Windy Fire

Wildfire in Tulare County, September 2021

Search for an address

Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/8279/windy-fire-2021

Key facts

Started September 9, 2021
Contained November 11, 2021, after 63 days
Burned 97,528 acres
8th largest fire of 2021 and 50th largest in California's records
Cause Lightning
Buildings 21 destroyed, 0 damaged
Open map

Where it burned

County

  1. Tulare County 97,510 acres

Communities

  1. Pine Flat 41 acres
  2. Sugarloaf Saw Mill 7 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 21

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. 1917 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 1,153 acres shared
  2. 1918 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 552 acres shared
  3. 1921 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 61 acres shared
  4. 1924 Unnamed fire 12,523 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 20 acres shared
  5. 1926 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 41 acres shared
  6. 1944 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 87 acres shared
  7. 1959 Unnamed fire 9,433 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 2,089 acres shared
  8. 1969 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 32 acres shared
  9. 1974 Unnamed fire 154 acres in total · Cause: Playing with fire 130 acres shared
  10. 1990 Stormy Fire 22,883 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,634 acres shared
  11. 1995 Nobe Fire Cause: Debris burning 109 acres shared
  12. 1996 Chalolo #1 Fire 2,679 acres in total · Cause: Arson 2,601 acres shared
  13. 2002 Mcnally Fire 149,475 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 11,398 acres shared
  14. 2009 Peak Fire Cause: Campfire 50 acres shared
  15. 2011 Giant Fire 25 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 17 acres shared
  16. 2016 Cedar Fire 29,101 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 446 acres shared
  17. 2016 Slate Fire 2,615 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 272 acres shared
  18. 2016 Meadow Fire Cause: Lightning 4,304 acres shared
  19. 2017 Pier Fire 36,619 acres in total · Cause: Arson 42 acres shared
  20. 2020 Castle Fire 170,648 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 128 acres shared

And 14 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Windy 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