Donner Ridge Fire

Wildfire in Sierra and Nevada counties, August 1960

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/1897/donner-ridge-fire-1960

Key facts

Started August 18, 1960
Contained August 28, 1960, after 10 days
Burned 43,374 acres
2nd largest fire of 1960
Cause Debris burning
Open map

Where it burned

Counties

  1. Sierra County 24,166 acres
  2. Nevada County 19,210 acres

Community

  1. Truckee 1,469 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. 1910 Unnamed fire 312 acres shared
  2. 1910 Unnamed fire 897 acres in total 247 acres shared
  3. 1911 Unnamed fire 163 acres shared
  4. 1914 Unnamed fire 109 acres shared
  5. 1916 Unnamed fire 1,151 acres shared
  6. 1924 Unnamed fire 14,671 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 407 acres shared
  7. 1925 Unnamed fire 357 acres shared
  8. 1931 Unnamed fire 1,884 acres shared
  9. 1936 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 152 acres shared
  10. 1939 Unnamed fire 628 acres in total 586 acres shared
  11. 1944 Unnamed fire 439 acres shared
  12. 1944 Unnamed fire 435 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1968 Sagehen Fire 152 acres in total · Cause: Smoking 10 acres shared
  2. 1994 Crystal Fire 7,392 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 1,423 acres shared
  3. 2001 Rock Creek Fire 401 acres in total · Cause: Debris burning 55 acres shared
  4. 2003 Donner Fire Cause: Arson 85 acres shared
  5. 2007 Eighty Fire 78 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 77 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Donner Ridge 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