Lilac Fire

Wildfire in San Diego County, December 2017

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/7775/lilac-fire-2017

Key facts

Started December 7, 2017
Contained December 24, 2017, after 17 days
Burned 4,081 acres
45th largest fire of 2017
Cause Not recorded
Buildings 159 destroyed, 62 damaged
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Where it burned

County

  1. San Diego County 4,077 acres

Communities

  1. Bonsall 1,312 acres
  2. Oceanside 39 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 159
  2. Major damage 25 to 50% damaged 5
  3. Minor damage 10 to 25% damaged 23
  4. Affected Up to 10% damaged 34

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. 1919 Unnamed fire 1,871 acres in total 4 acres shared
  2. 1938 Unnamed fire 1,706 acres in total 502 acres shared
  3. 1941 Unnamed fire 115 acres in total 89 acres shared
  4. 1953 Pueblitos Canyon Fire 1,158 acres in total 703 acres shared
  5. 1956 Rose Fire 4,841 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 16 acres shared
  6. 1975 Unnamed fire 67 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 66 acres shared
  7. 1991 Gird Fire 78 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 5 acres shared
  8. 2005 Mission Fire 19 acres in total 3 acres shared
  9. 2007 Vuelta Fire 215 acres in total 202 acres shared
  10. 2014 Highway Fire 441 acres in total 290 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2025 Lilac 2 Fire 81 acres in total · Cause: Arson 5 acres shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the Lilac 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