Top 12 Wildfires in History You Should Know About

Nature’s fury can be awe-inspiring—and terrifying. The recent Dragon Bravo Fire near the Grand Canyon, now a classified megafire after scorching over 116,000 acres, serves as a stark reminder that the wildfire threat remains ever-present.

Here’s a countdown of the 12 most massive and tragic wildfires in recorded history, offering critical insights into how climate change, extreme weather, and human activity fuel these devastating events:

1. 2023 Canada Wildfires

Hundreds of wildfires continued to burn across Canada on Friday, as residents braced for what could be the worst wildfire season in recent memory. New aerial footage shows wildfires burning in the western province of British Columbia. https://t.co/JJZYLYxy3T pic.twitter.com/iBSvq3JCir

— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 9, 2023

• Area burned: ~45.7 million acres
• An unprecedented inferno across Canada’s boreal forests—nearly triple any previous record. Smoke traveled to New York, and dozens of fires created their own weather systems.

2. New South Wales Bushfires (Australia, 1974–75)

• Area burned: ~289 million acres
• Still the largest modern wildfire, devastating nearly 15% of Australia’s landmass.

3. Australian “Black Summer” (2019–2020)

• Area burned: ~60 million acres
• Fueled by record heat and prolonged drought, the fires killed millions of animals and reshaped ecosystems.

4. Siberian Taiga Fires (Russia, 2003)

• Area burned: ~55 million acres
• Lightning and drought ignited one of the largest forest fires in Siberia’s history.

5. Russian Wildfires (2021)

• Area burned: ~44.5 million acres
• Extreme heatwaves torched untouched forests, reinforcing the link between climate extremes and wildfire risk.

6. 1987 Black Dragon Fire (China & Russia)

• Area burned: ~18 million acres
• One of the largest and deadliest cross-border fires; nearly 200 lives lost, with 33,000 people displaced.

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7. Dragon Bravo Fire (Grand Canyon, 2025)

• Area burned: ~116,000 acres and counting
• A megafire that’s growing uncontrollably, generating its own chaotic weather—an alarming example of modern wildfire intensity.

8. Peshtigo Fire (USA, 1871)

• Area burned: ~1.2 million acres
• The deadliest wildfire ever recorded. With hurricane-force winds, it claimed between 1,500 and 2,500 lives in Wisconsin.

9. 1989 Manitoba Wildfires (Canada)

• Area burned: ~1.3 million acres
• An extreme fire season that forced 24,500 residents to evacuate.

10. Richardson Backcountry Fire (Canada, 2011)

• Area burned: ~1.7 million acres
• A vast boreal fire event in Alberta requiring large-scale evacuations.

11. Yellowstone Fires (USA, 1988)

Area burned: ~794,000 acres
Multiple fires converged to engulf over a third of the park, prompting its temporary closure 

12. Thomas Fire (California, 2017)

This is totally unreal. Each one of these fires is an individual home going up in flames from the #thomasfire. The Santa Ana winds have spread this fire so quickly. 27,000 people evacuated. pic.twitter.com/XvDRxrbxO9

— Shaun Robinson (@shaunrobinson) December 5, 2017

• Area burned: ~281,900 acres
• At the time, the largest modern Californian wildfire destroyed over 1,000 structures and cost more than $2.2 billion in damages.

From the historical giants to the current Dragon Bravo megafire, these incidents highlight how climate change, persistent drought, and unchecked development can elevate the wildfire threat to unprecedented levels. Understanding their magnitude shows us why preparedness, smarter land management, and global cooperation are vital.

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