Lost Fire (1987): burned area, damage and fire history

Key facts

Started	August 31, 1987
Contained	September 8, 1987, after 8 days
Burned	22,781 acres 9th largest fire of 1987
Cause	Lightning

Open map

Where it burned

County

Shasta County 22,753 acres

Community

Hat Creek 14,273 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

1910 Unnamed fire 18,929 acres in total 1,377 acres shared
1917 Unnamed fire 793 acres in total 101 acres shared
1920 Unnamed fire 7,672 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 52 acres shared
1940 Unnamed fire 1,245 acres in total 197 acres shared
1944 Unnamed fire 305 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 190 acres shared

Burned again

1992 Red Rock Fire 661 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 118 acres shared
2006 Murken Fire 42 acres in total · Cause: Arson 41 acres shared
2009 Sugarloaf Fire 9,354 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 33 acres shared
2014 Eiler Fire 31,995 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 290 acres shared
2020 H - 8 Well Fire 61 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 12 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Lost 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