Palomar Fire

Wildfire in San Diego County, October 1987

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/4232/palomar-fire-1987

Key facts

Started October 3, 1987
Contained October 24, 1987, after 21 days
Burned 15,582 acres
15th largest fire of 1987
Cause Debris burning
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Where it burned

County

  1. San Diego County 15,579 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. 1910 Unnamed fire 850 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 785 acres shared
  2. 1919 Unnamed fire 2,611 acres in total 1,553 acres shared
  3. 1919 Unnamed fire 1,677 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,129 acres shared
  4. 1920 Unnamed fire 918 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 44 acres shared
  5. 1922 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 57 acres shared
  6. 1924 Unnamed fire 3,408 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,691 acres shared
  7. 1926 Unnamed fire 80 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 75 acres shared
  8. 1928 Unnamed fire 29 acres in total 28 acres shared
  9. 1931 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 717 acres shared
  10. 1934 Unnamed fire 2,753 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 42 acres shared
  11. 1947 Unnamed fire 225 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 199 acres shared
  12. 1955 Unnamed fire 950 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 867 acres shared
  13. 1957 Canalape Flats Fire 967 acres shared
  14. 1961 Unnamed fire 69 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 68 acres shared
  15. 1974 Pauma Fire 82 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 81 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1989 Vail Fire 15,808 acres in total 784 acres shared
  2. 2002 Nate Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 23 acres shared
  3. 2005 Pauma Fire 65 acres shared
  4. 2007 Poomacha Fire 49,411 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 13,729 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Palomar 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