Timeline of California Wildfires
Here in Northern California, we woke up to a dark, smokey, and orange sky. It was morning, but it looked like night. It was afternoon, but it looked like night. It was an eerie view outside my window of something that felt too close.
The wind was blowing smoke and ash from wildfires further up north from where I live. So, I wondered, as one does, about past fires and made the chart below.
California Fires
From 2004 to 2020, for incidents that burned at least 300 acres.
ACRES BURNED
300
1k
10k
100k
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
August
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
Still active
2020
Jan.
Feb.
March
April
May
June
July
August
Sept.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
SOURCE: CAL FIRE / BY: FLOWINGDATA
ACRES BURNED
300
1k
10k
100k
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
‘04
‘05
‘06
‘07
‘08
‘09
‘10
‘11
‘12
‘13
‘14
‘15
‘16
‘17
‘18
‘19
Still active
‘20
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
SOURCE: CAL FIRE / BY: FLOWINGDATA
This feels like a lot to take in.
Notes
I got the data from CAL FIRE. There’s a link at the bottom of the page to download data files. I originally planned to draw timelines for each incident, but for whatever reason, the extinguished date was not reliable. See also the Axios chart by Lazaro Gamio from a few years ago, which I had in mind while I made this one.
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See What You GetMy work on FlowingData is supported by paid memberships. Since 2007, I have been analyzing data and making charts to help people understand and appreciate data in their work and everyday lives. I hope to keep it going for many more years.
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