Rim Fire

Wildfire in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties, August 2013

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Printed October 31, 2026 from www.firezones.org/fire/7273/rim-fire-2013

Key facts

Started August 17, 2013
Contained October 24, 2013, after 68 days
Burned 256,176 acres
Largest fire of 2013 and 13th largest in California's records
Cause Campfire
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Where it burned

Counties

  1. Tuolumne County 249,445 acres
  2. Mariposa County 6,711 acres

Communities

  1. Pine Mountain Lake 1,896 acres
  2. Buck Meadows 32 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. 1908 Unnamed fire 4,627 acres shared
  2. 1917 Unnamed fire 7,149 acres shared
  3. 1919 Unnamed fire 5,339 acres in total 5,055 acres shared
  4. 1920 Unnamed fire 13,310 acres shared
  5. 1927 Unnamed fire 15,822 acres shared
  6. 1934 Unnamed fire 3,368 acres shared
  7. 1944 Unnamed fire 4,401 acres shared
  8. 1949 Unnamed fire 26,378 acres in total 11,420 acres shared
  9. 1949 Unnamed fire 6,263 acres in total 6,172 acres shared
  10. 1953 Hetch Hetchy Fire 2,817 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 2,532 acres shared
  11. 1954 Spinning Wheel Fire Cause: Structure fire 2,677 acres shared
  12. 1973 Granite Fire 16,290 acres in total · Cause: Equipment use 14,889 acres shared
  13. 1987 Hamm Fire 33,144 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 17,043 acres shared
  14. 1987 Larson Fire 48,087 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 12,038 acres shared
  15. 1987 Paper Fire 45,020 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 32,558 acres shared
  16. 1987 Clavey 87 Complex Cause: Lightning 8,738 acres shared
  17. 1996 Ackerson Fire 59,112 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 56,851 acres shared
  18. 1996 Rogge Fire 20,944 acres in total · Cause: Lightning 20,518 acres shared
  19. 1999 Pilot Fire Cause: Equipment use 3,995 acres shared
  20. 2008 North Mtn Fire Cause: Lightning 2,963 acres shared

And 196 more fires that burned less of the same land. Acres are the land each fire shares with the Rim 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