Historic wildfires that changed North America

From the deadliest fire in recorded history to the megafires of the 2020s: what happened, why it mattered, and what changed afterward. Every page is fact-checked against official sources.

2025United States flag

Palisades Fire

Pacific Palisades and Malibu, Los Angeles County, California

23K acres12 deaths
2025United States flag

Eaton Fire

Altadena and Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California

14K acres18 deaths
2024United States flag

Smokehouse Creek Fire

Texas Panhandle (Hutchinson, Hemphill, Roberts counties) and western Oklahoma

1.1M acres2 deaths
2023United States flag

Lahaina Fire (Maui Fires)

Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii

2K acres102 deaths
2021United States flag

Dixie Fire

Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama counties, California

963K acres1 death
2018United States flag

Camp Fire

Butte County, California (Paradise, Concow, Magalia)

153K acres85 deaths
2016Canada flag

Fort McMurray Fire (Horse River Fire)

Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada

1.5M acres0 direct deaths
1988United States flag

Yellowstone Fires of 1988

Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho

794K acres0 direct deaths
1910United States flag

Great Fire of 1910 (The Big Burn)

Northern Idaho and western Montana

3.0M acres87 deaths
1871United States flag

Peshtigo Fire

Peshtigo and surrounding counties, northeastern Wisconsin

1.2M acres1,200–2,500 deaths

How these fires were chosen

These are the wildfires people search for and study most: the deadliest (Peshtigo, Lahaina, the Camp Fire), the largest (the Big Burn, Dixie, Smokehouse Creek), and the ones that changed policy (Yellowstone 1988, Fort McMurray, the 2025 Los Angeles fires). For today’s fires, see the live map. For your area’s history, try History near me.