# How are wildfires named? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 15, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570 "2018-11-15T17:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/1 "2018-11-15T17:48:06Z")
We keep hearing about the “Camp” fire in California. How did it get that name, and how are other fires named? There doesn’t seem to be a predetermined name list like they have for hurricanes. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/2 "2018-11-15T17:54:26Z")
Usually from where they started, or a particular feature of the area near the fire’s origin. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/3 "2018-11-15T18:18:38Z")
I was going to ask the same thing due to the same fire. You’d think that even though it apparently was named after a Camp road, that someone would have had the sense to not call it something easily confused with “Campfire”. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/4 "2018-11-15T18:27:41Z")
They usually try to find some local feature that’s not the name of the nearest town. The reason is that if they name it after a town, people will get the idea that the town itself burned down, which it probably didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/5 "2018-11-15T18:30:09Z")
From Wikipedia, “Named after Camp Creek Road, its place of origin, the fire started on November 8, 2018, in Butte County, in Northern California.” ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/6 "2018-11-15T18:30:18Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > I was going to ask the same thing due to the same fire. You’d think that even though it apparently was named after a Camp road, that someone would have had the sense to not call it something easily confused with “Campfire”. There’s lots of fires each year, most of which don’t make the nightly news. I don’t think they spend much time worrying about the names. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/7 "2018-11-15T21:06:37Z")
The NSW Rural Fire Service says this: _Incident Name Each incident is given a name to assist with managing multiple incidents. The name of an incident does not necessarily reflect the exact location of that incident._ Naming can be important in indicating risk. If I’m north of Bob’s River I might not give as much attention as I should to a Bobs River South fire. The incidents can also include bushfires, grass fires, hazard reduction burns, chemical spills, flood and storm rescues and a host of other things that keep them busy, as Telemark said. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/8 "2018-11-16T01:01:27Z")
I think it was about 2012 when a bunch of smaller fires in Idaho ran together and TPTB more than once had to decide which name would take precedence for the combined fire. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/9 "2018-11-16T01:47:52Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > They usually try to find some local feature that’s not the name of the nearest town. The reason is that if they name it after a town, people will get the idea that the town itself burned down, which it probably didn’t. Not from Chicago, are you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/10 "2018-11-16T15:08:25Z")
I find it funny that the media are always calling it “the so-called Camp Fire”. Its not the “so-called Wolsey Fire”, is it? ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/11 "2018-11-16T15:38:46Z")
> [@MikeF](#): > > I find it funny that the media are always calling it “the so-called Camp Fire”. Its not the “so-called Wolsey Fire”, is it? They’re saying that to avoid confusion the audience with “campfire”. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/12 "2018-11-16T16:20:23Z")
Why not the Camp Creek Fire? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/13 "2018-11-16T16:41:06Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Why not the Camp Creek Fire? Probably because some smart asses will insist a body of water can’t catch on fire. [Even though it can.](http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/14 "2018-11-16T17:33:36Z")
Carr Fire was a confusing name too (“car fire”??). ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2018, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/15 "2018-11-16T17:40:58Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > Why not the Camp Creek Fire? Because fires are typically giving single name designations. > **[Category:2018 California wildfires](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2018_California_wildfires)** > > The following 22 pages are in this category, out of 22 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/16 "2018-11-17T08:43:26Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Because fires are typically giving single name designations. > > [Category:2018 California wildfires - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:2018_California_wildfires) “Typically”, sure, but there’ve been some “[X River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owens_River_Fire)” fires over the years, along with other compound names. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/17 "2018-11-17T13:48:32Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > From Wikipedia, “Named after Camp Creek Road, its place of origin, the fire started on November 8, 2018, in Butte County, in Northern California.” The Butte Fire might be almost as bad, especially if you mispronounce Butte.😉 ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/18 "2018-11-17T14:12:54Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Probably because some smart asses will insist a body of water can’t catch on fire. > > [Even though it can.](http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire) Also because there was “Creek Fire.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/19 "2018-11-17T14:18:50Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Probably because some smart asses will insist a body of water can’t catch on fire. > > [Even though it can.](http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Cuyahoga_River_Fire) Memorialized in Randy Newman’s [_Burn On._](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtW8RkI3-c4) \*Cleveland, city of light, city of magic Cleveland, city of light, you’re calling me Cleveland, even now I can remember 'Cause the Cuyahoga River goes smoking through my dreams Burn on, big river, burn on Burn on, big river, burn on Now the Lord can make you tumble The Lord can make you turn The Lord can make you overflow But the Lord can’t make you burn\* ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2018, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570/20 "2018-11-17T14:19:52Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > “Typically”, sure, but there’ve been some “[X River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owens_River_Fire)” fires over the years, along with other compound names. Yes, but it’s not common. It appears that the naming rules are fairly relaxed and whatever name is given initially is the one they use. There was no need to use anything but “Camp” for this fire. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-are-wildfires-named/824570.md?page=2)