The California wildfires by the numbers
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Holly Yan, Judson Jones and Susannah Cullinane, CNN
(CNN) — A spate of California wildfires has destroyed an area larger than New York City and Boston — combined. And with about 65% of the colossal Thomas Fire contained, the end may be a long way off.
High Santa Ana winds literally have been adding fuel to the fires.
Here are the staggering numbers behind the blazes:
272,600 acres
That’s the size of the Thomas Fire, the largest one ripping across Southern California. It started in Ventura County and has been moving across Santa Barbara County.
The fire is the second-largest blaze in modern California history. It’s torched an area larger than New York City.
$170 million
That’s how much money has been spent fighting the Thomas Fire, according to Cal Fire. And the cost is sure to grow, given the inferno was 65% contained as of Thursday night.
18,000 structures threatened
At least 18,000 structures were threatened by the Thomas Fire, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, known as Cal Fire.
1,000 structures destroyed
An estimated 1,063 structures had been wiped out by the Thomas Fire, Cal Fire reported. It wasn’t clear how many were homes and how many were businesses.
Nearly 5,000 firefighters
About 4,729 firefighters are tackling the Thomas Fire alone.
The Nevada Department of Corrections and Nevada Division of Forestry, which run conservation camps, sent six trained crews of minimum security inmates to help.
Thousands more firefighters — including from Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Washington state — have been involved in battling the other wildfires.
85,000 power outages
Santa Barbara County has suffered intermittent but widespread power outages due to the Thomas Fire. Southern California Edison said that outages and surges had left up to 85,000 customers without electricity.
95,000 evacuees
At least 95,000 residents have been evacuated in Southern California, Cal Fire said Tuesday.
$10 billion
This year has been the costliest for wildfires in US history. Damage has topped $10 billion — and that was before the current fires began in Southern California.
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