TWIN northern California blazes fuelled by dry vegetation and hot, windy weather have become the state’s largest wildfire in history.
The two fires burning a few miles apart and known as the Mendocino Complex are being treated as one incident which has scorched 283,800 acres (443.4 sq m).
The fires, north of San Francisco, have burned 75 homes and are only 30% contained.
READ MORE: Scotland's summer heatwave is climate change 'wake-up call'
The size of the fires surpasses a blaze last December in Southern California that burned 281,893 acres (440.5 sq m) and killed two people, including a firefighter, and destroyed more than 1000 buildings before being fully contained on January 12.
Hotter weather attributed to climate change is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities and towns that are expand-ing housing into previously undeveloped areas.
More than 14,000 firefighters are battling a dozen major blazes throughout California.
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