Publication Date October 14, 2016 | St. Louis Post-Dispatch

The costliest wildfire in US history, by the numbers

United States

The nearly 3-month-old wildfire that churned through the scenic coastal mountains north of California's Big Sur is 100 percent contained. Fire officials say full containment was reached Thursday [October 13].

The blaze, which burned more than 148 square miles in the Los Padres National Forest and charred 58 square miles of private land, was started by an illegal campfire on July 22. The wildfire has surprised $200 million in firefighting costs, becoming the costliest to fight in U.S. history...

Here are a few key numbers about the massive wildfire.

1

The number of deaths related to the fire.

...

57

How many homes the fire destroyed.

...

206

The number of square miles charred by the blaze.

...

5,500

The number of firefighters who established containment lines in the early days of the fire.

...

7,500

How many daily visitors to the parks that were closed because of the blaze.