Ponderosa Fire

Wildfire in Tehama and Shasta counties, August 2012

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/7188/ponderosa-fire-2012

Key facts

Started August 18, 2012
Contained October 12, 2012, after 55 days
Burned 27,670 acres
8th largest fire of 2012
Cause Lightning
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Tehama County 16,596 acres
  2. Shasta County 11,078 acres

Community

  1. Manton 2,424 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. 1919 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 505 acres shared
  2. 1920 Unnamed fire 200 acres shared
  3. 1924 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 255 acres shared
  4. 1926 Unnamed fire 637 acres shared
  5. 1926 Unnamed fire 907 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 593 acres shared
  6. 1926 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 483 acres shared
  7. 1929 Unnamed fire 200 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 189 acres shared
  8. 1929 Unnamed fire 111 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 106 acres shared
  9. 1931 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 673 acres shared
  10. 1931 Unnamed fire 1,476 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 200 acres shared
  11. 1932 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 193 acres shared
  12. 1939 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 205 acres shared
  13. 1939 Paynes Creek Fire 10,529 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 4,065 acres shared
  14. 1943 Unnamed fire 316 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 124 acres shared
  15. 1943 Battle Creek Fire 1,080 acres in total 70 acres shared
  16. 1944 Wright Fire 646 acres in total 559 acres shared
  17. 1955 Highway 36 #1 Fire 890 acres in total 65 acres shared
  18. 1963 Deadhorse Fire 692 acres in total 475 acres shared
  19. 1990 Finley Fire 35,862 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,419 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2024 Park Fire 429,603 acres in total · Cause: Arson 476 acres shared

And 5 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Ponderosa 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