Wheeler #2 Fire

Wildfire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, July 1985

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/3920/wheeler-2-fire-1985

Key facts

Started July 1, 1985
Contained July 19, 1985, after 18 days
Burned 122,687 acres
Largest fire of 1985 and 40th largest in California's records
Cause Miscellaneous
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Ventura County 101,069 acres
  2. Santa Barbara County 21,584 acres

Communities

  1. Ojai 208 acres
  2. Meiners Oaks 70 acres
  3. Mira Monte 12 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. 1898 Matilija Fire 2,641 acres in total 2,474 acres shared
  2. 1898 Los Padres Fire 20,540 acres in total 19,332 acres shared
  3. 1898 Cozy Dell Fire 2,975 acres in total 2,912 acres shared
  4. 1909 Horn Canyon Fire 3,175 acres in total 1,386 acres shared
  5. 1910 Coyote Creek Fire 11,227 acres in total 7,171 acres shared
  6. 1917 Unnamed fire 19,397 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,044 acres shared
  7. 1917 Thatcher Fire 29,639 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 25,229 acres shared
  8. 1923 Unnamed fire 4,209 acres shared
  9. 1925 Unnamed fire 8,624 acres in total 2,392 acres shared
  10. 1932 Matilija Fire 219,999 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 93,703 acres shared
  11. 1948 Wheeler Springs Fire 22,499 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 21,639 acres shared
  12. 1964 Coyote Fire 65,339 acres in total 1,869 acres shared
  13. 1971 Romero Fire 15,650 acres in total · Cause: Arson 5,996 acres shared
  14. 1983 Matilija Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 4,706 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1990 Matilija Fire 2,641 acres in total 2,475 acres shared
  2. 1990 Los Padres Fire 20,540 acres in total 19,332 acres shared
  3. 1990 Cozy Dell Fire 2,975 acres in total 2,912 acres shared
  4. 1993 Wheel Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,475 acres shared
  5. 2002 Wolf Fire 21,641 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,188 acres shared
  6. 2017 Thomas Fire 281,791 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 112,111 acres shared

And 31 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Wheeler #2 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