Part of the 2021 California wildfire season, the fire was ignited by lightning on July 31 and burned 94,962 acres (38,430 hectares) before its containment on October 27.

[2]: 1  By the afternoon of August 2, the fire had burned 500 acres (200 ha) of primarily timber understory, brush, and grass near Bear Mountain.

[3] The fire initially burned east, reaching the Marble Mountain Wilderness Area two miles (3.2 km) distant by August 5.

[4] At the height of the fire, firefighters employed nine aircraft: eight helicopters and a supervisory fixed-wing air attack plane.

[2]: 2 Containment of the fire reached 48 percent by September 27 as another weather system moved through the area and dropped 0.6–0.8 inches (1.5–2.0 cm) of rain.

Brookfield contracted COVID-19 and a fungal infection associated with wildfires and smoke inhalation while deployed to Orleans on the fire in September, passing after several weeks in the ICU.