 Robinson Fire 545 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 6 acres shared
  3. 1979 Unnamed fire 2,091 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,659 acres shared
  4. 1996 Highway 58 Fire 106,970 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 18,013 acres shared
  5. 2010 Pozo Fire 1,150 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 871 acres shared
  6. 2011 Red Fire 39 acres in total 37 acres shared
  7. 2022 Navajo Fire 32 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2 acres shared
  8. 2025 River 2 Fire Cause: Arson 3 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Bethel Fire, and fires that shared less than an acre are not counted. Some older or smaller fires may be missing, and a fire perimeter can include unburned patches. How to read fire history

Sources

Fire history
CAL FIRE Fire and Resource Assessment Program
Published 28 July 2026
Building damage
CAL FIRE Damage Inspection
Updated 19 October 2026

This site is independent and not affiliated with CAL FIRE or the CPUC, so for an official determination, check with the agency or your city or county. How we read the data