The Thomas fire was the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time.

The Thomas Fire was a massive wildfire that affected Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, and one of multiple wildfires that ignited in southern California in December 2017. It burned approximately 281,893 acres (440 sq mi; 114,078 ha) before being fully contained on January 12, 2018, making it the largest wildfire in modern California history at the time. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Fire

• Video footage by Mike Eliason https://twitter.com/EliasonMike
• NWS Los Angeles GOES 16 visible (red band) imagery shows smoke from the #ThomasFire flowing over the Channel islands https://twitter.com/NWSLosAngeles/status/942183115321200641
• Thomas Fire Likely to Become Largest in California History https://robertscribbler.com/2017/12/17/thomas-fire-likely-to-become-largest-in-california-history
• California fire: Resident says neighborhood looks like ‘war zone’ http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/17/us/california-fires/index.html
• List of California wildfires https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_California_wildfires#Largest_Fires