California

List: California's Deadliest Wildfires

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PARADISE, CA – NOVEMBER 10: A statue remains in front of a home that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 10, 2018 in Paradise, California. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the rapidly spreading Camp Fire ripped through the town of Paradise and has quickly charred 100,000 acres and has destroyed over 6,700 homes and businesses in a matter of hours. The fire is currently at 20 percent containment. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

The list below is a tragic reminder of the heart-breaking loss that has resulted from wildfires in California. 

Below, a look at some of the state's deadliest fires.

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San Francisco firefighters dismantle a burned mobile home as they search for human remains at a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 14, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Noah Fisher looks over his home that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 22, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Brandy Powell looks through the remains of her home that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 22, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A view of home destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 22, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Camp Fire evacuee wait in line to receive a free Thanksgiving meal at Sierra Nevada Brewery on November 22, 2018 in Chico, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A search and rescue crew member searches for human remains at a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 21, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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An air mask hangs on an altar during a vigil for Camp Fire victims at the First Christian Church of Chico on November 18, 2018 in Chico, California. (Photo by Noah Berger-Pool/Getty Images)
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Mourners pray during a vigil for Camp Fire victims at the First Christian Church of Chico on November 18, 2018 in Chico, California. (Photo by Noah Berger-Pool/Getty Images)
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Lidia Steineman, who lost her home in the Camp Fire, prays during a vigil for fire victims at the First Christian Church of Chico on November 18, 2018 in Chico, California. (Photo by Noah Berger-Pool/Getty Images)
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Gov.-elect Gavin Newson, FEMA Director Brock Long, President Donald Trump, Paradise mayor Jody Jones and Gov. Jerry Brown tour the Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park during Trump's visit of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California on November 17, 2018. (Photo by Paul Kitagaki Jr.-Pool/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump, FEMA Director Brock Long, Gov. Jerry Brown, Gov.-elect Gavin Newson and Paradise mayor Jody Jones tour the Skyway Villa Mobile Home and RV Park during Trump's visit of the Camp Fire in Paradise, California on November 17, 2018. (Photo by Paul Kitagaki Jr.-Pool/Getty Images)
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Rescue workers search an area where they discovered suspected human remians in a home destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 16, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A rescue worker and her cadaver dog search the Paradise Gardens apartments for victims of the Camp Fire on November 16, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A car with the words 'Paradise Strong' painted on the window drives through a Walmart parking lot where Camp Fire evacuees have been staying on November 16, 2018 in Chico, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Camp Fire evacuee Kelly Boyer plays guitar in front of his tent next to a Walmart parking on November 16, 2018 in Chico, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A rescue worker uses a cadaver dog to search for human remains at a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 14, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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San Francisco firefighters dismantle a burned mobile home as they search for human remains at a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 14, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A rescue worker uses a cadaver dog to search for human remains at a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 14, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Rescue workers search for human remains at a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 14, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Rescue workers search for human remains at a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 14, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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(L-R) California Governor Jerry Brown, FEMA Administrator Brock Long and U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke tour a school burned by the Camp Fire on November 14, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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The Camp Fire burns in the hills on November 11, 2018 near Oroville, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A helicopter drops water on the Camp Fire as it burns in the hills on November 11, 2018 near Cresta, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A burned out car sits next gas pumps at a gas station that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 11, 2018 near Parkhill, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A burned gas pump remains at a gas station that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 11, 2018 near Parkhill, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Yuba and Butte County sherriff deputies search a destroyed home for a reported victim of the Camp Fire on November 10, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A Butte County sherriff deputy searches the property of a destroyed home for a reported Camp Fire victim on November 10, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A view of a mobile home park that was destroyed by the Camp Fire on November 10, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Eric England holds a jewelry tray in the shape of California that he pulled out of his friend's car that was burned by the Camp Fire on November 10, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Power lines rest on cars that were burned by the Camp Fire on November 10, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Power lines rest on cars that were burned by the Camp Fire on November 10, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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The Camp Fire burns in the hills on November 10, 2018 near Big Bend, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A line of burned out abandoned cars sit on the road after the Camp Fire moved through the area on November 9, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Firefighters try to keep flames from burning home from spreading to a neighboring apartment complex as they battle the Camp Fire on November 9, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A business that was destroyed by the Camp Fire continues to smolder on November 9, 2018 in Paradise, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Cal Fire Captain Steve Millosovich carries a cage full of cats that were found in the road after the Camp Fire moved through the area on November 9, 2018 in Big Bend, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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A Cal Fire firefighter monitors a burning home as the Camp Fire moves through the area on November 9, 2018 in Magalia, California. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Flames consume a building as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise, California, Nov. 8, 2018. A California fire official says a fast-moving wildfire in Northern California has destroyed structures and injured civilians.
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Hospital workers from the Feather River Hospital work in a triage area while evacuating patients as the Camp Fire moves through the area on Nov. 8, 2018 in Paradise, California.
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Hospital workers and first responders evacuate patients from the Feather River Hospital as the Camp Fire moves through the area on Nov. 8, 2018, in Paradise, California.
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A hospital worker embraces her co-worker as they evacuate patients from the Feather River Hospital during the Camp Fire on Nov. 8, 2018, in Paradise, California. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the rapidly spreading Camp Fire has ripped through the town of Paradise and has quickly charred 18,000 acres in a matter of hours.
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Embers blow in the wind as the Camp Fire burns down a KFC restaurant on Nov. 8, 2018, in Paradise, California. Fueled by high winds and low humidity, the rapidly spreading wildfire has ripped through the town of Paradise, charring 18,000 acres and destroying dozens of homes in a matter of hours.
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A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, California, Nov. 8, 2018. Tens of thousands of people fled a fast-moving wildfire Thursday in Northern California, some clutching babies and pets as they abandoned vehicles and struck out on foot ahead of the flames that forced the evacuation of an entire town.
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Flames consume The Screen & Window Shop as the Camp Fire tears through Paradise, California, Nov. 8, 2018.
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A home burns as the Camp Fire rages through Paradise, California, Nov. 8, 2018.
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Smoke from the Camp Fire, burning in the Feather River Canyon near Paradise, Calif., darkens the sky above the Butte College sig in Oroville, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.
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Smoke from the Camp Fire, burning in the Feather River Canyon near Paradise, Calif., darkens the sky on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.
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Smoke from the Camp Fire, burning in the Feather River Canyon near Paradise, Calif., darkens the sky on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.
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Smoke from the Camp Fire, burning in the Feather River Canyon near Paradise, Calif., rises above tall trees on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.
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Cal Fire officials responding to the Camp Fire burning in the Feather River Canyon near Paradise, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.
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Cal Fire officials respond to the Camp Fire burning in the Feather River Canyon near Paradise, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.
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Cal Fire officials respond to the Camp Fire burning in the Feather River Canyon near Paradise, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018.

