French Fire

Wildfire in Kern County, August 2021

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/8268/french-fire-2021

Key facts

Started August 18, 2021
Contained October 19, 2021, after 62 days
Burned 26,535 acres
12th largest fire of 2021
Cause Not recorded
Buildings 49 destroyed, 6 damaged
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Where it burned

County

  1. Kern County 26,535 acres

Communities

  1. Lake Isabella 1,161 acres
  2. Wofford Heights 469 acres
  3. Alta Sierra 387 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 49
  2. Major damage 25 to 50% damaged 2
  3. Minor damage 10 to 25% damaged 1
  4. Affected Up to 10% damaged 3

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. 1915 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 270 acres shared
  2. 1921 Unnamed fire 125 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 106 acres shared
  3. 1924 Unnamed fire 8,603 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 228 acres shared
  4. 1924 Unnamed fire 12,523 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 44 acres shared
  5. 1927 Unnamed fire 629 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 381 acres shared
  6. 1957 Unnamed fire 379 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 103 acres shared
  7. 1961 Unnamed fire 1,336 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,310 acres shared
  8. 1970 Red Mountain Fire 25,492 acres in total · Cause: Smoking 7,253 acres shared
  9. 1973 Unnamed fire 90 acres in total · Cause: Debris burning 86 acres shared
  10. 1979 Unnamed fire 751 acres in total · Cause: Smoking 589 acres shared
  11. 1981 Flat Fire 1,730 acres in total · Cause: Playing with fire 123 acres shared
  12. 1984 Unnamed fire Cause: Equipment use 47 acres shared
  13. 1986 Unnamed fire 729 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 139 acres shared
  14. 1987 Sawmill Fire 174 acres in total · Cause: Playing with fire 150 acres shared
  15. 1990 Stormy Fire 22,883 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 84 acres shared
  16. 1999 Black Gulch Fire 3,512 acres in total 107 acres shared
  17. 2013 Shirley Fire 379 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 189 acres shared
  18. 2014 Shirley Fire 2,546 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 760 acres shared
  19. 2014 Ranch Fire 69 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 62 acres shared
  20. 2016 Cedar Fire 29,101 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 453 acres shared

And 15 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the French 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