Erskine Fire

Wildfire in Kern County, June 2016

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/7512/erskine-fire-2016

Key facts

Started June 23, 2016
Contained June 30, 2016, after 7 days
Burned 48,008 acres
2nd largest fire of 2016
Cause Not recorded
Buildings 388 destroyed, 21 damaged
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Where it burned

County

  1. Kern County 48,004 acres

Communities

  1. Weldon 3,554 acres
  2. Lake Isabella 3,022 acres
  3. Squirrel Mountain Valley 1,152 acres
  4. Mountain Mesa 23 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.

Buildings damaged

  1. Destroyed Over 50% damaged 388
  2. Major damage 25 to 50% damaged 2
  3. Minor damage 10 to 25% damaged 4
  4. Affected Up to 10% damaged 15

Buildings CAL FIRE inspected after the fire, by how badly each was damaged. Inspectors record homes, businesses and outbuildings within 100 meters of the fire, and cannot always reach every one, so the counts can differ slightly from other reports.

The same land, other fires

Burned before

  1. 1920 Unnamed fire 512 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 83 acres shared
  2. 1941 Unnamed fire 934 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 922 acres shared
  3. 1942 Unnamed fire 25,219 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 17,730 acres shared
  4. 1942 Unnamed fire 26,979 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 12,306 acres shared
  5. 1951 Unnamed fire 368 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 339 acres shared
  6. 1968 Cook Peak Fire 885 acres in total 805 acres shared
  7. 1968 Yankee Mine Fire 498 acres in total 492 acres shared
  8. 1984 Bodfish Fire 26,709 acres in total · Cause: Debris burning 10,693 acres shared
  9. 1990 Sandbag Fire 110 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 105 acres shared
  10. 1990 Steve Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 70 acres shared
  11. 1993 Cook Fire 445 acres in total · Cause: Playing with fire 77 acres shared
  12. 1994 Lakeland Fire 2,437 acres in total · Cause: Debris burning 2,400 acres shared
  13. 1996 Cook Fire 616 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 593 acres shared
  14. 1998 Yankee Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,237 acres shared
  15. 1999 Shadow Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 60 acres shared
  16. 2003 Point Fire 178 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 175 acres shared
  17. 2007 Canyon Fire 85 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 84 acres shared
  18. 2008 Piute Fire 37,346 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 11,553 acres shared
  19. 2012 Heald Fire Cause: Lightning 330 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2019 Mesa Fire 226 acres shared

And 16 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Erskine 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