Salvation Fire in the Gila National Forest of southwestern New Mexico burned some 26,000 acres from 27 June to 2 July 1974. It was started by lightning along with some 300 other wildfires, but was one of the last to be contained due to the rugged terrain.
The Wallow Fire, named for the Bear Wallow Wilderness area where the fire originated, was a massive wildfire that started in the White Mountains near Alpine, Arizona on May 29, 2011. The fire eventually spread across the stateline into western New Mexico, United States. By the time the fire was contained on July 8, it had consumed 538,049 acres (2,177 km2) of land, 522,642 acres (2,115 km2) in Arizona and 15,407 acres (62 km2) in New Mexico.
The Las Conchas Fire was a large wildfire in the state of New Mexico, in the United States, in 2011. The fire started in Santa Fe National Forest and burned more than 150,000 acres, threatening Los Alamos National Laboratory and the town of Los Alamos. After five days of burning, it became the largest wildfire in New Mexico state history at the time. It was surpassed in 2012 by the much larger Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire and in 2022 by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire and the Black Fire making the Las Conchas Fire the fourth-largest fire in New Mexico's recorded history.
The Whitewater–Baldy complex Fire was a wildfire that started on May 9, 2012, in Catron County, New Mexico, USA. The fire burned more than 297,845 acres in Gila National Forest and was fully contained on July 31, 2012. The area of the fire well surpassed that of the Las Conchas Fire of 2011, making Whitewater–Baldy the largest wildfire in New Mexico state history until it was surpassed in May 2022 by the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire. The Whitewater-Baldy Fire Complex burned mostly within the Gila Wilderness, which includes the fire's namesake mountain, Whitewater Baldy.
The North Fire was a wildfire that occurred in the Mojave Desert near the towns of Victorville and Hesperia, north of San Bernardino and south of Bakersfield, California. The fire began on July 17, 2015. The areas most impacted were adjacent to Interstate 15, where the Cajon Pass passes through the San Bernardino National Forest. The fire spread to 4,250 acres, and burned homes and other buildings, as well as numerous vehicles stranded on the interstate. Seventy-four passenger vehicles and trucks were burned along the highway or in neighboring communities due to the fire. The fire closed Interstate 15, the main highway connecting Southern California with Las Vegas, Nevada, during the first day of the blaze.
The Border Fire was a large wildfire that burned in Potrero, San Diego County, California, as part of the 2016 California wildfire season. The fire was so named due to its proximity to the United States-Mexican border.
The Thomas Fire was a massive wildfire that affected Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and one of multiple wildfires that ignited in southern California in December 2017. It burned approximately 281,893 acres before being fully contained on January 12, 2018, making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time. It was surpassed by the Ranch Fire, part of the Mendocino Complex, in August 2018. The fire is currently the seventh-largest wildfire in modern California history, as of 2021. The fire was officially declared out on June 1, 2018, after more than two months in which no hotspots were detected. The Thomas Fire destroyed at least 1,063 structures, while damaging 280 others; and the fire caused over $2.2 billion in damages, including $230 million in suppression costs, becoming the seventh-most destructive wildfire in state history at the time. As of August 2020, the Thomas Fire is California's tenth-most destructive wildfire. Ventura's agriculture industry suffered at least $171 million in losses due to the Thomas Fire.
A series of 29 wildfires ignited across Southern California in December 2017. Six of the fires became significant wildfires, and led to widespread evacuations and property losses. The wildfires burned over 307,900 acres (1,246 km2), and caused traffic disruptions, school closures, hazardous air conditions, and power outages; over 230,000 people were forced to evacuate. The largest of the wildfires was the Thomas Fire, which grew to 281,893 acres (1,140.78 km2), and became the largest wildfire in modern California history, until it was surpassed by the Ranch Fire in the Mendocino Complex, in the following year.
The Rattlesnake Fire was a wildfire that burned 26,072 acres (10,551 ha) in Navajo and Greenlee Counties, in Arizona. The fire was detected on April 11, 2018, on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation and spread onto the San Carlos Indian Reservation and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests over the following four days. Fanned by high winds, the Rattlesnake Fire spread rapidly until it was contained on May 1. The fire continued to burn within containment until May 27. No structures were damaged or destroyed by the fire, but 15 firefighters were injured. Investigators suspected the cause of the fire was human activity, but it was never determined with certainty.
