How did the Putah Fire get its name? What to know about California wildfire names

Based on its name, you might assume 2018’s Camp Fire was started by a few errant embers from an unattended campfire.

But that’s not what sparked the deadliest wildfire in recorded California history.

Instead, Pacific Gas & Electricity power lines in the high hills of Butte County ignited the 153,336-acre wildfire that destroyed nearly 19,000 buildings and killed 85 people, state fire officials determined.

So how did the Camp Fire get its name?

A dispatcher named the wildfire after Camp Creek Road, where it originated.

Here’s how California wildfires get their handles.

How did the Putah Fire get its name?

The Putah Fire near Winters in Yolo County is 30% contained after burning 869 acres, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

The fire began on Monday, June 8, as a controlled burn.

It took its name from nearby Putah Creek, which may take its name from the Lake Miwok tribe term “puṭa wuwwe,” which translates to “grassy creek,” The Bloom reported.

Who names wildfires in California?

Typically, naming a wildfire is the job of the dispatch center that sends the initial responders to the fire.

Sometimes the first firefighters on the scene give a blaze its forever name

According to Cal Fire, fires are traditionally named based on their location in reference to nearby streets, road signs, landmarks or geological features such as creeks, lakes, hills and mountains.

“Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locator, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name,” Cal Fire said.

It also helps dispatchers, community members and the media keep track of the blazes.

California wildfires in 2025 bore names ranging from the obvious to the obscure: Canyon Fire, Ranch Fire, Springs Fire, Salt Fire, Blue Fire and so on.

The Palisades Fire, named for the nearby Pacific Palisades neighborhood, burned 23,448 acres in Los Angeles County and killed 12 in January, NBC News said.

The Eaton Fire the same month took its name from nearby Eaton Canyon in the San Gabriel Mountains near Pasadena, the city of Monrovia said. It burned 14,021 acres.

Blazes caused by lightning strikes, on the other hand, are named with an alphabet soup of letters and numbers chosen to reflect where and in what order the fires are reported, KTVU reported.

Are there rules about names for wildland fires?

The National Interagency Fire Center has some guidelines for naming wildfires. They include:

• Don’t name a fire after a person
• Don’t use the names of private companies or private property
• Don’t include words like “dead man”
• Don’t name a fire after another catastrophic fire
• Don’t use puns or other “cute or funny” fire names
• Avoid referencing any ethnic, religious, or political groups

What happens if firefighters can’t think of a name?

In 2015, Idaho firefighters who had already battled a series of smoke starters were stumped when it came time to find a creative name for a new blaze.

It became known as the Not Creative Fire, National Public Radio reported at the time.

Not everyone is satisfied with the naming conventions for wildfires.

When the Dump Fire broke out in 2012 near a landfill in Saratoga Springs, Utah, city officials and community members were quick to protest the name.

“As a city we were frustrated by it,” Saratoga Springs city manager Mark Christensen told the Deseret News in 2012. “That is certainly not the image and marketing we are trying to project for our city.”

The same year, a blaze broke out in North Carolina on Father’s Day.

Its name? The Dad Fire.

The significance of a wildfire’s name can become murky over time, according to Rebecca Paterson, a spokeswoman for the Bureau of Land Management’s fire program.

“Certainly, there are going to be fire names that people will question down the line,” Paterson told The New York Times in July. “But it’s easy to have hindsight on things like that.”

This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 12:55 PM with the headline "How did the Putah Fire get its name? What to know about California wildfire names."