California’s 10 Largest Wildfires and What Caused Them

As the recent Northern California fire reshuffles the list of the state’s largest wildfires, the Park fire has now become California’s fifth largest on record by area burned in less than a week. According to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), seven of the 10 largest wildfires in California’s history have occurred in the past five years, with five of those happening in 2020 alone—a year often cited as one of the worst drought years in the modern history of the U.S. West. Among the fires, more than half were caused by human activities, including arson and powerline issues, while the remainder were ignited by lightning....