CHICO, Calif. — The Park Fire burning in Northern California near Chico has now become one of the largest wildfires in state history as flames continue to grow, causing additional evacuations to now spread across four counties and taking aim at a community that is still reeling from a deadly wildfire just six years ago.
But some good news emerged for firefighters with the weather forecast as the weekend began without the triple-digit heat and Fire Weather Warnings of the past few days.
CAL Fire now estimates the Park Fire has burned more than 350,000 acres as of midday Saturday, which ranks the fire as No. 7 on California’s list of most acreage burned by a fire. At least 134 homes and structures have been damaged or destroyed and another 4,200 are threatened, fire officials said. Over 50 community zones are now under evacuation warnings across 4 counties, spanning more than 4,400 people.
“Extreme fire behavior has occurred due to the slope and winds aligning, causing significant growth,” CAL Fire officials wrote in their Saturday morning update. “Damage inspection teams are working to identify structures that have been damaged or destroyed.”
So far, there are no reports of any deaths, but two people have been treated for minor injuries.
Vanessa Starling, who lives near the heavily damaged town of Cohasset, told FOX 2 Bay Area they could hear the sound as they evacuated their home.
“It was pretty crazy, there is one spot that had a little fire tornado going on. We could hear it, just this roaring sound, you can hear the fire roaring as we were leaving,” Starling said, worried about her family home. “We have property that’s been in our family since 1905.”
Late Friday night, the entire town of Paradise, California was placed under an evacuation warning, which means all residents should get ready to run if the fire gets closer.
“Fire behavior and predicted winds require all residents in Paradise to prepare to evacuate and await further information,” CAL Fire officials said.
It’s a particularly daunting reminder of wildfire dangers for this community that was devastated by the fast-moving Camp Fire in 2018 that left dozens dead as flames raced through town.
Additional evacuation shelters have opened in Red Bluff, Los Molinos, and the Butte County Fairgrounds in Gridley in addition to shelters in Chico.
Nearly 2,500 firefighters are dedicated to fighting the blaze as of Friday night, and California Gov. Gavin Newsome declared an emergency, allowing additional state resources to flow toward the fire.
Suspected arsonist remains in jail awaiting charges
The Park Fire began Wednesday as a bizarre care of arson, investigators said.
Witnesses spotted a man next to a car where a fire had started under the left wheel of what turned out to be the suspect’s mother’s vehicle, and watched it burn, according to Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey.
The man climbed into the vehicle for a few moments, then got out and pushed the flaming car down a 60-foot embankment into a gully, investigators said. The burning car eventually became engulfed, spreading flames into the nearby brush and eventually tearing through nearby neighborhoods.
The suspect was identified later that evening and arrested early Thursday morning. He’s being held in the Butte County Jail without bail, awaiting arraignment on Monday.
Weather finally giving firefighters a break
After days of fighting triple-digit heat and blustery winds that have triggered Fire Weather Warnings across much of Northern California, the weather pattern has finally shifted to give firefighters a temporary reprieve.
Cooler, ocean breezes have pushed inland, not only knocking temperatures down into the upper 80s and low 90s but increasing the humidity.
No weather alerts were in effect for Saturday and the pattern was expected to hold through the middle of the week. However, hotter weather and perhaps a return to triple digit heat was looming for later in the week.
