Ranch Fire, one of Mendocino Complex fires, is now largest in state history, Cal Fire says

The Ranch Fire, one of the Mendocino Complex fires, became the largest wildfire in California history on Sunday morning, Cal Fire confirmed.

The Ranch Fire scorched 282,479 acres by Sunday morning — bypassing the previous record holder, December’s Thomas Fire, which burned 281,893 acres in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, according to Lynne Tolmachoff, a Cal Fire spokeswoman.

Firefighters saw extreme fire behavior Saturday night, and hot, dry and windy weather conditions continue in the area of the fire, Cal Fire said in its report Sunday morning. Between Saturday morning and Sunday morning, the Ranch Fire burned 6,173 acres, according to Cal Fire.

Firefighters plan Sunday to try to contain the northwestern part of the Ranch Fire and will also try to keep the fire from moving west, Cal Fire said.

The Ranch Fire is 62 percent contained as of Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire.

The River Fire “had no movement,” Saturday night and remains at 48,920 acres with 93 percent containment, Cal Fire said.

Last week, the Mendocino Complex fires together became the largest blaze in the state, burning a combined total of 283,800 acres. However, the Ranch Fire is the largest individual fire to break the Thomas Fire’s record.

More than 3,000 firefighters are working on the Mendocino Complex fires, which together have burned 331,399 acres as of Sunday morning, according to Cal Fire. No one has died in the fires, which together have injured two firefighters and destroyed more than 200 structures.

This story was originally published August 12, 2018 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Ranch Fire, one of Mendocino Complex fires, is now largest in state history, Cal Fire says."