Ferndale Fire

Wildfire in Ventura County, October 1985

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/3991/ferndale-fire-1985

Key facts

Started October 14, 1985
Contained October 21, 1985, after 7 days
Burned 46,805 acres
4th largest fire of 1985
Cause Arson
Open map

Where it burned

County

  1. Ventura County 46,800 acres

Community

  1. Santa Paula 4 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. 1921 Unnamed fire 1,588 acres in total 1,553 acres shared
  2. 1927 Unnamed fire 3,360 acres in total 976 acres shared
  3. 1928 Unnamed fire 4,781 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,935 acres shared
  4. 1929 Sulphur Mountain Fire 26,514 acres in total 11,631 acres shared
  5. 1932 Matilija Fire 219,999 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 7,286 acres shared
  6. 1936 Boosey Fire 1,032 acres in total 996 acres shared
  7. 1938 La Cuesta Fire 1,703 acres shared
  8. 1939 Edwards Fire 4,773 acres in total 1,780 acres shared
  9. 1954 Sulpher Mt. Fire 1,048 acres in total 930 acres shared
  10. 1957 Unnamed fire 568 acres shared
  11. 1962 Santa Paula Canyon Fire 2,163 acres shared
  12. 1967 Timber Canyon Fire 10,842 acres in total 5,956 acres shared
  13. 1972 Bear Fire 17,326 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 802 acres shared
  14. 1975 Aliso Canyon Fire 1,094 acres shared
  15. 1979 Creek Road Fire 32,706 acres in total 8,634 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1993 Steckel Fire 27,085 acres in total 24,189 acres shared
  2. 1996 Grand Fire 10,950 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,092 acres shared
  3. 1999 Sloan Fire 3,438 acres shared
  4. 2006 Day Fire 161,816 acres in total · Cause: Debris burning 1,545 acres shared
  5. 2017 Thomas Fire 281,791 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 46,357 acres shared

And 20 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Ferndale 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