California’s Wildfire Now Ranks As State’s Third-Largest

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) — The massive wildfire that California has been battling since early December has now ballooned into the third-largest in the state’s history, burning a record amount of acreage, officials said Saturday.
Steve Concialdi of the Orange County Fire Authority said the Thomas Fire, which started Dec. 4 in Santa Paula, has now burned 259,000 acres (nearly 105,000 hectares). That exceeds the devastating Rim Fire in 2013 by 2,000 acres.
“As of this morning, w