Vail Fire

Wildfire in San Diego and Riverside counties, July 1989

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/4408/vail-fire-1989

Key facts

Started July 29, 1989
Contained Not recorded
Burned 15,808 acres
Largest fire of 1989
Cause Not recorded
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. San Diego County 9,692 acres
  2. Riverside County 6,116 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. 1926 Unnamed fire 80 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 15 acres shared
  2. 1950 Agua Tibia Fire 1,942 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 37 acres shared
  3. 1979 Unnamed fire 235 acres in total 42 acres shared
  4. 1987 Palomar Fire 15,582 acres in total · Cause: Debris burning 784 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 1996 Drip Fire 1,084 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 42 acres shared
  2. 2000 Pechanga Fire 11,734 acres in total 526 acres shared
  3. 2007 Poomacha Fire 49,411 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,459 acres shared
  4. 2008 Vail Fire 135 acres in total · Cause: Vehicle 104 acres shared
  5. 2011 Sage Fire 65 acres in total · Cause: Vehicle 57 acres shared
  6. 2013 Vail Fire 11 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 5 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Vail 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