Milk Ranch Fire

Wildfire in Plumas and Butte counties, September 1951

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/1045/milk-ranch-fire-1951

Key facts

Started September 11, 1951
Contained Not recorded
Burned 21,979 acres
2nd largest fire of 1951
Cause Miscellaneous
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Plumas County 14,514 acres
  2. Butte County 7,462 acres

Communities

  1. Tobin 2,932 acres
  2. Bucks Lake 3 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. 1916 Unnamed fire 375 acres in total 74 acres shared
  2. 1917 Unnamed fire 466 acres in total 415 acres shared
  3. 1920 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 217 acres shared
  4. 1920 Unnamed fire 191 acres shared
  5. 1921 Unnamed fire 712 acres in total 409 acres shared
  6. 1927 Unnamed fire 8,541 acres in total 316 acres shared
  7. 1940 Unnamed fire 328 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1978 Unnamed fire 2,596 acres in total · Cause: Railroad 261 acres shared
  2. 1999 Bucks Fire 34,236 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 17,493 acres shared
  3. 2000 Storrie Fire 56,076 acres in total · Cause: Railroad 240 acres shared
  4. 2008 Btu Lightning Complex 53,699 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,184 acres shared
  5. 2009 Elephant Fire 274 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 271 acres shared
  6. 2018 Camp Fire 153,336 acres in total · Cause: Power lines 7,634 acres shared
  7. 2020 North Complex 318,797 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 4,432 acres shared
  8. 2021 Dixie Fire 963,405 acres in total · Cause: Power lines 9,878 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Milk Ranch 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