Cottonwood Fire

Wildfire in Sierra County, August 1994

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/4818/cottonwood-fire-1994

Key facts

Started August 16, 1994
Contained August 31, 1994, after 15 days
Burned 48,057 acres
2nd largest fire of 1994
Cause Arson
Open map

Where it burned

County

  1. Sierra County 48,054 acres

Community

  1. Sierra Brooks 463 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 2,861 acres in total 565 acres shared
  2. 1914 Unnamed fire 749 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 662 acres shared
  3. 1916 Unnamed fire 298 acres shared
  4. 1917 Unnamed fire 444 acres in total 390 acres shared
  5. 1918 Unnamed fire 150 acres shared
  6. 1919 Unnamed fire 687 acres shared
  7. 1919 Unnamed fire 124 acres shared
  8. 1919 Unnamed fire 56 acres shared
  9. 1924 Unnamed fire 511 acres shared
  10. 1941 Unnamed fire 204 acres shared
  11. 1945 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 44 acres shared
  12. 1945 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 18 acres shared
  13. 1949 Unnamed fire 3,546 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,876 acres shared
  14. 1954 Unnamed fire 7,586 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 4,560 acres shared
  15. 1959 Unnamed fire 11,428 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 6,415 acres shared
  16. 1972 Cottonwood Fire Cause: Smoking 10 acres shared
  17. 1984 Green Gulch Fire 788 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2020 Loyalton Fire 46,721 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 2,877 acres shared
  2. 2024 Bear Fire 3,315 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Cottonwood 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