By: Eris Lowdermilk
On Oct 5 it was confirmed that over one million acres have extinguished Northern California. The amount makes these wildfires calculated as a gigafire, which is when fires burn over one million acres.
These wildfires are otherwise known as the August Complex, defined as a series of blazes that on their own would be recognized as historical. The fires that began in a mid-August lightning siege have merged into one giant fire.
The fires are now larger than the entire state of Rhode Island. Earlier this year, Australia saw a gigafire during its bushfire season. While there have been past examples of more than one million acre fires in the United States, this is the first in over a decade.
Khan, Biran. (2020, October 5). California Has Its First 'Gigafire' in Modern History. Gizmodo. https://earther.gizmodo.com/california-has-its-first-gigafire-in-modern-history-1845275126
Comments