Paper Fire

Wildfire in Tuolumne County, August 1987

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/4200/paper-fire-1987

Key facts

Started August 31, 1987
Contained October 12, 1987, after 42 days
Burned 45,020 acres
5th largest fire of 1987
Cause Lightning
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Where it burned

County

  1. Tuolumne County 45,020 acres

Community

  1. Pine Mountain Lake 37 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 7,149 acres in total 7,009 acres shared
  2. 1920 Unnamed fire 13,346 acres in total 6,173 acres shared
  3. 1922 Unnamed fire 517 acres in total 415 acres shared
  4. 1924 Unnamed fire 2,211 acres in total 1,411 acres shared
  5. 1927 Unnamed fire 15,823 acres in total 7,427 acres shared
  6. 1932 Unnamed fire 143 acres in total 141 acres shared
  7. 1934 Unnamed fire 1,174 acres in total 762 acres shared
  8. 1934 Unnamed fire 150 acres shared
  9. 1936 Unnamed fire 570 acres in total 553 acres shared
  10. 1936 Unnamed fire 478 acres shared
  11. 1949 Unnamed fire 26,378 acres in total 6,495 acres shared
  12. 1950 Bear Springs Fire 1,562 acres in total 50 acres shared
  13. 1968 Tuolumne River Fire 984 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 210 acres shared
  14. 1976 Clavey Fire Cause: Campfire 50 acres shared
  15. 1983 Hunter Fire 77 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 69 acres shared
  16. 1984 Paper Fire 49 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 48 acres shared
  17. 1985 River Fire 332 acres in total · Cause: Arson 69 acres shared
  18. 1986 Riverside Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 113 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1996 Rogge Fire 20,944 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 18,324 acres shared
  2. 2013 Rim Fire 256,176 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 32,558 acres shared

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