Cedar Fire

Wildfire in San Diego County, October 2003

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/5994/cedar-fire-2003

Key facts

Started October 25, 2003
Contained November 5, 2003, after 11 days
Burned 270,686 acres
Largest fire of 2003 and 12th largest in California's records
Cause Equipment use
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Where it burned

County

  1. San Diego County 270,686 acres

Communities

  1. San Diego 28,500 acres
  2. San Diego Country Estates 10,668 acres
  3. Descanso 9,252 acres
  4. Alpine 9,058 acres
  5. Poway 6,996 acres
  6. Harbison Canyon 3,649 acres
  7. Crest 3,487 acres
  8. Santee 2,231 acres
  9. Julian 2,051 acres
  10. Ramona 1,239 acres
  11. Lakeside 769 acres
  12. Granite Hills 415 acres
  13. Eucalyptus Hills 352 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 7,307 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,202 acres shared
  2. 1913 Unnamed fire 62,426 acres in total 21,532 acres shared
  3. 1917 Unnamed fire 6,164 acres shared
  4. 1919 Unnamed fire 8,653 acres in total 4,140 acres shared
  5. 1928 Unnamed fire 48,613 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 44,192 acres shared
  6. 1929 Unnamed fire 22,336 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 19,034 acres shared
  7. 1934 Unnamed fire 4,488 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 4,280 acres shared
  8. 1938 Unnamed fire 3,466 acres shared
  9. 1950 Conejos Fire 62,849 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 60,148 acres shared
  10. 1950 Sycamore Canyon Fire 3,146 acres shared
  11. 1956 Outside Origin #42 Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 46,577 acres shared
  12. 1957 Chocolate Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 3,549 acres shared
  13. 1958 Pearson Peak #2 Fire 4,174 acres in total 3,558 acres shared
  14. 1967 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 7,094 acres shared
  15. 1970 Laguna Fire 174,162 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 8,029 acres shared
  16. 1970 Boulder Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 12,828 acres shared
  17. 1981 Assist #59 Fire 7,311 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 6,322 acres shared
  18. 1993 Eagle Fire Cause: Campfire 5,204 acres shared
  19. 1995 El Monte Fire Cause: Smoking 8,559 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2007 Witch Fire 162,070 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 40,645 acres shared

And 278 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Cedar 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