【Watch Project X Online】

California's Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara and Watch Project X OnlineVentura counties has eclipsed the 2003 Cedar Fire as the largest wildfire in Golden State history, at a whopping 273,400 acres. This puts the blaze's burned area as larger than New York City, and nearly the equivalent of the sprawling city of Los Angeles.

The fire has destroyed 1,063 structures and damaged 280 more. During the past week, firefighters have made significant gains, with the state reporting 78 percent containment as of early Sunday morning. The record size was eclipsed on Dec. 22, with additional growth possible before full containment is made sometime in early 2018.

SEE ALSO: Surreal scenes of devastation across Southern California from unrelenting wildfires

This year is proving to be California's worst wildfire season on record. In October, more than 40 were killed and at least 10,000 homes lost when fast-moving fires tore through Sonoma and Napa Counties, devastating the community of Santa Rosa, in particular.

The state is seeing a trend toward more damaging wildfire seasons, with 14 of the 20 largest blazes on record occurring since they year 2000. This is due to a combination of factors, from climate change to urban sprawl.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The Thomas Fire, along with other blazes that erupted across the state during the late summer and fall, resulted from a combination of climate extremes that are becoming more common in the state as a result of global climate change. Repeated, record heat waves sent temperatures soaring into the triple-digits as late as October, drying out vegetation that is now serving as fuel for the fires. 

Meanwhile, a large bulge, or ridge, in the jet stream has been steering Pacific storms away from California week after week, pushing the fire season deeper into the year. Computer model projections show virtually no precipitation falling in southern California during the next two weeks, for example.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

Recent studies indicate there may be connections between altered weather patterns, which are favoring drier conditions in California, and climate change. 

This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.

The summer of 2017 was the state's hottest on record, following one of the wettest winters, which in turn ended the longest drought in modern California history. As a result of these back-to-back extremes, thousands of California's trees have died, leaving them susceptible to toppling, taking power lines with them, during the typical Santa Ana and "El Diablo" wind events that struck during the fall and early winter. Both the wine country fires and Thomas Fire occurred during periods of these intense winds, and downed wires are a suspected cause of some of the blazes.

December is not a typical month for California wildfires. In fact, it's usually part of the state's critical wet season, which provides the rain and mountain snow needed for replenishing water supplies.

---

Featured Video For You

---

Californians band together to save horses from wildfires

---

• Social Good
• Digital Culture
• Shopping
• Games
• Tech
• Deals
• Science
• Life

• Best Kindle Unlimited deal: Get 3 months of Kindle Unlimited for 99 cents
• An ode to Jim Hopper from 'Stranger Things'
• We need this 'Stranger Things' hotel room in NYC
• Barb is the 'patron saint of misfits' and that's why viewers are obsessed with her
• Best soundbar deal: Save $300 on the Sonos Arc
• Carmelo Anthony posted a photo of the Oklahoma City Thunder's damaged charter plane
• GameStop basically just turned itself into a Blockbuster for video games
• New Amazon Alexa skill puts modern twist on Trick
• U.N. aims to make carbon emissions cost money at COP 25 climate talks
• YouTube TV now has an app for TVs and set

• Our Staff’s Favorite Books of 2021 by The Paris Review
• Wolf Moon by Nina MacLaughlin
• Remembering Richard Howard by Craig Morgan Teicher
• Redux: Naked Lightbulb by The Paris Review
• The Dress by Cynthia Zarin
• Anthony Cody, Poetry by Anthony Cody
• Objective Correlatives by Stephen Shore
• Other People's Diaries by Sophie Haigney
• Redux: Couples at Work by The Paris Review
• How to Choose Your Perfume: A Conversation with Sianne Ngai and Anna Kornbluh by Jude Stewart

• Episode 4: The Wave of the Future
• How you can help Puerto Rico get clean, safe water
• We need this 'Stranger Things' hotel room in NYC
• Netflix is hiding a 'Stranger Things' easter egg on its homepage
• Barcelona Open 2025 livestream: Watch live tennis for free
• How to make hard decisions by removing yourself from the situation
• Behind 'Rumu,' the game where you play a robot vacuum cleaner with feelings
• How to make hard decisions by removing yourself from the situation
• 13 Good Games You Can Play on Laptops and Budget PCs
• 'The Walking Dead' episode 2 brings back Morales

• Bomb Envy
• YouTube TV now has an app for TVs and set
• Download this: Lure's 'chat stories' will get you ready for Halloween
• An ode to Jim Hopper from 'Stranger Things'
• The internet is talking like Kevin from 'The Office' now
• Apple claims iPhone X demand is 'off the charts'
• More than half of Australians are apparently using Facebook's Messenger
• Millie Bobby Brown still stuns as Eleven in 'Stranger Things 2'
• Best Samsung deal: Save $60 on 64GB Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
• You may soon be able to send text messages from a Chromebook