California's Dixie Fire grows to largest wildfire this year in U.S.

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) -- A fast-moving wildfire burning in the western U.S. state of California has grown to become the largest so far this year in the country.

Dubbed the Dixie Fire, the massive fire has burned 432,813 acres (around 173,153 hectares) and was only 35 percent contained as of Friday morning, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Official data showed that the fire grew by around 100,000 acres in 24 hours.

The fire, which started on July 13, is also the third largest wildfire in California's history, only behind 2020's August Complex Fire and 2018's Mendocino Complex Fire. It was marked as the 11th largest wildfire in California's history on Tuesday and exploded to become the sixth largest on Thursday.

The Dixie Fire, burning through multiple counties in Northern California, has destroyed at least 91 structures.