California's Dixie Fire Grows to Over 500k Acres, Destroying More Than 1,000 Structures

The Dixie Fire in California has grown to over 500,000 acres as of Wednesday, destroying more than 1,000 structures in its path.

According to data from Cal Fire, the Dixie Fire has burned at least 501,008 acres and is currently 30 percent contained.

The Dixie Fire, which is burning across four counties, was first reported by officials on July 14. Cal Fire officials said at least 1,045 residential and commercial structures have been destroyed by the fire while 69 other structures have been damaged. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

As the Dixie Fire has continued to grow over the past 28 days, it has become the second-largest wildfire in California history, surpassing the 2018 Mendocino Complex fire which burned 459,123 acres, according to Cal Fire. The only wildfire in state history larger than the Dixie Fire was the 2020 August Complex Fire, which burned over 1 million acres.

In a recent update posted on the Cal Fire website, officials said that on the Dixie Fire's west zone, "Fire remained active overnight due to minimal humidity recovery."

"Heavy smoke conditions reduced visibility in the fire area," the update continued. "High pressure continues to build over the incident and will be the dominant feature with predicted thunderstorms moving in this week."

While speaking to the Washington Post last week, Cal Fire spokesman Rick Carhart said that "a good portion of the town of Greenville was destroyed," by the Dixie Fire.

"I don't know if it's half or more or less, but there were pretty heavy losses," Carhart told the Post.

Shortly after the fire tore through Greenville, California Governor Gavin Newsom traveled to the town to survey the damage and posted a picture on Twitter showing a local post office fully destroyed by the Dixie Fire.

"Our hearts ache for this town," Newsom wrote in the tweet. "Greenville—though this moment may seem insurmountable, we'll be there to help you rebuild."

On Tuesday, Newsom issued a state of emergency for the counties of Trinity, Tehama and Shasta in response to the Dixie Fire.

"These are climate-induced wildfires and we have to acknowledge that we have the capacity in not just the state but in this country to solve this," Newsom said during a recent interview with CNN.

Numerous pictures of the fire have been posted across social media showing the flames and the damage it has continued to cause.

"The #DixieFire exposed out of Diamond Mountain Road in the old #Moonlightfire scar, Monday evening," Twitter user Kent Porter wrote with several photos of the fire.

In addition to the Dixie Fire, California is also currently battling at least 10 other active wildfires. According to data from the National Interagency Fire Center, all 11 active wildfires in the state have burned at least 794,349 acres.