California’s Bobcat wildfire now among largest in Los Angeles history
The fire has already destroyed more than 103,000 acres of land
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Your support makes all the difference.The Bobcat Fire in California is now recorded as one of the largest wildfires in the history of Los Angeles County,
As of Sunday, the blaze has consumed more than 103,135 acres of land since its initial breakout over Labour Day weekend.
The Los Angeles Times originally reported on the fire's growth, comparing it to the 1970 Clampitt fire in San Fernando Valley - which burnt 150,000 acres and killed four people - and the more recent Station Fire.
The Station Fire, which happened in 2009, is the largest fire ever recorded in Los Angeles County, and destroyed 160,000 acres, killed two firefighters, and razed more than 200 structures.
The Bobcat Fire is still raging, with only 15 per cent considered contained. Fire officials said the blaze grew more than 35 per cent between Saturday and Sunday.
"We're still in the thick of a good firefight," Andrew Mitchell, a spokesman for the US Forest Service, said.
In addition to its size, the Bobcat Fire also spun off a "Firenado," which was captured on video.
The Bobcat Fire is one of several fires keeping firefighters busy across the West Coast. Smoke from the fires have spread across the US, and the fires have displaced thousands of people.
Wildfires have killed at least 34 people this year and creates huge zones where the air is practically toxic due to the smoke and ash.
As of Sunday, the Creek Fire in California was at 27 per cent containment. Over the weekend, 250 US Marines arrived in the state to help tackle the blaze. They will spend several days training with the US Forest Service before joining the firefighters trying to control the inferno.
In Oregon, six men were arrested for setting fires that contributed to the wildfires throughout the state.
While conspiracy theories on right-wing social media posts claimed that "Antifa" or other left-wing sympathisers were the culprits of the fires, the men who were arrested appear to have no political motivation for setting the fires.
Four of the arrested men - who have criminal records that suggest they have struggled with addiction, homelessness and mental illness - allegedly set small fires that were quickly doused.
The other two men began more serious fires, with one man burning down hundreds of acres of forest, while another is accused of causing damage to more than a dozen homes with his blaze.
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