River Fire

Wildfire in Lake and Mendocino counties, July 2018

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/7848/river-fire-2018

Key facts

Started July 27, 2018
Contained August 10, 2018, after 14 days
Burned 48,920 acres
8th largest fire of 2018
Cause Not recorded
Buildings 35 destroyed, 11 damaged
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Lake County 38,517 acres
  2. Mendocino County 10,401 acres

Community

  1. Lakeport 9 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 35
  2. Minor damage 10 to 25% damaged 6
  3. Affected Up to 10% damaged 5

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. 1948 Unnamed fire 2,503 acres shared
  2. 1948 Unnamed fire 1,396 acres in total 1,380 acres shared
  3. 1950 Unnamed fire 5,164 acres shared
  4. 1950 Unnamed fire 1,330 acres shared
  5. 1950 Public Domain #1 Fire 617 acres shared
  6. 1950 Public Domain #2 Fire 4,616 acres in total 1,113 acres shared
  7. 1951 Scott Creek Fire 1,704 acres in total 347 acres shared
  8. 1958 Nacomis Fire 408 acres in total 2 acres shared
  9. 1959 Roadside #26 Fire 11,150 acres in total 5,289 acres shared
  10. 1959 Roadside #27 Fire 1,026 acres in total 24 acres shared
  11. 1962 Cow Mountain Fire 187 acres shared
  12. 1962 J. Davis Fire 296 acres shared
  13. 1967 Hopland Grade Fire 2,185 acres in total 2,111 acres shared
  14. 1975 Keithly #2 Fire 843 acres shared
  15. 1981 Cow Mtn. Fire 25,664 acres in total · Cause: Arson 21,990 acres shared
  16. 2006 Grade Fire 105 acres shared
  17. 2012 River Fire Cause: Power lines 10 acres shared
  18. 2012 Scotts Fire 4,509 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 1,307 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2020 George Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1 acre shared

Acres are the land each fire shares with the River 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