PASADENA, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 16: Elizabeth Wright with the U.S. Forest Service monitors a firefighting helicopter making water drops during the Bobcat Fire in the Angeles National Forest on September 16, 2020 near Pasadena, California. The fire came within 500 feet of the historic 116-year-old Mount Wilson Observatory yesterday. California’s national forests remain closed due to wildfires which have already incinerated a record 3.2 million acres this year. The Bobcat Fire, burning in the San Gabriel Mountains, has grown to over 44,000 acres. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
PASADENA, Calif. (NewsNation Now) — The Bobcat Fire, burning in the San Gabriel Mountains northeast of Los Angeles, has grown to more than 50,000 miles, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The blaze is still only 3% contained. The fire started Sept. 6 and the cause has not been determined yet.
Smoke from the Bobcat fire rises in the Angeles National Forest above Duarte, California, about 27 miles (43 km) northeast of Los Angeles, September 7, 2020. – Eight national forests in California have been closed as firefighters battle blazes across the state which is in the grips of a record-setting heat wave. (Photo by Robyn Beck / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
This photo provided by High Performance Wireless Research and Education Network (HPWREN) and ALERTWildfire from a camera atop Mount Wilson shows dense smoke shrouding the famed Southern California observatory Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020. Firefighters have prevented the Bobcat wildfire from damaging the historic Mount Wilson Observatory. Flames came within 500 feet of the observatory Tuesday, but a bulldozer line, burnout operations, water drops and brush clearance maintained there created protection, Angeles National Forest officials said in social media posts. (HPWREN/ALERTWildfire via AP)
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MONROVIA, CA – SEPTEMBER 11: Embers fly from a burning tree as the Bobcat Fire continues to devour the Angeles National Forest on September 11, 2020 north of Monrovia, California. California wildfires that have already incinerated a record 2.3 million acres this year and are expected to continue till December. The Bobcat Fire has grown to more than 26,000 acres. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)
Jason Anderson, 42, takes pictures as the sun is visible through thick smoke generated by the Bobcat Fire in San Dimas, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2020. Hazy clouds of smoke from dozens of wildfires darkened the sky to an eerie orange glow over much of the West Coast on Wednesday, keeping street lights illuminated during the day and putting residents on edge. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Poor air quality throughout Southern California and the West Coast continues to be an issue as wildfires continue to burn.
About 3,392,000 acres have burned this year in California — more than ever before, Cal Fire said. In Oregon, the figure is about 998,000 acres, nearly double the 10-year average.