Fork Fire

Wildfire in Lake County, August 1996

Search for an address

Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/5097/fork-fire-1996

Key facts

Started August 11, 1996
Contained September 7, 1996, after 27 days
Burned 83,057 acres
2nd largest fire of 1996 and 69th largest in California's records
Cause Arson
Open map

Where it burned

Counties

  1. Lake County 82,617 acres
  2. Colusa County 440 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. 1923 Bartlett Mtn Fire 9,915 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,796 acres shared
  2. 1923 Alley Fire 1,595 acres shared
  3. 1928 Spanish Ranch Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,393 acres shared
  4. 1929 Nell Green Fire 2,088 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,051 acres shared
  5. 1932 Long Valley Fire 6,910 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,095 acres shared
  6. 1933 Dan Pitney Fire 8,052 acres in total 7,488 acres shared
  7. 1934 Bartlett Springs Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 3,977 acres shared
  8. 1939 Digger Pine Camp Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 3,982 acres shared
  9. 1944 John Alley Ridge Fire 1,050 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 780 acres shared
  10. 1950 Little Stoney Fire 17,367 acres in total 8,066 acres shared
  11. 1951 Wolf Ridge Fire 879 acres shared
  12. 1951 Ruppert Ridge Fire 418 acres shared
  13. 1964 Crabtree Fire 2,267 acres shared
  14. 1973 Barkerville Fire 26,428 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,225 acres shared
  15. 1984 Nice Fire 478 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 463 acres shared
  16. 1986 Unnamed fire Cause: Debris burning 369 acres shared
  17. 1988 Letts Fire 3,312 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,450 acres shared
  18. 1989 Valley Fire Cause: Campfire 557 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2015 Elk Fire 670 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 656 acres shared
  2. 2018 Ranch Fire 410,202 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 82,708 acres shared

And 16 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Fork 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