Examination of the charcoal particle stratigraphy in sediment cores from seven meadows from the Sierra Nevada of California allows reconstruction of regional fire periods and their relationship to climate during the Holocene. With the exception of the period of 8700 to 9200 yr BP, charcoal is less frequently encountered in early Holocene sediments than it is in sediments deposited after 4500 yr BP. We hypothesize a climatic control. Empirical and modeled data suggest that the early Holocene was xerothermic in the Sierra Nevada. Pollen evidence suggests forests were more open than today, thus producing less tree biomass for fuel. Intensification of El Nino during the middle Holocene may have been important in changing the character of the Sierran forests as well.