A huge wildfire tearing through northern California became the third-largest in the state’s history Friday, 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 1,700 square kilometers (650 square miles) since it erupted in mid-July. Authorities 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. 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. 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 kilometers 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 percent from 2020 -- itself the worst year of wildfires in the state’s modern history.

source: AFP, Reuters