To understand how fast the Carr Fire is moving in Northern California, take a look at this animation.
The numbers are based on daily statistics provided by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and show how much land the fire has charred with each passing day.
Since it started shortly after 1 p.m. on July 23, the blaze has turned everything it’s touched into ash, mangled metal and black embers. Within hours, it had charred nearly 1,500 acres, and growing.
Eleven days later, it’s killed six people and had scorched nearly 126,000 acres by Thursday night – bigger than the size of Denver. The sixth most destructive wildfire in the state is so big, it’s created its own weather system – and it’s still going.