Kanan Fire

Wildfire in Los Angeles County, October 1978

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/3135/kanan-fire-1978

Key facts

Started October 23, 1978
Contained Not recorded
Burned 25,589 acres
Largest fire of 1978
Cause Not recorded
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Los Angeles County 25,530 acres
  2. Ventura County 59 acres

Communities

  1. Malibu 4,113 acres
  2. Westlake Village 1,437 acres
  3. Agoura Hills 797 acres
  4. Thousand Oaks 59 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. 1930 Potrero No. 42 Fire 20,393 acres in total 2,556 acres shared
  2. 1933 Agoura No. 2 Fire 315 acres in total 215 acres shared
  3. 1935 Malibu Fire 28,195 acres in total 9,751 acres shared
  4. 1936 Unnamed fire 59 acres in total 58 acres shared
  5. 1943 Woodland Hills #65 Fire 14,919 acres in total 301 acres shared
  6. 1946 Dume No. 76 Fire 213 acres in total 159 acres shared
  7. 1956 Sherwood/Zuma Fire 35,170 acres in total 13,709 acres shared
  8. 1958 Unnamed fire 18,120 acres in total 2,154 acres shared
  9. 1967 Latigo Fire 2,869 acres in total 308 acres shared
  10. 1977 Carlisle Fire 1,377 acres in total 791 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1982 Dayton Canyon Fire 43,097 acres in total 3,616 acres shared
  2. 1984 Westlake Fire 220 acres in total 179 acres shared
  3. 1985 Sherwood Fire 3,795 acres in total 855 acres shared
  4. 1985 Decker Fire 6,567 acres in total 2,543 acres shared
  5. 1987 Agoura Fire 162 acres shared
  6. 1987 Unnamed fire 152 acres in total 150 acres shared
  7. 1988 The Adobe Fire 241 acres in total 228 acres shared
  8. 1993 Green Meadows Fire 38,479 acres in total 645 acres shared
  9. 2003 Pacific Fire Cause: Non-firefighter training 806 acres shared
  10. 2018 Woolsey Fire 89,551 acres in total · Cause: Power lines 24,244 acres shared

And 21 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Kanan 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