Bakersfield fires today: fire map, smoke & air quality
Active wildfires within 100 miles of Bakersfield, the air quality and wind right now, fire-weather alerts — and how often fires burn near Bakersfield.
Air quality and wind in Bakersfield
Fire weather alerts for Bakersfield
Wildfire history near Bakersfield
Wildfires within 50 miles, by year
Fires of 10+ acres whose origin was within 50 miles of Bakersfield. 2026 is still in progress.
When fires start near Bakersfield
Peak months: June, July, August — 74% of fires in the last 10 years started in these three months.
1 day in the last 12 months had modeled daily PM2.5 above 35.4 µg/m³ — the level where air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups. The worst day was December 9, 2025 at 36.0 µg/m³. Smoke can come from fires hundreds of miles away, so smoke days and nearby fires don't always line up.
Fire history: NIFC WFIGS incident records 2016–2026. Smoke: Open-Meteo CAMS air-quality model, 2025-10-01 to 2026-09-30. Updated 2026-10-01.
Largest wildfires near Bakersfield since 2015
| Fire | Acres | Year | County | From Bakersfield |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borel | 59,288 | 2024 | Kern, CA | 21 mi |
| Erskine | 48,019 | 2016 | Kern, CA | 35 mi |
| Cedar | 29,322 | 2016 | Kern, CA | 35 mi |
| French | 26,535 | 2021 | Kern, CA | 34 mi |
| Post | 15,563 | 2024 | Los Angeles, CA | 40 mi |
| Rancho | 9,950 | 2024 | Kern, CA | 26 mi |
Most recent fires near Bakersfield
| Fire | Acres | Discovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ridge | 1,134 | 2026-08-07 | 42 mi |
| Buzzard | 902 | 2026-08-05 | 33 mi |
| Fish | 4,201 | 2026-07-27 | 22 mi |
| Bear | 543 | 2026-07-07 | 50 mi |
| Apex | 24 | 2026-07-05 | 48 mi |
Distances are straight-line from the city center to the fire's point of origin.
Fires and smoke near other cities
Questions
Is there a fire near Bakersfield right now?
The live map at the top of this page shows every active wildfire within 100 miles of Bakersfield from official incident reports, sorted by distance, with acres, containment and the last update time.
How often do wildfires burn near Bakersfield?
From 2016 to 2025, 134 wildfires of 10 acres or more started within 50 miles of Bakersfield — about 13 a year — burning 291,975 acres in total. 74% of them started in June, July and August.
What was the biggest fire near Bakersfield?
The Borel Fire (2024), 59,288 acres, which started about 21 miles from Bakersfield in Kern County.
Is the air quality in Bakersfield safe today?
The air-quality panel above shows the current US AQI for Bakersfield and a 72-hour forecast. Above 100 (orange), sensitive groups should limit time outdoors; above 150 (red), everyone should. In the last 12 months Bakersfield had 1 modeled smoke days.
Get fire alerts for Bakersfield
Save Bakersfield in Wildfire Tracker: distance to the nearest active fire, which side of it you're on relative to the wind, air quality — alerts only for fires that are actually active.