San Francisco, Aug 9 (IANS): Dixie Fire, a fast-moving wildfire has grown to become the second largest in California's history as more than 8,500 firefighters are continuing to battle 11 major wildfires across the state, authorities said.

Dixie Fire, raging in Northern California, was at 463,477 acres and only 21 per cent contained, said the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire) in an incident report on Sunday.

The fire surpassed the Mendocino Complex Fire, which scorched 459,123 acres in 2018, reports Xinhua news agency.

In California's history, it's now only behind the massive 2020 August Complex Fire, which burned 1,032,648 acres, according to Cal Fire.

The fire, which started on July 13, also became the largest wildfire so far this year in the country.

The fire, burning through four counties in Northern California, had destroyed at least 404 structures and forced thousands of local residents to evacuate.

More than 5,100 firefighters are working to contain it.

According to Cal Fire, six of the top seven largest wildfires in the state's history, including the Dixie Fire, have occurred since 2020.

More than 6,000 wildfires have burned nearly 580,000 acres in California this year, according to the Cal Fire's 2021 Incident Archive.

The state and most of the U.S West are in the grip of a severe drought of historic proportions.