Wildfire in California, August 14 to September 12, 1996

Name: Wildfire in California, August 14 to September 12, 1996
Start: 1996-08-14T08:00
End: 1996-09-12T18:00
Location: California

August 14 to September 12, 1996 · NWS STO · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Lightning caused a wildfire known as the Ackerson Complex fire. The fire burned 61,070 acres.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS STO wrote it up.

Lightning caused a wildfire known as the Ackerson Complex fire. The fire burned 61,070 acres. August was the worst month of the year for wildfire in California. In 1996, 232,984 acres burned throughout the state, or 90 percent greater than the normal acreage of 122,362 acres.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Tuolumne

When: August 14, 8:00 AM PST to September 12, 6:00 PM PST
Where: Tuolumne County, Yosemite Nat. Park
Coordinates: 38.028, -119.955 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in California in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in California, August 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5575789.