Sonora fires today: fire map, smoke & air quality
Active wildfires within 100 miles of Sonora, the air quality and wind right now, fire-weather alerts — and how often fires burn near Sonora.
Air quality and wind in Sonora
Fire weather alerts for Sonora
Wildfire history near Sonora
Wildfires within 50 miles, by year
Fires of 10+ acres whose origin was within 50 miles of Sonora. 2026 is still in progress.
When fires start near Sonora
Peak months: July, August, September — 64% of fires in the last 10 years started in these three months.
2 days in the last 12 months had modeled daily PM2.5 above 35.4 µg/m³ — the level where air becomes unhealthy for sensitive groups, 1 of them above 55.4 µg/m³ (unhealthy for everyone). The worst day was August 6, 2026 at 70.0 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.
Major fires near Sonora this year
Largest wildfires near Sonora since 2015
| Fire | Acres | Year | County | From Sonora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caldor | 221,835 | 2021 | El Dorado, CA | 42 mi |
| Ferguson | 96,901 | 2018 | Mariposa, CA | 36 mi |
| Detwiler | 81,826 | 2017 | Mariposa, CA | 27 mi |
| Butte | 70,868 | 2015 | Amador, CA | 30 mi |
| Donnell | 36,450 | 2018 | Tuolumne, CA | 35 mi |
| Oak | 19,244 | 2022 | Mariposa, CA | 39 mi |
Most recent fires near Sonora
| Fire | Acres | Discovered | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Schell | 12 | 2026-09-17 | 19 mi |
| Colorado | 233 | 2026-09-01 | 38 mi |
| Ross | 20 | 2026-08-21 | 11 mi |
| Loma | 18 | 2026-08-20 | 21 mi |
| Dennis | 16 | 2026-08-11 | 49 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 Sonora right now?
The live map at the top of this page shows every active wildfire within 100 miles of Sonora from official incident reports, sorted by distance, with acres, containment and the last update time.
How often do wildfires burn near Sonora?
From 2016 to 2025, 192 wildfires of 10 acres or more started within 50 miles of Sonora — about 19 a year — burning 566,989 acres in total. 64% of them started in July, August and September.
What was the biggest fire near Sonora?
The Caldor Fire (2021), 221,835 acres, which started about 42 miles from Sonora in El Dorado County.
Is the air quality in Sonora safe today?
The air-quality panel above shows the current US AQI for Sonora and a 72-hour forecast. Above 100 (orange), sensitive groups should limit time outdoors; above 150 (red), everyone should. In the last 12 months Sonora had 2 modeled smoke days.
Get fire alerts for Sonora
Save Sonora 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.