French Fire

Wildfire in Shasta County, August 2004

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/6081/french-fire-2004

Key facts

Started August 14, 2004
Contained August 16, 2004, after 2 days
Burned 12,675 acres
5th largest fire of 2004
Cause Not recorded
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Shasta County 12,657 acres
  2. Trinity County 12 acres

Community

  1. French Gulch 4,718 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. 1955 French Gulch Fire 3,549 acres shared
  2. 1961 Yankee Gulch Fire 549 acres in total 289 acres shared
  3. 1980 Towerhouse Fire 2,414 acres in total 1,624 acres shared
  4. 1996 Trinity Fire Cause: Arson 76 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2018 Carr Fire 229,651 acres in total · Cause: Vehicle 12,243 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the French 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