Dixie Fire now 2nd largest blaze in California history
The Dixie Fire in California has now burned more than 463,000 acres, making it the second largest wildfire in state history.
The blaze, which started on July 13, has swept through four counties in Northern California — Plumas, Butte, Lassen, and Tehama — and destroyed the town of Greenville, Lassen National Park's historic Mount Harkness Fire Lookout, and more than 400 homes and commercial buildings. Sheriff's officials in Plumas County also say that four people in the area threatened by the fire are missing. As of Sunday morning, the fire was 21 percent contained.
The Dixie Fire is the largest wildfire currently burning in the United States, forcing thousands to evacuate from their homes. Fire officials said the massive smoke cloud is helping keep temperatures lower and humidity slightly higher, making it a bit easier to suppress the fire, but it also has made it unsafe for some water-dropping aircraft to fly, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The largest fire in California history was the Complex Fire, which burned more than 1 million acres in 2020. An investigation into what started the Dixie Fire is underway, with the Pacific Gas & Electric Co. saying it could have been sparked by a Douglas fir falling onto a power line.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The best books of 2024 to give this Christmas
The Week Recommends From Percival Everett to Rachel Clarke these are the critics' favourite books from 2024
By The Week UK Published
-
Parmigianino: The Vision of St Jerome – masterpiece given 'new lease of life'
The Week Recommends 'Spectacularly inventive' painting is back on display at the National Gallery
By The Week UK Published
-
5 unidentifiable cartoons about drones over New Jersey
Cartoons Artists take on national priorities, national security, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Hundreds feared dead in French Mayotte cyclone
Speed Read Cyclone Chido slammed into Mayotte, a French territory in the Indian Ocean
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Thirteen missing after Red Sea tourist boat sinks
Speed Read The vessel sank near the Egyptian coastal town of Marsa Alam
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Global plastics summit starts as COP29 ends
Speed Read Negotiators gathering in South Korea seek an end to the world's plastic pollution crisis, though Trump's election may muddle the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Biden visits Amazon, says climate legacy irreversible
Speed Read Nobody can reverse America's 'clean energy revolution,' said the president, despite the incoming Trump administration's promises to dismantle climate policies
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
At least 95 dead in Spain flash floods
Speed Read Torrential rainfall caused the country's worst flooding since 1996
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane Oscar
Speed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Wildlife populations drop a 'catastrophic' 73%
Speed Read The decline occurred between 1970 and 2020
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane Milton
Speed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published