Dixie Fire makes history
Blaze becomes third-largest ever in California, set to continue growing
A huge wildfire tearing through northern California became the third-largest in the state’s history, and looked set to continue growing.
A long-term drought that scientists say is driven by climate change has left the western United States parched – and vulnerable to explosive and highly destructive fires.
The Dixie Fire, which this week razed the Gold Rush town of Greenville, has torched more than 1,700sq m since it erupted in mid-july.
Plumas County Sheriff Todd Johns, who is helping to coordinate the fight against the fire, said the destruction was devastating.
“I am a lifelong resident of Greenville. My heart is crushed by what has occurred there,” he told a briefing.
“To the folks that have lost residences and businesses ... their life is now forever changed. All I can tell you is: I’m sorry.”
Greenville stood charred and in ruins Friday, with timber structures gone completely and some stone buildings reduced to rubble.
Johns said there were no injuries so far from the huge blaze, but stressed it was vital that people in the path of the fire heed evacuation warnings.
“This fire is not over. If that plume is anywhere near your direction ... you need to prepare. Wherever the wind blows this fire, that’s where it’s going to go.”
Regina Rutledge, who fled the town of Chester as the flames bore down, said the experience had been “very intense”.
“You could see the red coming off the hills, the blows of the fire. It’s a monster, it truly is,” she said.
More than 5,000 personnel are battling the blaze, which is sending enormous clouds of smoke into the air that are easily visible from space.
Incident managers said Friday they were expecting gusting winds would fan the blaze.
Those winds, coupled with steep terrain and an abundance of very dry vegetation, were fuelling the flames and making the work of firefighters more difficult.
The Dixie Fire added around a fifth to its area overnight, making it larger than the Bootleg Fire that has laid waste to a swathe of Oregon over the last month.
Thousands of square kilometres of the western United States have burned this year, an alarming result of the warming planet that has affected weather patterns.
By late July, the number of acres burned in California was up more than 250% from 2020 – itself the worst year of wildfires in the state’s modern history.