Park Fire grows to fifth-largest wildfire in California history
The Park Fire, which has burned more than 383,000 acres across Butte and Tehama counties, became the fifth largest wildfire in California history, reaching 14% containment as of noon Tuesday, according to Cal Fire.
The fire started on Wednesday off Upper Park Road in Upper Bidwell Park east of Chico. Cal Fire reported that 192 structures had been destroyed and 19 structures were damaged as of the midday update Tuesday. The blaze has burned through about 53,000 acres in Butte County and almost 331,000 acres in Tehama County.
Officials say the fire began when a man pushed a burning car into a ravine. Ronnie Dean Stout II, a 42-year-old man from Chico, was arraigned Monday on a charge of arson; Stout told authorities that he did not push the car into the ravine, but became scared and fled the area after it burst into flames.
The perimeter of the fire is 260 miles, making the fire’s footprint three times larger than the surface area of Lake Tahoe, Cal Fire stated. The actively burning fire is in an area of steep terrain, wind and many inaccessible areas, helping the flames spread uphill and ignite spot fires.
Jay Tracy, a deputy fire marshal for Fresno Fire who is serving as the Cal Fire spokesman for the Park Fire, said that crews are fighting the fire “aggressively, and with all hands on deck.” Cal Fire stated that around 5,500 personnel are assigned to suppress the Park Fire. Tracy said firefighters throughout California and some from Texas, Arizona and Oregon were coming in to aid in the effort.
Tracy said that the crews were taking advantage of the cooler weather from the weekend to reinforce and improve containment lines on the ground and by helicopter. Backfiring was finished Monday evening and early Tuesday morning.
The size, weather and terrain of the area have factored into the difficulty of suppressing the fire, Tracy added. Due to the warm weather, crews are making sure to take breaks and stay hydrated. He also said they had some difficulty accessing some locations of the fire due to its rural location.
The dry brush and high winds in the area have made it difficult for firefighters to suppress it, Cal Fire reported. National Weather Service morning coordinator meteorologist Courtney Carpenter forecast that temperatures would be in the low-90s in areas around the fire on Tuesday and will continue to warm up for the rest of the week.
Carpenter said wind in the area will be lighter than last week, ranging from 10 to 15 mph near the fire and 20 to 25 mph in the canyons and remote spots of the fire.
The region is forecast to heat up to the upper-90s on Wednesday. From Thursday to Monday, temperatures are expected to range between 100 and 103 degrees.
Carpenter said temperatures “will be heating up and getting a little drier as we head into the weekend,” which may affect the firefighters and how much of the fire they are able to contain.
Areas of Butte, Plumas, Shasta and Tehama counties have been evacuated as the fire has moved north. Although there were no new evacuation orders Tuesday, some evacuation orders were lifted, allowing people to return to residences on the southeast side of the fire.