Yellow Fire

Wildfire in Siskiyou County, August 1987

Search for an address

Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/4192/yellow-fire-1987

Key facts

Started August 30, 1987
Contained November 20, 1987, after 82 days
Burned 51,060 acres
3rd largest fire of 1987
Cause Lightning
Open map

Where it burned

County

  1. Siskiyou County 51,057 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. 1917 Unnamed fire 4,005 acres in total 3,805 acres shared
  2. 1917 Unnamed fire 1,279 acres in total 501 acres shared
  3. 1917 Unnamed fire 341 acres shared
  4. 1918 Unnamed fire 10,234 acres in total 9,320 acres shared
  5. 1918 Unnamed fire 29,730 acres in total 2,054 acres shared
  6. 1918 Unnamed fire 887 acres shared
  7. 1918 Unnamed fire 1,270 acres in total 712 acres shared
  8. 1920 Unnamed fire 593 acres in total 568 acres shared
  9. 1924 Unnamed fire 676 acres in total 465 acres shared
  10. 1946 Boulder Gulch Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,655 acres shared
  11. 1977 Hog Fire 58,365 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 13,387 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1999 Stein Fire Cause: Lightning 826 acres shared
  2. 2006 Hancock Fire 21,866 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 16,789 acres shared
  3. 2008 Jake Fire 38,417 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 25,082 acres shared
  4. 2013 Salmon Complex 14,786 acres in total · Cause: Arson 7,564 acres shared
  5. 2017 Wallow Fire 63,785 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 3,253 acres shared
  6. 2021 River Complex 199,354 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 5,446 acres shared
  7. 2021 Mccash Fire 94,971 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 5,570 acres shared
  8. 2023 Hancock Fire 1,728 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,639 acres shared
  9. 2025 Log Fire Cause: Lightning 1,167 acres shared

And 16 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Yellow 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