California Wildfire Housing Losses (2013-2023)

The State of California has experienced a series of persistent and destructive wildfires from 2013 to 2023, which have impacted sub-county population trends and housing. These wildfires have caused significant damage to the state, resulting in displacement of residents and the demolition of homes. The wildfire map provides a detailed visual representation of the extent of housing units lost due to wildfires from 2013 to 2023 across California.From 2013 to 2023, there were 86,373 total wildfires in California resulting in the loss of 35,430 housing structures. Single Family Homes accounted for the most losses with 26,954 structures, followed by Mobile Homes with the loss of 7,961 structures, and Multi-Family Homes with 515 structures. 2018 was the most devastating fire year with the loss of 16,596 homes. The total percent loss of California’s housing stock in 2018 was -0.118% of the 14,157,502 homes in the state. The Camp Fire in Paradise accounted for 13,972 of the total loss homes in 2018.While wildfires affected 47 out of the 58 California counties, three counties suffered the most significant housing losses. Butte County experienced the most substantial loss of homes due to wildfires, with a total of 15,606 structures destroyed. Sonoma County ranked second with the loss of 5,820 homes, followed by Lake County, which lost 1,903 homes.This map only includes Single Family, Mobile, and Multi-Family housing structures. This map does not include any housing structures with attached commercial business use. The Wildfire Perimeters layer only includes 3,217 perimeters through 2022.For more information about the wildfire data, please visit the CalFire webpage.To view more data from the State of California Department of Finance, visit the Demographic Research Unit Data Hub.