Castle Fire

Wildfire in Tulare County, August 2020

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/8146/castle-fire-2020

Key facts

Started August 19, 2020
Contained January 4, 2021, after 138 days
Burned 170,648 acres
6th largest fire of 2020 and 22nd largest in California's records
Cause Lightning
Buildings 232 destroyed, 12 damaged
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Where it burned

County

  1. Tulare County 170,596 acres

Communities

  1. Sequoia Crest 654 acres
  2. Camp Nelson 400 acres
  3. Cedar Slope 184 acres
  4. Pierpoint 90 acres
  5. Ponderosa 88 acres
  6. Three Rivers 27 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 232
  2. Major damage 25 to 50% damaged 1
  3. Minor damage 10 to 25% damaged 2
  4. Affected Up to 10% damaged 9

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. 1910 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 2,059 acres shared
  2. 1910 Unnamed fire 843 acres shared
  3. 1912 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 1,369 acres shared
  4. 1926 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 1,363 acres shared
  5. 1928 S Fork Fire 21,998 acres in total 2,492 acres shared
  6. 1934 Unnamed fire 2,896 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 2,791 acres shared
  7. 1949 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,067 acres shared
  8. 1961 Unnamed fire 1,566 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,131 acres shared
  9. 1975 Flat Fire 18,737 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 14,796 acres shared
  10. 1977 Bonita Fire 7,428 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,456 acres shared
  11. 2002 Mcnally Fire 149,475 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 32,436 acres shared
  12. 2003 West Kern Fire 7,971 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 3,155 acres shared
  13. 2004 Deep Fire 3,144 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,394 acres shared
  14. 2012 George Fire Cause: Arson 1,706 acres shared
  15. 2013 Fish Fire 2,049 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,498 acres shared
  16. 2014 Soda Fire 1,423 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,330 acres shared
  17. 2015 Cabin Seq Fire 6,996 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 921 acres shared
  18. 2017 Schaeffer Fire 15,833 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 3,897 acres shared
  19. 2017 Pier Fire 36,619 acres in total · Cause: Arson 955 acres shared
  20. 2018 Mountaineer Fire Cause: Lightning 1,271 acres shared

And 96 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Castle 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