The SoCal Wildfires Are Now Larger Than New York City And Boston Combined
It’s been nearly a week since the first stirrings of the wildfires ripping across Southern California sprang to life, and firefighters are still struggling to contain the blazes. The two largest and most destructive fires are growing despite firefighters’ best efforts at containment as the powerful Santa Ana winds – which are picking back up after another brief lull – fan the flames.
As CNN pointed out, the Thomas Fire, which presently covers 230,000 acres, is now the fifth largest blaze in modern California history. The fire slipped from 15% containment to 10% early Monday as it surged into the foothills of Santa Barbara county.
But perhaps even more staggering, the SoCal fires are presently covering an area larger than New York City and Boston combined.
As firefighters struggle to overcome the difficulties posed by the windy conditions, low humidity, and bone-dry vegetation, the fact that there’s no rain in the forecast for at least 10 days means the flames could continue to spread, uncontained, for another week or so before meaningful containment can be achieved.
As the map below – courtesy of CNN – shows, the six blazes vary in size.
One local CNN affiliate is running a livestream of the Thomas Fire:
Here’s a rundown of all six fires, per CNN:
Thomas Fire: It had scorched 230,000 acres by Sunday evening, with about 10% of it contained. It started Monday in Ventura County, and has since spread into Santa Barbara County. The fire has surpassed the 1932 Matilija Fire — which burned 220,000 acres — to become Ventura County’s largest recorded blaze, according to CalFire. It has destroyed 790 structures and damaged 191, Ventura County Sheriff Captain Garo Kuredjian told CNN, with firefighting efforts costing $34 million by Sunday night.
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