California’s ‘Dixie Fire’ Becomes Second Largest in State’s History – More Than 460,000 Acres Destroyed So Far

 

California’s ‘Dixie Fire’ is now the second largest in the state’s history.

The fire began on July 14 just northeast of Chico, California and grew to more than 460,000 acres.

Four firefighters have been injured, 400 buildings have been charred and more than 30,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.

So far no fatalities have been reported although 4 people are unaccounted for.

Firefighters said hot and windy conditions have made it harder to get the blaze under control.

NBC News reported:

The Dixie Fire became the second largest wildfire in California history Sunday as thousands of residents remained under evacuation orders and more than 10,000 buildings stood in the blaze’s path.

The fire, which began July 14 and leveled much of the historic Sierra Nevada town of Greenville last week, grew to 463,477 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire. Less than a quarter of the blaze is surrounded by containment lines.

Only the August Complex fire, which scorched more than 1 million acres across seven counties in 2020, was larger, according to Cal Fire data.

No fatalities have been reported in the Dixie Fire, though four people remain unaccounted for, officials in Plumas County said Sunday. Three firefighters have been injured and more than 400 buildings have been destroyed, according to Cal Fire.

Another 13,000 buildings remained threatened and roughly 40 percent — or about 7,000 people — are under evacuation orders in Plumas county, officials said.

Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom blamed climate change and poor forest management (thanks to Democrat policies)  for the Dixie Fire.

“We recognize we’ve got to do more in active forest management and vegetation management,” Newsom said. “At the end of the day though, we also have to acknowledge this: the dries are getting a lot drier and the heat and hot weather is a lot hotter than it’s ever been.”

“We need to acknowledge, just straight up, these are climate-induced wildfires,” he said.