As wildfires rage across the West, California's Dixie Fire has grown to more than 463,000 acres as of Sunday, making it the second largest wildfire in the state's history, a representative from Cal Fire told Axios.

Why it matters: The Dixie Fire, which stretches across several counties in northern California, is currently the biggest wildfire burning in the country. As of Saturday evening, three people remain missing.

The state of play: The Dixie Fire, which erupted in mid-July, is burning across 463,477 acres and remains only 21% contained, per Cal Fire.

• Evacuation orders have been issued to dozens of communities across Plumas, Butte, Lassen, and Tehama counties.

The big picture: The U.S. West is in the grip of a severe drought exacerbated by human-caused climate change that has proven to be the worst to hit the region so far this century.

• Studies show human-caused climate change is driving an increase in the likelihood and severity of heat waves, droughts and wildfires.
• Six of the seven largest fires in California's history have occurred since August 2020, according to CalFire.