Oat Fire

Wildfire in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, October 1981

Search for an address

Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/3613/oat-fire-1981

Key facts

Started October 31, 1981
Contained Not recorded
Burned 17,787 acres
3rd largest fire of 1981
Cause Not recorded
Open map

Where it burned

Counties

  1. Los Angeles County 11,754 acres
  2. Ventura County 6,036 acres

Communities

  1. Los Angeles 3,577 acres
  2. Simi Valley 1,304 acres
  3. Santa Susana 351 acres
  4. Bell Canyon 10 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. 1928 Russell Oil Well #60 Fire 1,222 acres in total 1,179 acres shared
  2. 1947 Manor No. 144 Fire 1,307 acres in total 853 acres shared
  3. 1949 Simi Hills Fire 20,579 acres in total 1,329 acres shared
  4. 1950 Browns Cyn/Limekiln Fire 4,234 acres in total 2,843 acres shared
  5. 1951 Susana Knolls Fire 2,348 acres in total 640 acres shared
  6. 1952 Susana Knolls Fire 1,255 acres in total 1,148 acres shared
  7. 1954 Twin Lakes Fire 698 acres in total 684 acres shared
  8. 1957 Santa Susana Pass Fire 4,705 acres shared
  9. 1967 Devonshire-Parker Fire 23,094 acres in total 3,474 acres shared
  10. 1968 Brown Fire 1,799 acres in total 1,678 acres shared
  11. 1970 Clampitt Fire 115,537 acres in total · Cause: Power lines 16,421 acres shared
  12. 1979 Box Canyon Fire 963 acres in total 787 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1985 Hummingbird Fire 2,372 acres shared
  2. 1985 Box Canyon (Pioneer) Fire 1,247 acres in total 1,151 acres shared
  3. 1988 Keuhner Fire 3,819 acres in total 3,651 acres shared
  4. 1993 Chatsworth Fire 1,931 acres in total 1,901 acres shared
  5. 2003 Simi Fire 107,570 acres in total 7,663 acres shared
  6. 2005 Topanga Fire 23,396 acres in total 4,647 acres shared
  7. 2008 Sesnon Fire 14,701 acres in total 9,377 acres shared
  8. 2019 Saddle Ridge Fire 8,799 acres in total 608 acres shared

And 60 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Oat 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