The Mendocino Complex Fire was a large complex of wildfires that burned in northern California for more than three months in 2018. It consisted of two wildfires, the River Fire and Ranch Fire, which burned in Mendocino, Lake, Colusa, and Glenn Counties in the U.S. State of California, with the Ranch Fire being California's single-largest recorded wildfire at the time until the Dixie Fire in 2021. The Ranch Fire burned eight miles northeast of Ukiah, and the River Fire burned six miles north of Hopland, to the south of the larger Ranch Fire. First reported on July 27, 2018, both fires burned a combined total of 459,123 acres (1,858 km2), before they were collectively 100% contained on September 18, though hotspots persisted until the complex was fully brought under control on January 4, 2019. The Ranch Fire alone burned 410,203 acres (1,660 km2), making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time until the August Complex fire that occurred in 2020. The Ranch Fire also surpassed the size of the 315,577-acre Rush Fire, which burned across California and Nevada, as well as the Santiago Canyon Fire of 1889, which was previously believed to have been California's all-time largest wildfire.
The Tucker Fire was a wildfire that burned near Clear Lake National Wildlife Refuge in Modoc County, California in the United States. The fire ignited on Sunday, July 28, 2019 along Highway 139 and went on to burn an estimated 14,217 acres of land. As of August 15, the fire was 95% contained. Officials say the wildfire was caused by traffic on Highway 139.
The Johnson Fire was a wildfire that started in Gila National Forest near Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument and the town of Silver City, New Mexico on May 20, 2021. The fire burned 88,918 acres (35,984 ha) and was fully contained on July 23, 2021. It was the largest wildfire in the United States of the 2021 wildfire season until June 6, 2021.
The Dixie Fire was an enormous wildfire in Butte, Plumas, Lassen, Shasta, and Tehama Counties, California. It was named after Dixie Road, near where the fire started in Butte County. The fire began in the Feather River Canyon near Cresta Dam on July 13, 2021, and burned 963,309 acres (389,837 ha) before being 100% contained on October 25, 2021. It was the largest single wildfire in recorded California history, and the second-largest wildfire overall. The fire damaged or destroyed several small towns or communities, including Greenville on August 4, Canyondam on August 5, and Warner Valley on August 12.
The 2020 Maricopa County wildfires were a series of major and non-major wildfires that took place in Maricopa County, Arizona, from the month of May to the month of October. In the year 2020, Arizona saw one of its worst fire seasons in the states history. Due to the lack of precipitation needed in Arizona, the state fell into an ongoing drought from late 2020 and 2021. High winds were also present during the summer when fire season is mostly active in the state. These factors led to the wildfires in Maricopa County to be destructive and costly.
The Tiger Fire was a wildfire that burned 16,278 acres (6,587 ha) in the U.S. state of Arizona from June to July 2021. The fire was caused by a dry lightning strike in the Prescott National Forest. Although Horsethief Basin Lake was evacuated and both the community of Crown King and the census-designated place of Black Canyon City were threatened, no injuries or deaths were reported, and no buildings were destroyed. Over 300 fire personnel were assigned to contain the blaze.
The McBride Fire was a destructive wildfire that burned in the Lincoln National Forest near the community of Ruidoso in Lincoln County, New Mexico, in the United States as part of the 2022 New Mexico wildfire season. The fire was named after McBride Road, near where it ignited on April 12, 2022. The McBride Fire burned 6,159 acres (2,492 ha), and was fully contained on May 7, 2022. The official cause of the fire was determined to be a drought-stressed tree falling on power lines, which quickly ignited the dry surroundings.
The 2022 New Mexico wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires burning throughout the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of December 13, 2022, 904,422 acres (366,007 ha) had burned across the state. The burned acreage figure for 2022 is well above the 1995-2015 average of approximately 270,000 acres burned annually. with the fire season in the state expected to continue until the advent of the regular North American Monsoon weather pattern throughout the Southwestern United States in the summer.
The 2022 Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak Fire was the largest and most destructive wildfire in the history of the U.S. state of New Mexico. Burning 341,471 acres between early April and late June in the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the fire was the most significant of the record-breaking 2022 New Mexico wildfire season as well as the largest wildfire of 2022 in the contiguous United States. The fire destroyed at least 903 structures, including several hundred homes, and damaged 85 more, while threatening more than 12,000 other structures in the region.
The 2023 New Mexico wildfire season is an ongoing series of wildfires that have been burning throughout the U.S. state of New Mexico.
