2015 California wildfires

The 2015 California wildfire season was a series of wildfires that burned across the state of California. By the end of 2015 a total of 8,745 fires were recorded, burning 893,362 acre across the state. Approximately 3,159 structures were damaged or destroyed by wildfires, and at least 7 fatalities were recorded.

On September 11, after the Butte Fire exploded from a size of 32,000 acres to 65,000 acres, in the Amador and Calaveras counties, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency.

Nationwide fire season
The National Interagency Fire Center reported in mid-August that the 2015 fire season had been the most destructive since 2011. Nationwide, a total of 6,058,694 acre had burned, which is roughly triple the total land area burned from the same time span in 2014. By the end of August, in terms of the land area burned, the 2015 nationwide wildfire season had surpassed any other wildfire season in the last 10 years, with 7,825,559 acres burned.

Fatalities
The season also proved to be a deadly one for firefighters battling the many blazes throughout the state. A United States Forest Service member from South Dakota died on July 31 from carbon monoxide poisoning, while battling the Frog Fire in the Modoc National Forest. A second firefighter was killed on August 8 by a falling tree, while battling the Sierra Fire south of Echo Summit. A 72-year-old disabled woman was killed in her home by the fast-moving Valley Fire.

Fires
Below is a list of all fires that exceeded 1000 acre during the 2015 California wildfire season, as well as the fires that caused significant damage. The information is taken from CAL FIRE's list of large fires, and other sources where indicated.