A wildfire burning in a sparsely populated region of central Oregon has become the largest fire this year and is on the verge of surpassing 100,000 acres to become what’s officially known as a megafire.
Nearly 900 personnel have been battling the Cram Fire about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southeast of Portland, and they have it about 73% contained with more than 95,000 acres burned.
Here’s a look at what megafires are and their increasing frequency in the warming world.
A megafire is generally defined as a fire that burns at least 100,000 acres, said Craig Clements, a climate scientist and director of the Wildfire Interdisciplinary Research Center at San Jose State University. That translates to about 156 square miles (404 square kilometers), or about half the size of New York City, which has a land area of 300 square miles (778 square kilometers).
Not all researchers agree that megafire