Big Dalton Fire

Wildfire in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, July 1953

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/1211/big-dalton-fire-1953

Key facts

Started July 10, 1953
Contained Not recorded
Burned 67,702 acres
Largest fire of 1953 and 87th largest in California's records
Cause Miscellaneous
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Santa Barbara County 66,937 acres
  2. San Luis Obispo County 780 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. 1912 Unnamed fire 8,719 acres in total 265 acres shared
  2. 1913 Unnamed fire 427 acres shared
  3. 1914 Unnamed fire 18,089 acres in total 10,387 acres shared
  4. 1914 Unnamed fire 569 acres shared
  5. 1914 Unnamed fire 2,547 acres in total 503 acres shared
  6. 1922 Unnamed fire 114,745 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 20,285 acres shared
  7. 1923 Unnamed fire 8,301 acres in total 4,540 acres shared
  8. 1923 Unnamed fire 305 acres shared
  9. 1929 Unnamed fire 10,162 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,940 acres shared
  10. 1931 Buckhorn Fire 455 acres shared
  11. 1934 Buckhorn Cyn Fire 242 acres shared
  12. 1935 Unnamed fire 526 acres shared
  13. 1950 Unnamed fire 3,609 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 431 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1961 Donovan Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 421 acres shared
  2. 1975 Unnamed fire Cause: Arson 1,525 acres shared
  3. 1979 Tepesquet Fire 220 acres shared
  4. 1985 Unnamed fire 224 acres shared
  5. 2009 La Brea Fire 97,815 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 17,317 acres shared
  6. 2017 Alamo Fire 28,834 acres in total · Cause: Vehicle 11,533 acres shared
  7. 2025 Gifford Fire 131,614 acres in total 12,091 acres shared

And 7 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Big Dalton 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