Loyalton Fire

Wildfire in Sierra, Lassen and Plumas counties, August 2020

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/8115/loyalton-fire-2020

Key facts

Started August 14, 2020
Contained August 27, 2020, after 13 days
Burned 46,721 acres
18th largest fire of 2020
Cause Lightning
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Sierra County 23,559 acres
  2. Lassen County 16,671 acres
  3. Plumas County 6,490 acres

Community

  1. Chilcoot-Vinton 398 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. 1910 Unnamed fire 2,989 acres shared
  2. 1932 Unnamed fire 190 acres shared
  3. 1936 Unnamed fire 1,242 acres in total 1,008 acres shared
  4. 1943 Unnamed fire 5,326 acres shared
  5. 1949 Unnamed fire 3,546 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,236 acres shared
  6. 1954 Unnamed fire 7,586 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 326 acres shared
  7. 1954 Hallelujah Fire 2,750 acres in total 225 acres shared
  8. 1969 Reno Fire 641 acres in total 98 acres shared
  9. 1971 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 71 acres shared
  10. 1984 Unnamed fire 9,461 acres in total · Cause: Smoking 301 acres shared
  11. 1984 Green Gulch Fire 788 acres shared
  12. 1984 Beckwith (Tahoe Nf) Fire 344 acres in total 94 acres shared
  13. 1987 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 1,000 acres shared
  14. 1988 Unnamed fire 576 acres shared
  15. 1990 Unnamed fire 1,562 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,259 acres shared
  16. 1990 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 148 acres shared
  17. 1992 Unnamed fire 85 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 84 acres shared
  18. 1994 Cottonwood Fire 48,057 acres in total · Cause: Arson 2,877 acres shared
  19. 2003 Chilcoot Fire 5,642 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 4,361 acres shared
  20. 2017 Ranch Fire 84 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 83 acres shared

And 7 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Loyalton 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