The 2020 Lassen County wildfire season included seven large wildfires that burned entirely or in part in

Lassen County Lassen County ( ) is a county located in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,730, and was estimated to be 28,340 in 2024, Its county seat and the largest city is Susanville. ...

. A total of (or ) of land was burned in Lassen County, making it one of the larger clusters of fires in the

2020 California wildfire season 2020 was a record-setting year for wildfires in California. Over the course of the year, 8,648 fires burned , more than four percent of the state's roughly 100 million acres of land, making 2020 the largest wildfire season recorded in Calif ...

The fires

Hog Fire

The Hog Fire was a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

that broke out on July 18, 2020, from an unknown cause near Susanville, the county seat of

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Within the first few days, the fire quickly spread to over 8,000 acres. Hog grew to a mere 9,564 acres, before it was fully extinguished on August 17, 2020.

Gold Fire

The Gold Fire was a wildfire that burned south of Adin along Highway 139. Igniting on Monday, July 20, on the east side of Highway 139 in rural landscape, the fire expanded to and destroyed thirteen structures while also damaging an additional five.

North Fire

The North Fire burned in

Washoe Washoe or Washo may refer to: * Washoe people, an indigenous people of the Great Basin in North America Places ;United States * Washoe County, Nevada * Washoe Creek, Sonoma County, California * Washoe Lake, lake in Nevada * Washoe Valley, Nevada, ...

and

Lassen Lassen is a Danish language, Danish and Norwegian language, Norwegian patronymic surname meaning "son of Lars" (equivalent of Laurentius), and thus a parallel form of the more common surname Larsen. Notable people with the surname include: * Ander ...

counties. The fire triggered evacuations in

Washoe County Washoe County () is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statis ...

, and shut off roads in California including

US 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395), also known as U.S. Highway 395, is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that traverses the inland areas of the western states of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. It travels for over from a junctio ...

Loyalton Fire

The Loyalton Fire was a wildfire burning in

, Plumas, and Sierra counties, caused by lightning strikes in August 2020. During the fire, the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

issued the first ever

fire whirl A fire whirl, fire devil or fire tornado is a whirlwind induced by a fire and often (at least partially) composed of flame or ash. These start with a whirl of wind, often made visible by smoke, and may occur when intense rising heat and turb ...

warning in US history.

Sheep Fire

Ignited by lightning on August 17, the Sheep Fire burned in

and Plumas counties. Originally part of the

North Complex North Complex is a feature on Earth's Moon, a group of hills in the Hadley–Apennine region. It was an intended destination for the astronauts of the Apollo 15 mission, but due to problems extracting a rock core near the landing site, there w ...

, it burned , mostly in the Plumas and

National Forests, before being fully contained on September 9, 2020.

W-5 Cold Springs fire

The W-5 Cold Springs was a lightning-sparked fire burning in

Modoc Modoc may refer to: Ethnic groups *Modoc people, a Native American/First Nations people ** Modoc language ** Modoc Nation, a federally recognized tribe of Modoc * Modoc War, the last armed resistance of the Modoc people in 1873 *The "Modocs", ri ...

and

counties. The fire grew up to before it was contained on September 14, making it the largest 2020 Lassen County fire.

Laura 2 Fire

The November 17th Laura 2 Fire was the most destructive fire in the 2020 Lassen County fire season, despite its relatively small size. It burned and destroyed 48 structures before its containment on November 24.

Table and Map

References

{{California wildfires 2020 California wildfires Wildfires in Lassen County, California July 2020 in the United States August 2020 in the United States Wildfires in California