California is currently experiencing the longest wildfire season they have endured in a long while. The most recent fire, the King Fire, is a proposed record breaker.
Massive wildfires are not a rarity in California. In fact, they have a designated season for the breakouts of wild fires. But this year, massive wildfires have become a major occurrence. There have been 28 major fires this year, and by the looks of it, the number is sure to increase. The most recent fire, the King Fire, is more than 92,000 acres wide, and is therefore larger than the following cities: Atlanta, Georgia, which is upwards of 84,000 acres; Las Vegas, Nevada which is a few acres short of 87,000 acres; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which is the largest of these cities at an area that reaches over 91,000 acres.
The King Fire, dubbed for being the largest fire this year, has become the record-holder for the fastest growing wildfire ever as of September 18 when the fire tripled in size from 27,000 acres to 73,000 overnight. Over 6,500 firefighters have been deployed to extinguish this monster fire and have been able to control about 20% of it so far. This fire, along with 18 other fires currently ravishing the land has caused the governor of California, Jerry Brown, to call a state of emergency.
Wayne Allen Huntsman, the suspected starter of the King Fire, has been arrested on charges of arson and has a release bond set at over 10 million dollars. Arson is a serious crime and is frowned upon in many communities and by Smokey the Bear.
The wildfire is near 100,000 acres wide, and if it increases in size as it has been, it might break a new record: the largest California wildfire ever. One thing is certain: firefighters will be able to rest easily after extinguishing this California King Fire.