The wildfires in Australia have burned a massive expanse of land.
Fueled by drought and extreme heat, the bushfires have burned across the country since September, killing 24 people and destroying more than 1,000 homes.
As of Jan. 7, approximately 32,400 square miles, an area of land about a third the size of Oregon, have burned since the blazes began. That’s 5,000 square miles more than the area of land that burned during 2019’s devastating Amazon rainforest fires and 80 times larger than the total area burned in the 2019 California wildfires.
Oregon encompasses about 98,400 square miles. The greater Portland metropolitan area that includes five Oregon and two Washington counties is about 6,700 square miles. The city of Portland is about 145 square miles. The thin band of Willamette Valley that includes the Willamette and its tributaries is about 675 square miles.
How large is 32,400 square miles where you live? Tap here to go to an interactive map you can break down by U.S. city.