Fountain Fire

Fountain Fire
A map of the Fountain Fire's final footprint
Date(s)	August 20, 1992 (1992-08-20) – August 28, 1992 (1992-08-28) (9 days)
Location	Shasta County, Northern California, United States
Coordinates	40°45′22″N 121°58′08″W / 40.756°N 121.969°W / 40.756; -121.969
Statistics[1][2]
Burned area	63,960 acres (25,884 ha; 100 sq mi; 259 km2)
Land use	Private timberland
Impacts
Deaths	0
Non-fatal injuries	≥11
Evacuated	7,500
Structures destroyed	636 (330 residential)
Damage	≥$127.6 million (equivalent to about $248.8 million in 2023)
Ignition
Cause	Probable arson
Map
Location of the Fountain Fire in Northern California

The 1992 Fountain Fire was a large and destructive wildfire in Shasta County, California. After igniting on August 20 in an act of probable but unattributed arson, the fire was driven by strong winds, outpacing firefighters for two days while exhibiting extreme fire behavior such as long-range spotting, crown fire runs, and pyrocumulonimbus clouds that generated dry lightning. The fire consumed 63,960 acres (25,880 ha) and destroyed hundreds of homes, primarily in the communities of Round Mountain and Montgomery Creek along the State Route 299 corridor. In 1992 the Fountain Fire was the third most destructive wildfire in California's recorded history, though it no longer features among the top 20 most destructive California wildfires. At a suppression cost of more than $22 million, it was also for a time the most expensive fire to contain in state history.

At the time, the Fountain Fire was recognized not just as a major disaster, but also as a "fire of the future". The devastation the fire left as it moved through private timberlands interspersed with rural communities made it emblematic of the challenges residents and firefighting personnel both face in the wildland-urban interface. The Fountain Fire was surpassed by later California wildfires in metrics for losses, but it remains notable for its speed, its widespread destruction in multiple communities, and the long-term alteration of the landscape within its footprint.