Significant Fires in Sonoma County

The CHARLES fire burned in 1954 northwest of Cazadero and east of Fort Ross State Historic Park. It grew to over 10,000 acres before going out. Though CAL FIRE lists the cause as unknown, local fire fighters reported that the fire started from an errant spark from a bulldozer wilding on Charles Ranch. The fire desroyed a ranch house and the Crieghton Ridge school house ( reference ).

In 1959, the KELLY fire burned across the Sonoma-Mendocino county border east of Gualala and Little Red Rock Mountain in primarily densely forested lands. It grew to about 5,370 acres before going out.

Also called the WATSON GULCH fire, the ROADSIDE #44 fire burned in 1961 north of Monte Rio and northwest of Guerneville, burning close to 6,000 acres. The fire's cause is listed as unknown, but local firefighters indicate arson was to blame. The fire missed burning into the Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve to the north.

In 1964, one of the largest fires in Sonoma County, the C.HANLY fire burned through Chalk Mountain, Devils Kitchen, Red Hill, and The Palisades, consuming close to 56,000 acres of grassland, ranchland, brush, and forest. Originating northeast of Santa Rosa near Mount Saint Helena. Strong winds pushed it into the city of Santa Rosa with over 100 structures lost.

In addition to this fire, several other fires burned during this period throughout Northern California.

Also in 1964, near the town of Glen Ellen, the NUNS CANYON fire burned nearly 10,000 acres in the foothills of the Valley of the Moon along the slopes of Bald Mountain and Mount Veeder.

The very next year, in 1965, the hills northwest of Santa Rosa continued to burn with the P.G.&E. #10 fire. Consuming over 13,000 acres, this fire burned adjacent to the C. HANLY fire surrounding Knights Valley.

Also called the MAGIC MOUNTAIN fire, also in 1965, a fire broke out along the Russian River. This fire was west of the ROADSIDE #44 (or WATSON GULCH) fire. It burned through 7,200 acres in the forests north of Duncan Mills and east of Jenner. While CAL FIRE reports the cause as unknown, local firefighters attribute the fire start to downed P.G.&E. electric lines in the Magic Mountain subdivision. Heavy fog is attributed in putting out the fire.

This 8,445 acre fire burned in the grasslands along Highway 12 in 1965. It seems to have originated in the Carneros Valley in Napa County and moved south into Arrowhead Mountain and the low marshlands along San Pablo Bay.

The CREIGHTON RIDGE fire of 1978 burned west of Cazadero and grew to over 10,000 acres. Local firefighters reported that a lawn mower sparked the fire in early August along the Creighton Ridge. It reburned much of the same area as the CHARLES fire of 1954.

In 1982, the SILVERADO fire burned 6,200 acres along the Napa/Sonoma County line east of Knights Valley and north of Highway 128. Over 90% of this fire re-burned areas of the 1964 C. HANLY fire.

Another UNNAMED fire, this one broke out in 1988 and consumed over 11,000 acres surrounding Geyser Peak.

The GEYSERS fire burned just under 6,000 acres in 1991, again in the Geysers area just northeast of Black Mountain and the Mayacamas Mountains.

The latest large fire in Sonoma County to occur in the Geysers area occurred in 2004 and was again named GEYSERS. The GEYSERS fire consumed over 12,000 acres and threatened the geothermal operations that provide power for San Francisco and the northern bay area.

The VALLEY fire was a wildfire during the 2015 California wildfire season that started on September 12th in Lake County, California. It began shortly after 1pm near Cobb with multiple reports of a small brush fire near the intersection of High Valley and Bottlerock Roads. It quickly spread and by 6:30pm, it had burned more than 10,000 acres.

By the September 13th, the fire had reached 50,000 acres and had destroyed much of Cobb, Middletown, Whispering Pines, and parts of the south end of Hidden Valley Lake.

The fire ultimately spread to 76,067 acres, killed four people and destroyed nearly 2,000 buildings, before it was fully contained on October 15, 2015, causing at least $921 million (2015 USD) in insured property damage.

At the time, the fire was the third-most destructive fire in California history, based on the total structures burned.

Text courtesy of  Wikipedia .

The NUNS fire was part of the Northern California firestorm that included over twenty-one major fires which began in early October, 2017.

This fire merged the Norrbom, Adobe, Partrick, Pressley, and Oakmont fires and was responsible for destroying 1,355 structures and burned 56,556 acres.

Coupled with the other fires burning in the fall of 2017, these wildfires were the most destructive of the 2017 California wildfire season. The October 2017 fires were the costliest group of wildfires o record, causing around $14.5 billion (2017 USD) in damages, including $11 billion in insured losses and $1.5 billion in fire suppression costs, surpassing the 1991 Oakland firestorm, which until then had been the single costliest fire on record.

Text from  Wikipedia .

The NUNS fire burned almost the entire perimeters of the NUNS CANYON fire of 1964 and part of the an UNNAMED fire from 1965.

The TUBBS Fire started in early October 2017. At the time, the Tubbs Fire was the most destructive wildfire in California history, burning parts of Napa, Sonoma, and Lake counties, inflicting its greatest losses in the city of Santa Rosa. Its destructiveness was surpassed a year later by the Camp Fire of 2018 (Butte County).

The Tubbs Fire was one of more than a dozen large fires that broke out in early October 2017, which were simultaneously burning in eight Northern California counties, in what was called the "Northern California firestorm." By the time of its containment on October 31, the fire was estimated to have burned 36,810 acres; at least 22 people were believed to have been killed in Sonoma County by the fire; and it destroyed more than 5,643 structures, half of which were homes in Santa Rosa. The fire started near Tubbs Lane in the rural northern part of Calistoga, in Napa County.

Text from  Wikipedia .

The TUBBS fire burned in the same footprint as the C. HANLY fire of 1964, with an extension to the southwest into the Santa Rosa neighborhood of Coffee Park.

The POCKET fire was part of the Northern California firestorm that included over twenty-one major fires which began in early October 2017. It burned over 17,000 acres of which parts had been burned in a previous unnamed fire in 1988. Portions of this fire also burned again in the KINCADE fire of 2019.

The KINCADE Fire started northeast of Geyserville at John Kincade Road and Burned Mountain Road in The Geysers on 9:24 p.m. on October 23, 2019 and subsequently burned 77,758 acres until the fire was fully contained on November 6, 2019.

The fire threatened over 90,000 structures and caused widespread evacuations throughout Sonoma County, including the communities of Geyserville, Healdsburg, and Windsor. The majority of Sonoma County and parts of Lake County were under evacuation warnings. The fire was the largest of the 2019 California wildfire season, and also the largest wildfire ever to occur in Sonoma County (at the time).

Text from  Wikipedia .

The KINCADE burned areas previously consumed by a 1965 fire (P.G. & E. #10), a 1991 fire (Geysers Fire), and a fire in 2004 (Geysers).

While the MEYERS fire only reached 2,360 acres, it was managed with the larger WALBRIDGE and HENNESSEY (Napa County) fires.

These fires started in the August 2020 lightning storm that set off thousands of fires throughout California and the western United States. The MEYERS fire burned through coastal redwoods, scrub, and grasslands.

Part of the LNZ Lightning Complex fires starting in August 2020, the WALBRIDGE fire burned over 55,000 acres before weather conditions cooled and allowed firefighters to contain the blaze. It burned through heavily forested areas (mixed conifer and hardwoods) and stretches of chamise and shrubs.

While not in Sonoma, it is included in this list because it was managed with the WALBRIDGE and MEYERS fires that started from an August lightning storm in 2020. The fire burned over 305,000 acres and close to 50% of Napa County.