The summer of 2018 in California has been dominated by news about wildfires. More than 15 major fires have blackened hundreds of thousands of acres around the state, and fire season, which typically runs through October, is only half over.
High winds, low humidity and temperatures often over 100 degrees have caused some fires to spread very rapidly, exploding out of control.
Here are three GIF animations, produced by ESRI, Redlands, California company that produces geographic information system software, that show just how fast three of the largest fires in California this year have spread each day.
First, the Ferguson Fire, which began July 13 near Highway 140 just west of Yosemite National Park, and by Aug. 10 had spread to more than 95,000 acres. The blaze was 80 percent contained on Friday, with full containment estimated by Aug. 15.
Next is the Mendocino Complex Fire, which is burning near Clear Lake in Lake County, Mendocino County and Colusa County. That fire, which began July 27, had burned roughly 305,000 acres by Friday, making it the largest fire in state history. On Friday, it was 60 percent contained.
Finally, the Carr Fire, which is burning near Redding, was 51 percent contained Friday. That blaze, which killed eight people and destroyed 1,077 homes, had burned 181,496 acres, as of Friday afternoon.