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California Dixie Fire razed over 500 homes, threatening 14,000 more

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  • The Dixie Fire has become the largest single wildfire in California history.
  • The blaze has destroyed over 500 homes and continues to threaten about 14,000 more.
  • The fire, which started back on July 14, has covered over 700 miles as of Tuesday night and is only 27% contained.

The Dixie Fire, which has become the largest single wildfire in California’s history, has already destroyed nearly 550 homes. Fueled by increasing winds and dry land, the blaze only continues to grow.

Around 100 large fires have been burning across 15 states as of Wednesday, with most of the fires located in the dry West.

On Tuesday, afternoon winds flared up the east end of Northern California’s Dixie Fire.

With bone-dry trees, brush, and grass as its kindling, the fire razed through at least 1,027 buildings, more than half of which were residences in the northern Sierra Nevada. Greenville’s small community was burned last week in an explosive run of flames. The fire continues to threaten at least 14,000 homes.

The fire started on July 14 on the road it was named after.

As of Tuesday night, it has covered 766 square miles and was 27% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.

The Dixie Fire is now the largest wildfire burning in the U.S. It is about half the size of California’s largest wildfire overall, the August Complex. These 2020 fires were formed by a series of lightning-caused fires that spanned across seven counties.

Meanwhile, in southeastern Montana, evacuation orders were put in place for communities in and around the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation amid the growing Richard Spring Fire.

On Tuesday, this order expanded to include Lame Deer, Ashland, and nearby communities.

The fire reached about a quarter mile within a subdivision outside Ashland along the Tongue River. On Tuesday, powerful winds caused a blaze across more than 200 square miles, traversing roads, creeks, and fire lines.

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The wildfires have become more difficult to battle as heat waves and drought continue in the American West. Scientists have attributed it to climate change, which has made the region much hotter and drier in the past 20 years. Experts predict that the weather will only get worse, causing wildfires to become even more frequent and destructive.

Blazes have also razed parts of Europe amid tinder-dry conditions.

Source: USA Today

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