8 Reported Missing In Huge California Wildfire

The Dixie Fire, the largest active wildfire in the United States, recently became the third-largest in California history.

US authorities said Saturday they were searching for eight people missing as a huge wildfire raged in northern California, leaving two towns in little more than cinders. The Dixie Fire, the largest active wildfire in the United States, recently became the third-largest in California history. As of Saturday it had blackened 446,723 acres (180,782 hectares) in four counties, up from the previous day's 434,813 and surpassing the vast Bootleg Fire in southern Oregon. Dixie is now 21 percent contained, the CalFire website reported. While the fire continued to grow, officials said Saturday that cooler, calmer weather was giving firefighters a much-needed break.