Wellman Fire

Wildfire in Santa Barbara County, 1966

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/2275/wellman-fire-1966

Key facts

Started Not recorded
Contained Not recorded
Burned 97,118 acres
Largest fire of 1966 and 51st largest in California's records
Cause Miscellaneous
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Where it burned

County

  1. Santa Barbara County 97,117 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. 1915 Unnamed fire 159 acres shared
  2. 1921 Unnamed fire 5,550 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 980 acres shared
  3. 1922 Unnamed fire 114,745 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 19,194 acres shared
  4. 1923 Unnamed fire 9,296 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 6,585 acres shared
  5. 1923 Unnamed fire 41,345 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,543 acres shared
  6. 1923 Unnamed fire 4,581 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,439 acres shared
  7. 1924 Unnamed fire 5,579 acres in total 2,949 acres shared
  8. 1928 Unnamed fire 42,870 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 14,490 acres shared
  9. 1929 Salisbury Potrero Fire 5,895 acres in total · Cause: Smoking 86 acres shared
  10. 1935 Unnamed fire 3,572 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 558 acres shared
  11. 1938 Unnamed fire 539 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 116 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1984 Hurricane Fire 657 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 533 acres shared
  2. 1993 Marre Fire 43,822 acres in total · Cause: Smoking 3,787 acres shared
  3. 1999 Spanish Fire 22,296 acres in total 1,387 acres shared
  4. 2004 Cachuma Fire 1,115 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,019 acres shared
  5. 2006 Perkins Fire 14,923 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 546 acres shared
  6. 2006 Bald Fire 4,322 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 3,143 acres shared
  7. 2007 Zaca Fire 240,359 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 19,145 acres shared
  8. 2009 La Brea Fire 97,815 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 23,312 acres shared
  9. 2011 Hurricane Fire Cause: Lightning 125 acres shared

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