Park Fire map: See how one of California's largest fires compares with historic wildfires

In just nine days, what started with a car fire in northern California's Bidwell Park has grown to the fourth-largest wildfire in the state's history , burning nearly 400,000 acres and destroying more than 500 structures, according to CalFire.

More than 6,000 personnel have been battling the Park Fire , which has torched 624 square miles in four counties, an area larger than New York City. The inferno has been burning for over a week and has forced more than 25,000 people to leave their homes.

Local officials say the fire started after a man, who has since been arrested and charged with arson , sent his mother's flaming car off a 60-foot embankment.

How fast the Park Fire grew

The record-breaking blaze torched 71,000 acres in its first 24 hours and burned uncontrolled for several days as it made its way northward through the towns of Cohasset and Paynes Creek.

How the Park Fire compares with California's largest wildfires

The Park Fire is the largest wildfire of the year in California and the fourth-largest in the state's history dating back to 1932. The biggest fire on record was the August Complex Fire in 2020 , which burned over 1 million acres in 87 days. By contrast, the Park Fire has burned enough acreage to place it as the fourth largest in just nine days.

The second- and third-largest fires – the Dixie Fire in 2021 and the Mendocino Complex Fire in 2018 – were both active for over 100 days.

Here's how the Park Fire compares with California's largest fires:

How big are California's largest wildfires?

The 1 million acres burned by the August Complex Fire is nearly two times the size of nearby Sacramento County . While the Park Fire is smaller than the August Complex Fire, the nearly 400,000 acres burned is more than 13 times the size of San Francisco .

The Park fire compared with California's largest fire

The Park Fire, while massive in size, is nowhere near the scale of California's largest fire, the August Complex Fire. The fire burned 1,032,648 acres from Aug. 16 through Nov. 11, 2020. The Park Fire, which is now 24% contained, would need to burn an additional 633,211 acres to match the August Complex Fire, California's largest.

The August Complex Fire was made up of 37 separate fires ignited by lightning that merged into one blaze, including the Doe and Elkhorn fires.

Nine of the top 10 largest recorded wildfires in California's history have occurred since 2017.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Park Fire map: See how one of California's largest fires compares with historic wildfires