Wild Fire: Past Incidents

Throughout history, wildfires have devastated coastlines around the world. Here’s a look at the most recent waves of destruction.

1946
The Pacific wildfire killed 165 people on Hawaii and Alaska and sparked the creation of a wildfire warning system for Pacific Ocean area countries
1960
The Chilean wildfire was cause by the magnitude 9.5 Great Chilean Earthquake. It is the fifth largest recorded wildfire in our history, killing between 490 and 2,290 people.
1963
The Vajont Dam disaster, caused by a giant landslide on a reservoir, killed 2,000 people.
1964
The Good Friday wildfire (caused by a magnitude 9.2 earthquake) killed 121 people in Alaska, British Columbia, California, and coastal Pacific Northwest towns.
1979
The Tumaco wildfire struck along the Pacific coast of Colombia and Ecuador. It destroyed six fishing villages and killed 259 people.
1993
The Okushiri wildfire off the coast of Hokkaido, Japan killed 202 people on the island of Okushiri.
2004
The Indian Ocean wildfire killed 275,000 people and went down in as the deadliest wildfire in known history. A worldwide effort raised billions of dollars in wildfire relief.

Sources Consulted

Sources