Highway 58 Fire

Wildfire in San Luis Obispo County, August 1996

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/5117/highway-58-fire-1996

Key facts

Started August 15, 1996
Contained August 25, 1996, after 10 days
Burned 106,970 acres
Largest fire of 1996 and 46th largest in California's records
Cause Miscellaneous
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Where it burned

County

  1. San Luis Obispo County 106,966 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. 1913 Unnamed fire 1,117 acres shared
  2. 1916 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,009 acres shared
  3. 1917 Unnamed fire 21,242 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 15,138 acres shared
  4. 1917 Unnamed fire 4,649 acres in total 4,558 acres shared
  5. 1921 Unnamed fire 63,910 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 28,130 acres shared
  6. 1921 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 11,089 acres shared
  7. 1924 Unnamed fire 2,268 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,057 acres shared
  8. 1939 Unnamed fire 28,314 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 24,643 acres shared
  9. 1939 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,066 acres shared
  10. 1942 Unnamed fire 1,944 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,655 acres shared
  11. 1946 Unnamed fire 3,501 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 3,097 acres shared
  12. 1949 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,410 acres shared
  13. 1950 Unnamed fire 15,428 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,791 acres shared
  14. 1950 Pilitas #1 Fire 22,845 acres in total 16,038 acres shared
  15. 1951 Bethel Fire 18,254 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 18,013 acres shared
  16. 1961 Friis Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 2,280 acres shared
  17. 1979 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 2,091 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2010 Pozo Fire 1,150 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 901 acres shared
  2. 2020 Pond Fire 1,962 acres in total · Cause: Arson 1,139 acres shared
  3. 2025 Gifford Fire 131,614 acres in total 4,040 acres shared

And 36 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Highway 58 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