One of the most significant fires of California's record-setting 2020 wildfire season, it began on September 4, 2020, and burned 379,895 acres (153,738 ha) over several months until it was declared 100% contained on December 24, 2020.

[4] Tens of thousands of residents in Fresno and Madera counties were forced to evacuate, and the fire also necessitated the helicopter rescue of hundreds of people by the California National Guard after they became trapped at Mammoth Pool Reservoir.

The Creek Fire occurred amid an already quite active wildfire season in California, which until early September had largely been driven by an outbreak of dry thunderstorms in mid-August.

[6][7] The Creek Fire burned largely in the Sierra National Forest, which spans more than 1.3 million acres (530,000 ha) at an elevation range of ~900–14,000 feet (270–4,270 m).

[10] The U.S. Forest Service estimated that dead stands of trees that burned in the fire contained 2,000 tons of fuel for every one acre (0.40 ha).

[11] Driven by powerful diurnal up-canyon winds within the San Joaquin River drainage, the Creek Fire quickly became a firestorm.

These "firenadoes" formed due to the intense heat the fire had generated, which pulled in air, creating rotational vortices.

[16] The Mammoth Pool firenado trapped hundreds of campers in the area, while the Huntington Lake one caused severe damage to trees in the Camp Silver Fir, B.S.A.

[5] The California National Guard, using CH-47 Chinook and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters and night goggles, flew multiple sorties to evacuate people from near Mammoth Pool Reservoir.

Reasons for this explosive behavior included strong, gusty winds pushing east from the Central Valley into the Sierra Nevada and a pileup of dead trees due to the 2011–17 California drought and subsequent bark beetle infestation.

[19] Thick smoke lying over the fire, as well as reduced winds and lower temperatures, allowed firefighters to notch six percent containment by September 10.

The Forest Service ruled out that the fire had been sparked by equipment use, an escaped campfire, powerlines, or spontaneous combustion, among multiple other discarded possibilities.

[33][20] On September 5, hours after the fire broke out, the Fresno County Sheriff's Office closed Shaver Lake, a popular destination for boating and camping.

[1][38] Multiple organizations and locations housed pets and livestock during the evacuations, such as the Fresno Fairgrounds,[39] Clovis Rodeo Grounds and local high schools.

[40] The Red Cross organized hotel rooms for evacuees; group shelters were not an available option due to COVID-19 pandemic social distancing requirements.

[6] On September 15, Gavin Newsom and California senator Kamala Harris travelled to Fresno County to survey fire damage.