Burning about 100 miles north of San Francisco, the Mendocino Complex wildfire is the largest in California鈥檚 history.听But聽explaining its vast scale is difficult. Let鈥檚 examine the attempts to do just that鈥攁nd see if we can arrive at a good understanding of what聽300,000 charred acres really looks like.听
聽is actually made up of two fires: the smaller River Fire, which has burned 48,920 acres, and the larger Ranch Fire, which has burned 255,482. Combined, that total is still only about one-tenth the size of .听
Both fires started on July 27聽and quickly grew in size. Extremely dry brush in the area, combined with steep hillsides, created聽ideal conditions for the blazes聽to spread.
Despite its size, the fire hasn鈥檛 proven nearly as destructive as the nearby 177,400-acre聽, which burned portions of Redding, California, destroying more than 1,000 homes and killing seven people. Meanwhile, no one has been killed by the聽Mendocino Complex Fire, though two firefights have been injured and 119 residences have been burned.听
Contrary聽to what Donald Trump appears to believe, firefighters don鈥檛 rely on water to fight fires like this. Instead, they cut breaks in the vegetation, which serve as聽borders that the flames can鈥檛 cross. While they鈥檙e doing that,聽aircraft dump retardant on unburned brush, trees, and聽structures.听
As of Thursday morning, crews had contained an impressive聽of the fire. Given stable weather conditions, that should prevent the fire from spreading much farther, but experts say total containment could take several weeks more, largely due to the area脝s steep, challenging terrain.听
Despite its massive size, the Mendocino Complex Fire was far from a worst-case scenario. But it will still prove incredibly expensive to fight. Currently, there are聽404 fire engines, 93 water tenders, 19 helicopters, 84 bulldozers, and 4,019 personnel containing it. Additional fire crews have been brought in from surrounding counties and states, and from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.听
Finally, perhaps聽the best way to get your head around the fire鈥檚 size聽comes from NBC, which has created