River Fire

Wildfire in Madera and Mariposa counties, July 2021

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/8249/river-fire-2021

Key facts

Started July 11, 2021
Contained July 19, 2021, after 8 days
Burned 9,655 acres
17th largest fire of 2021
Cause Not recorded
Buildings 12 destroyed, 2 damaged
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Madera County 8,500 acres
  2. Mariposa County 1,158 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 12
  2. Affected Up to 10% damaged 2

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. 1928 Unnamed fire 21,194 acres in total 28 acres shared
  2. 1961 Harlow Fire 43,331 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 40 acres shared
  3. 1962 Bowers Fire 7,738 acres in total 90 acres shared
  4. 2016 Grub Fire 85 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 12 acres 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