The Dixie Fire is one of the largest wildfires in California’s history — and growing

Update: The Dixie Fire continues to spread and is now the third largest wildfire in California history. Read more here:

The Dixie Fire is now one of the largest wildfires in California history, and it’s still growing.

The wildfire exploded by more than 20,000 acres Wednesday and now encompasses 322,502 acres, according to the U.S. Forest Service. That makes it the sixth-largest wildfire in California’s history, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported.

It was only about 35% contained as of Thursday morning, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire is starting to spread to towns in the Lake Almanor area, The Sacramento Bee previously reported. It prompted new evacuation orders and approached Chester.

“If you remained you should evacuate to the EAST, IMMEDIATELY!” the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a social media post. “If you cannot evacuate and you are threatened by fire and can safely get there, take refuge at the Chester High School baseball field!”

The Dixie Fire is growing quickly. On Wednesday, Cal Fire reported it as the eighth-largest wildfire in history since records were kept in 1932. Now it is up to sixth.

Six of the largest 10 wildfires in history have happened since 2020, according to Cal Fire. Take a look at the list:

August Complex: 1,032,648 acres

The August Complex Fire spread through Mendocino, Humboldt, Trinity, Tehama, Glenn, Lake and Colusa counties in August 2020. It encompassed 1,032,648 acres and burned through 935 structures. At least one person died from the fire. The cause is under investigation.

Mendocino Complex: 459,123 acres

The Mendocino Complex Fire spread through Colusa, Lake, Mendocino and Glenn counties in July 2018. It encompassed 459,123 acres and burned 280 structures. At least one person died from the fire. The cause is under investigation.

SCU Lightning Complex Fire: 396,624 acres

The SCU Lightning Complex Fire spread in Stanislaus, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Joaquin counties in August 2020. It encompassed 396,624 acres and burned 222 structures. The cause is under investigation.

Creek Fire: 379,895 acres

The Creek Fire spread through Fresno and Madera counties in September 2020. It encompassed 379,895 acres and burned 853 structures. The cause is under investigation.

LNU Lightning Complex: 363,220 acres

The LNU Lightning Complex Fire spread through Napa, Solano, Sonoma, Yolo, Lake and Colusa counties in August 2020. It encompassed 363,220 acres and burned 1,491 structures. At least six people died from the fire. The cause is under investigation.

Dixie Fire: 322,502 acres

The Dixie Fire is spreading in Butte and Plumas counties. As of Thursday morning, the fire encompassed 322,502 acres and was 35% contained. It has burned 67 structures, including leveling a small Northern California mountain community.

North Complex: 318,935 acres

The North Complex Fire spread through Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties in August 2020. It encompassed 318,935 acres and burned 2,352 structures. At least 15 people died from the fire. It’s under investigation.

Thomas: 281,893 acres

The Thomas Fire burned through Ventura and Santa Barbara counties in December 2017. It encompassed 281,893 acres and burned 1,063 structures. At least two people died from the fire, which was determined to be caused by power lines.

Cedar: 273,246 acres

The Cedar Fire spread through San Diego County in October 2003. It encompassed 273,246 acres and burned 2,820 structures. At least 15 people died from the wildfire.

Rush: 271,911 acres in California

The Rush Fire burned through California and Nevada in August 2012. It encompassed a total of 315,577 acres, with 43,666 acres burned in Nevada. It spread through Lassen County after it was sparked by lightning.

This story was originally published August 5, 2021 at 9:11 AM with the headline "The Dixie Fire is one of the largest wildfires in California’s history — and growing."