The Cloquet fire in Minnesota, United States is the deadliest wildfire event in recent human history. The wildfire, which occurred in October 1918, was ignited by railroad sparks and resulted in an estimated 1,000 people losing their lives. Three of the events listed took place within the last decade, with the 2021 fires in Kabylia, Algeria the most recent severe wildfire.
Most severe wildfires by number of fatalities worldwide between 1900 and 2021
Wildfires
Number of fatalities
Cloquet fire, Minnesota, U.S. (1918)**
1,000
Sumatra & Kalimantan forest fires, Indonesia (1997)
240
Black Dragon Fire - Mohe County, China (1987)
191
Black Saturday bushfires - Marysville, Kinglake & Taggerty, Australia, (2009)
180
Cleveland East Ohio gas explosion and fire, U.S. (1944)
121
Attica wildfire - Neos Voutzas, Greece (2018)
100
Kabylia fires, Algeria (2021)*
90
Camp fire - Butty County, California, U.S. (2018)
88
Landes forest fire, France (1949)
80
Ash Wednesday bushfire - Victoria, Australia (1983)
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Al Jazeera. (August 19, 2021). Most severe wildfires by number of fatalities worldwide between 1900 and 2021 [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved January 21, 2022, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/267801/death-toll-due-to-wildfires/
Al Jazeera. "Most severe wildfires by number of fatalities worldwide between 1900 and 2021." Chart. August 19, 2021. Statista. Accessed January 21, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/267801/death-toll-due-to-wildfires/
Al Jazeera. (2021). Most severe wildfires by number of fatalities worldwide between 1900 and 2021. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: January 21, 2022. https://www.statista.com/statistics/267801/death-toll-due-to-wildfires/
Al Jazeera. "Most Severe Wildfires by Number of Fatalities Worldwide between 1900 and 2021." Statista, Statista Inc., 19 Aug 2021, https://www.statista.com/statistics/267801/death-toll-due-to-wildfires/
Al Jazeera, Most severe wildfires by number of fatalities worldwide between 1900 and 2021 Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/267801/death-toll-due-to-wildfires/ (last visited January 21, 2022)
