Borel Fire

Wildfire in Kern County, July 2024

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Printed October 28, 2026 from www.firezones.info/fire/8546/borel-fire-2024

Key facts

Started July 24, 2024
Contained September 15, 2024, after 53 days
Burned 59,289 acres
2nd largest fire of 2024
Cause Not recorded
Buildings 223 destroyed, 29 damaged
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Where it burned

County

  1. Kern County 59,288 acres

Community

  1. Bodfish 56 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 223
  2. Major damage 25 to 50% damaged 3
  3. Minor damage 10 to 25% damaged 6
  4. Affected Up to 10% damaged 20

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 2,046 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,922 acres shared
  2. 1910 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 981 acres shared
  3. 1916 Unnamed fire 4,707 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,853 acres shared
  4. 1921 Unnamed fire 13,172 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 11,396 acres shared
  5. 1926 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 918 acres shared
  6. 1929 Unnamed fire 1,461 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,393 acres shared
  7. 1942 Unnamed fire Cause: Miscellaneous 812 acres shared
  8. 1964 Unnamed fire 1,184 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,042 acres shared
  9. 1966 Unnamed fire Cause: Lightning 1,558 acres shared
  10. 1966 Breckenridge Fire 5,322 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 4,850 acres shared
  11. 1970 Rankin Ranch Fire 35,976 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,828 acres shared
  12. 1974 Unnamed fire Cause: Debris burning 828 acres shared
  13. 1988 Havilah Fire Cause: Smoking 1,488 acres shared
  14. 1997 Democrat Fire 812 acres in total · Cause: Arson 687 acres shared
  15. 2000 King Fire 5,106 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 4,719 acres shared
  16. 2008 Piute Fire 37,346 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 1,537 acres shared
  17. 2010 Canyon Fire 9,336 acres in total · Cause: Miscellaneous 8,107 acres shared
  18. 2012 Clear Fire 1,452 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 1,215 acres shared
  19. 2017 Garden Fire Cause: Equipment use 1,282 acres shared
  20. 2020 Stagecoach Fire 7,751 acres in total 4,071 acres shared

And 50 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Borel 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