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

The fires

Hog Fire

The Hog Fire was a

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identi ...

that broke out on July 18, 2020, from an unknown cause near

Susanville Susanville (formerly known as Rooptown) is a town in and the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the southern part of the county, at an elevation of . Its population is 16,728 a ...

, the county seat of Lassen County,

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. 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 Adin is an uncommon family name found today in the United States (particularly New York City), England, Israel, New Zealand, Spain (particularly the Basque country), Sweden and Turkey. Origin Biblical references Since the name occurs in the ...

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 and

Lassen Lassen is a Danish and 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: * Anders Lassen (1920–1945), a Danish reci ...

counties. The fire triggered evacuations in Washoe County, and shut off roads in California including

US 395 U.S. Route 395 (US 395) is a U.S. Route in the western United States. The southern terminus of the route is in the Mojave Desert at Interstate 15 near Hesperia. The northern terminus is at the Canada–US border near Laurier, where the road be ...

Loyalton Fire

The Loyalton Fire was a wildfire burning in

, Plumas, and

Sierra Sierra (Spanish for "mountain range" and "saw", from Latin '' serra'') may refer to the following: Places Mountains and mountain ranges * Sierra de Juárez, a mountain range in Baja California, Mexico * Sierra de las Nieves, a mountain range i ...

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

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

issued the first ever

fire whirl A fire whirl or fire devil (sometimes referred to as a 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 int ...

warning in US history.

Sheep Fire

Ignited by lightning on August 17th, 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 and Washoe 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

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