Mattole Fire (1964): burned area, damage and fire history

Key facts

Started	September 23, 1964
Contained	Not recorded
Burned	16,493 acres 5th largest fire of 1964
Cause	Not recorded

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Where it burned

County

Humboldt County 16,467 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

1950 James Bridges Fire 464 acres shared
1950 Edward Helm Fire 5,021 acres shared
1955 C. Gardner Fire 1,759 acres in total 1,693 acres shared
1958 Dan Hunter Fire 1,042 acres in total 218 acres shared
1960 Beatty Escape Fire 5,720 acres in total 392 acres shared

Burned again

1970 Miner Fire 747 acres shared
1975 Cookie Fire 1,831 acres in total 1,771 acres shared
1977 Lightning Series #2 Fire 938 acres in total 545 acres shared
1977 Lightning Series #2 Fire 114 acres shared
1988 Lake Fire Cause: Smoking 579 acres shared
2001 Flat Fire 317 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 310 acres shared
2011 Spanish Fire 524 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 403 acres shared
2012 Spanish Fire 122 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 74 acres shared
2013 Cooskie Fire Cause: Campfire 36 acres shared
2018 Mattole Fire 13 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Mattole 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