49'Er Fire

Wildfire in Nevada and Yuba counties, September 1988

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/4336/49er-fire-1988

Key facts

Started	September 11, 1988
Contained	Not recorded
Burned	36,343 acres Largest fire of 1988
Cause	Debris burning

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Where it burned

Counties

Nevada County 34,834 acres
Yuba County 1,508 acres

Communities

Rough and Ready 815 acres
Lake Wildwood 537 acres
Smartsville 108 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

1953 Camp Beale #5 Fire 881 acres in total 72 acres shared
1957 Nielson Fire 332 acres shared
1976 Keystone Fire 895 acres shared

Burned again

1994 Bridgeport Fire 301 acres in total 199 acres shared
2007 Mooney Fire 49 acres shared
2008 Del Fire Cause: Power lines 14 acres shared
2013 Mcdaniel Fire Cause: Smoking 9 acres shared
2014 Hutto Fire 49 acres shared
2017 China Fire Cause: Power lines 14 acres shared
2017 Lobo Fire 821 acres in total 760 acres shared
2020 Jones Fire 706 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 192 acres shared
2021 Hutto Fire Cause: Equipment use 11 acres shared
2022 Owl Fire Cause: Vehicle 50 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the 49'Er 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