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GEOGRAPHY
Physical - Natural Disasters
Largest Wildfires by Area Burnt
This list features the worst wildfires ever recorded based on size of burnt land.
RANK | WILDFIRE | LOCATION | BURNT AREA (acres) | YEAR |
1 | Siberian Taiga Fires | Russia | 55 million | 2003 |
2 | Australian Bushfires | Australia | 42 million | 2019 2020 |
3 | Northwest Territories Fires | Canada | 8.5 million | 2014 |
4 | Alaska Fire Season | United States | 6.6 million | 2004 |
5 | Black Friday Bushfire | Australia | 5 million | 1939 |
6 | The Great Fire of 1919 | Canada | 5 million | 1919 |
7 | Chinchaga Fire | Canada | 4.2 million | 1950 |
8 | Bolivia Forest Fires | Bolivia | 3.7 million | 2010 |
9 | Great Fire of Connecticut | United States | 3 million | 1910 |
10 | Black Dragon Fire | China Russia | 2.5 million | 1987 |
References
Igini, M. (2025). Top 13 largest wildfires in history. Earth.Org. [online] Available at: https://earth.org/largest-wildfires-in-history/ [Accessed 6 Jul. 2025]
SCALA
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