Pocket Gulch Fire (1972): burned area, damage and fire history

Key facts

Started	July 14, 1972
Contained	Not recorded
Burned	10,431 acres 2nd largest fire of 1972
Cause	Not recorded

Open map

Where it burned

Counties

Yolo County 10,406 acres
Napa County 26 acres

Community

Rumsey 546 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

1951 R.haswell Fire 1,196 acres in total 733 acres shared

Burned again

1987 Haswell Fire 344 acres in total 4 acres shared
1999 Rumsey Fire 2,995 acres in total 2,783 acres shared
2002 Sixteen Fire 1,514 acres in total · Cause: Arson 1,112 acres shared
2004 Rumsey Fire 38,763 acres in total · Cause: Arson 1,871 acres shared
2012 Forest Fire 602 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 80 acres shared
2012 Sixteen Complex 17,942 acres in total · Cause: Arson 7 acres shared
2018 County Fire 89,831 acres in total 1,608 acres shared
2019 Sand Fire 2,422 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 910 acres shared
2020 Hennessey Fire 305,352 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 9,987 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Pocket Gulch 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