Old Fire

Wildfire in San Bernardino County, October 2003

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Printed October 31, 2026 from www.firezones.org/fire/5995/old-fire-2003

Key facts

Started October 25, 2003
Contained November 15, 2003, after 21 days
Burned 91,428 acres
3rd largest fire of 2003 and 56th largest in California's records
Cause Arson
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Where it burned

County

  1. San Bernardino County 91,400 acres

Communities

  1. San Bernardino 9,234 acres
  2. Hesperia 4,154 acres
  3. Lake Arrowhead 2,901 acres
  4. Crestline 1,626 acres
  5. Highland 1,194 acres
  6. Running Springs 256 acres

Acres are the land the fire burned in each county and community, and places where it burned less than an acre are not listed. Communities are cities, towns and the unincorporated places the Census Bureau names, so land outside any of them is counted only in its county. A few city neighborhoods, such as Pacific Palisades, are listed too, and their land is also counted in their city.

The same land, other fires

Burned before

  1. 1911 Unnamed fire 17,062 acres in total 7,380 acres shared
  2. 1922 Unnamed fire 19,326 acres in total 18,082 acres shared
  3. 1924 Unnamed fire 15,848 acres in total 13,115 acres shared
  4. 1927 Unnamed fire 9,517 acres in total 7,323 acres shared
  5. 1928 Unnamed fire 13,173 acres in total 4,488 acres shared
  6. 1938 Unnamed fire 12,493 acres in total 11,954 acres shared
  7. 1951 Little Bear Fire 3,852 acres in total 2,229 acres shared
  8. 1953 Arrowhead Springs Fire 3,105 acres shared
  9. 1954 Panorama Fire 5,454 acres in total 5,186 acres shared
  10. 1954 Cable Canyon Fire 3,921 acres in total 3,803 acres shared
  11. 1956 Mckinley Fire 10,698 acres in total 10,307 acres shared
  12. 1956 East Highland Fire 14,444 acres in total 13,637 acres shared
  13. 1964 Cozy Dell Fire 19,218 acres in total 8,996 acres shared
  14. 1970 Bear Fire 51,655 acres in total · Cause: Campfire 13,925 acres shared
  15. 1979 Shadow Fire Cause: Equipment use 2,601 acres shared
  16. 1980 Panorama Fire 23,626 acres in total 22,460 acres shared
  17. 1980 Sycamore Fire 3,479 acres in total 3,355 acres shared
  18. 1997 Hemlock - July Fire Cause: Playing with fire 3,947 acres shared
  19. 2002 Arrowhead Fire Cause: Miscellaneous 2,579 acres shared

Burned again

  1. 2024 Line Fire 43,976 acres in total 13,463 acres shared

And 207 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Old Fire, and fires that shared 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

Sources

Fire history
CAL FIRE Fire and Resource Assessment Program
Published July 28, 2026
Building damage
CAL FIRE Damage Inspection
Updated October 19, 2026

This site is independent and not affiliated with CAL FIRE, so for an official determination, check with the agency or your city or county. How we read the data