Aug. 26, 2024
Record heat is fueling an accelerating megafire crisis in California. The ongoing massive Park fire is the latest monster to burn off the old-climate charts.
Before 2018, the state's largest wildfire on record was the Thomas fire, which burned 280,000 acres. At the time, the Thomas fire felt apocalyptic. The current Park fire burned more in just its first three days. It's currently the state's fourth-largest on record, at 430,000 acres -- joining the rapidly swelling ranks of unprecedented megafires.