Romero Fire

Wildfire in Santa Barbara County, October 1971

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/2660/romero-fire-1971

Key facts

Started October 6, 1971
Contained October 16, 1971, after 10 days
Burned 15,650 acres
Largest fire of 1971
Cause Arson
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Where it burned

County

  1. Santa Barbara County 15,649 acres

Communities

  1. Toro Canyon 2,870 acres
  2. Montecito 85 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. 1917 Unnamed fire 19,397 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 10,199 acres shared
  2. 1925 Unnamed fire 12,119 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 139 acres shared
  3. 1931 Unnamed fire 253 acres shared
  4. 1932 Matilija Fire 219,999 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,292 acres shared
  5. 1964 Unnamed fire 1,363 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 10 acres shared
  6. 1964 Coyote Fire 65,339 acres in total 957 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1985 Wheeler #2 Fire 122,687 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 5,996 acres shared
  2. 2017 Thomas Fire 281,791 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 13,680 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Romero 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