Kirk Fire

Wildfire in Monterey County, September 1999

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/5477/kirk-fire-1999

Key facts

Started September 8, 1999
Contained November 12, 1999, after 65 days
Burned 85,835 acres
2nd largest fire of 1999 and 65th largest in California's records
Cause Lightning
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Where it burned

County

  1. Monterey County 85,835 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. 1911 Unnamed fire 3,374 acres in total 2,534 acres shared
  2. 1916 Unnamed fire 1,545 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,326 acres shared
  3. 1917 Unnamed fire 3,095 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,894 acres shared
  4. 1924 Unnamed fire 54,480 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 3,945 acres shared
  5. 1928 Unnamed fire 1,583 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,545 acres shared
  6. 1933 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 7,372 acres shared
  7. 1933 Unnamed fire 7,901 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,688 acres shared
  8. 1935 Unnamed fire 1,316 acres shared
  9. 1941 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 6,343 acres shared
  10. 1950 Unnamed fire 2,508 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 959 acres shared
  11. 1976 Indians Fire 9,909 acres in total · Cause: Smoking 2,325 acres shared
  12. 1977 Marble-Cone Fire 173,333 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 39,736 acres shared
  13. 1979 Nacimiento Fire 6,070 acres in total · Cause: Arson 5,016 acres shared
  14. 1981 Gamboa #1 Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 3,694 acres shared
  15. 1985 Wizard Fire 4,830 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,063 acres shared
  16. 1985 Gorda-Rat Fire 56,158 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 33,792 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2008 Gallery Fire 163,607 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 36,379 acres shared
  2. 2008 Chalk Fire 16,266 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 9,164 acres shared
  3. 2016 Soberanes Fire 132,104 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 22,402 acres shared
  4. 2020 Dolan Fire 124,527 acres in total 49,766 acres shared

And 33 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Kirk 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