The Dixie Fire has been raging throughout the Northern California region for the past few weeks. The fire marks the latest disaster in what has been California’s worst year for fires on record (and we still haven’t entered the months that are typically considered “fire season”). Here are ten key facts you should know about the Dixie Fire, per the New York Times, CNN, and SFGate.
- The Dixie Fire has burned more than 430,000 acres 432,813 acres — an area 3.5 times the size of Lake Tahoe.
- The fire is impacting the same regions that were affected by the horrific 2018 Camp Fire, which decimated the town of Paradise, California and killed 86 people.
- Nearly 5,000 people live within five miles of the Dixie Fire.
- A blown fuse on one of the utility poles at Pacific Gas & Electric might have caused the fire. PG&E was also responsible for the Camp Fire, and pleaded guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter as a result.
- The fire is already the 3rd-largest on record in California’s history.
- 100 structures have been destroyed by the fire, with over 10,000 more threatened.
- No deaths have been reported as a result of the fire.
- More than 5,400 firefighters have been combatting the Dixie fire.
- Rick Carhart, and spokesperson Cal Fire, says he normally wouldn’t expect a fire of this magnitude until September. “We’re all kind of learning that fire season isn’t a three-month or six-month thing anymore,” he said to the Times.
- As of Friday, August 6, 2021, the fire is 35% contained.