Whitewater

Summary

• Fire hazard severity zones

  Share of the land in each CAL FIRE hazard class

  Map
  1. High 2,250 acres · 2,220 state, 31 local 36%
  2. Moderate 2,127 acres · 2,116 state, 12 local 34%
  3. Non-wildland 44 acres · Local Responsibility Area 1%
  4. Not mapped by CAL FIRE 1,900 acres · Mostly federal land 30%

  6,321 acres of land in all, 4,335 in the State Responsibility Area and 86 in the Local. State zones are the ones the State Fire Marshal designated, in effect since April 1, 2024. Local zones are CAL FIRE's 2025 recommendation, which each city or county adopts by ordinance and can make stricter. How to read fire zones

• Fire history

  The 10 largest of 16 fires that burned here

  Map
  1. 1979 Whitewater Fire 1,895 acres here
  2. 1975 Unnamed fire 1,877 acres in total 1,814 acres here
  3. 1980 Blue Fire 516 acres here
  4. 1981 Unnamed fire 471 acres here
  5. 1995 Excelsior Fire 1,819 acres in total 427 acres here
  6. 2012 View Fire 376 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 350 acres here
  7. 1982 Unnamed fire 296 acres here
  8. 1995 Verbenia Fire 21,444 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 224 acres here
  9. 1980 Whitewater Fire 397 acres in total 211 acres here
  10. 2011 Cabazon Fire 99 acres in total 98 acres here

  And 6 smaller fires. The most recent was the 2012 Whitewater Fire, which burned 15 acres here. In all, 3,819 acres of Whitewater have burned. Acres are the land each fire burned here, and fires that crossed less than an acre are not counted. Some older or smaller fires may be missing, and a fire perimeter can include unburned patches. How to read fire history