Mendocino Complex Fire Becomes Second Largest in California History

California’s Mendocino Complex fire, one of the 18 blazes currently raging across the state, has become the second largest in the state’s history—and is on pace to become the biggest. The Los Angeles Times reports the Complex fire—technically composed of two fires, the Ranch and the River—has burned through more than 273,000 acres, and is expanding by thousands of acres each day. The record holder, last year’s Thomas fire, burned 281,000 acres. The fire’s pace has stunned and concerned experts: “Look how big it got, just in a matter of days,” a deputy chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection told the Times. “Look how fast this Mendocino Complex went up in ranking. That doesn’t happen. That just doesn’t happen.” He added that it is “extremely fast,” “extremely aggressive,” and “extremely dangerous.” As of Monday morning, the Mendocino Complex fire was only 30 percent contained—but officials told the Times they hope that it will be fully contained by next week. At the same time, the Carr fire—which has now claimed seven lives and 160,000 acres and was only 43 percent contained as of late Sunday—has been officially declared a disaster.