Multiple fires are still blazing through California, with folks in Butte and Tehama counties forced to evacuate because of a park fire spanning 6,465 acres.
This blaze, near Upper Bidwell Park, east of Chico, ignited just before 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Cal Fire said, before it spread and triggered both mandatory orders and evacuation warnings for different areas.
If you are in Butte County, you can use this live evacuation map to see whether your home or business is affected and whether evacuation is mandatory or not. This map covers Tehama County.
The fire, named Park Fire, is “well established” and is currently only 3 percent contained, as of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection’s most recent update.
“Fire personnel are currently focusing on evacuations and structure defense while concurrently building direct containment lines utilizing bulldozers, fire crews and fire engines,” Cal Fire said.
“More resources have been ordered and are inbound from various areas throughout Northern California,” it added.
National Guard chinooks (a type of helicopter) were on standby in the early hours of Thursday morning, Kern County Wildfire Tracker reported.
This year, there have been 4,303 wildfires battled in the state, which have killed at least one civilian, burned 286,925 acres, damaged 53 structures and destroyed 113. In total, 339,183 emergency responses have taken place.
Lake Fire in Santa Barbara, the biggest blaze which started on July 5, spans 38,664 acres but is now 90 percent contained. This fire alone has caused seven injuries, destroyed four buildings and damaged one.
Meanwhile, the second-biggest blaze, at the 2024 SQF Lightning Complex in Tulare, has reached 31,309 acres and is only 10 percent contained.
The official cause of all these fires is technically still being investigated but Cal Fire has already nodded to the hot temperatures seen by California this summer.
It said: “The state of California experienced a hotter than normal June, combined with an excess of fine fuels from unusually wet winter and spring seasons. This has resulted in the vegetation being more susceptible to ignition and fire spread than has been observed in previous years.”
The team went on to predict a “longer and more intense fire year” than the last few years. The 4,303 wildfires that the fire department has had to respond to this year so far, have already surpassed 2023 and are above the five-year average, not only by the number of wildfires but also by acres burned.
There are currently multiple excessive heat warnings and heat advisories in place throughout California, according to the National Weather Service.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