Camp Fire, November 2018

In just a matter of days, the Camp Fire in Butte County became California's most destructive wildfire and its deadliest on record. The death toll stands at 85 with many more people unaccounted for in the fire zone. According to Cal Fire, the flames were caused by power lines.

This aerial photo shows Los Angeles' Griffith Park on Oct. 4, 1933, a day after a fire in the park killed 29 people.

Griffith Park Fire, October 1933

What started as a debris pile fire in Los Angeles' 4,300-acre park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains became one of California's deadliest wildfire. On Oct. 3, 1933, Depression-era workers were taking care of other projects in the park when they were dispatched to fight the fire. Not trained in firefighting, they were unable to contain the flames and the fire spread to nearly 50 acres. Fanned by shifting winds, the fire raced up a canyon and overwhelmed workers. Twenty-nine were killed.

The East Bay Hills fire of Oct. 19-22, 1991 was the largest dollar fire loss in California and United States history.

Oakland Hills (Tunnel) Fire, October 1991

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Also called the Tunnel fire, the firestorm scorched hillsides in northern Oakland and southeastern Berkeley during an October weekend. The fire, rekindled from an earlier grass fire, burned only 1,600 acres — not large when compared to other wildfires on the list. But it was located in a densely populated area with houses and other buildings in its path. Fanned by powerful wind gusts, the flare-up grew into a wall of fire that left some residents trapped in an inferno that resulted in 25 deaths. Nearly 3,000 structures were destroyed.

Tubbs Fire, October 2017

The Tubbs fire part of a complex of wildfires known as the October Fire Siege in California's Wine Country. The fire, fanned by unrelenting winds in Sonoma and Napa counties, resulted in 22 deaths and destroyed 5,643 buildings, according to Cal Fire. The fire started in the Calistoga area on the night of Oct. 8, spreading at a stunning rate and burning through entire neighborhoods, forcing some residents to run from their homes in search of shelter. 

North Complex Fire, August 2020

This fire was, as of May 2021, the fifth most destructive fire and the sixth largest fire on record for California. The flames spread over 318,935 acres, and though the cause is still under investigation, may have been started by lightning in Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties. In the end, the fire destroyed roughly 2,352 buildings and resulted in 15 deaths.

Cedar Fire, October 2003

The catastrophic San Diego County Cedar fire remains the eighth largest fire in California history. It also is one of the deadliest. The 273,000-acre firestorm wiped out 2,820 structures and resulted in 15 deaths. The fire, started by a lost hunter who set a signal fire in Cleveland National Forest near Julian, stormed through wilderness areas and rural communities.

Rattlesnake Fire, July 1953

In the summer of 1953, an arsonist set two fires in Mendocino National Forest in Northern California, setting off a chain of tragic events that would become a textbook case in studies of firefighting. Firefighters quickly got a handle on the first, but spot fires developed during the evening when winds fanned the second fire. Most were extinguished, but one flared up and quickly spread as firefighters sat down for a meal. Some of them ran uphill to a firefighter who warned them about the fire, but 15 who tried to escape down the canyon were overtaken and killed. A boulder at the Grindstone Overlook on Forest Highway 7 has a plaque with the victims' names. 

Loop Fire, November 1966

On Nov. 1, 1966, 12 members of the El Cariso Hotshots -- specially trained firefighters who ranged in age from 18 to 26 -- were killed. Again, a firefight turned deadly because of shifting winds. Some crewmembers were trapped when gusts carried spot fire flames up steep Pacioma Canyon in Angeles National Forest north of Los Angeles. Many of the 19 Hotshots who escaped suffered critical burns. El Cariso Park in Sylmar stands as a memorial to the victims.

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